We’re the Northern Borderlands, the edge of the country, the North. Being an actual place, instead of a mid-place, brings with it certain rights, privileges and responsibilities. We get to talk about what’s special and strange about here, what makes it different than elsewhere, and what that means to our culture and our art.
2 comments:
Other than the Minnesota sized chip this guy has on his shoulder about Minnesota and its place in the US, he makes a good point. It does seem like often Hollywood focuses on reinforcing current American norms, not bringing people to new places or exposing them to things they haven’t seen before. On of the magical things about film is that it really can put people somewhere they have never even heard of before. Movies have the ability to bring foreign culture to places that otherwise don’t have access, but it seems like all too often, either the culture is broken down to a single fact and stereotyped according to that, or dismissed as naïve and irrelevant because its not American culture. The guy from Minnesota makes a point that movies made in Minnesota should really reflect Minnesota, they should show the individualities of the place that they are made, it makes them more interesting. Audiences can tell when something is really inspired by an actual place, it makes a difference.
I guess I never really considered why most major film agencies and production companies were located in the west, specifically in Hollywood, I guess I always just kind of assumed that that was where films are made but I never considered logically why. After reading this article it makes sense why filmmaking has trended there, with the varying terrains, warm climate, good sunlight and space to build large sets. I’m sure Los Angles California made the ideal spot to make movies long ago when the film industry first took off, but as we’ve progressed and have not only largely switched formats from film to digital, but have also acquired new filmmaking techniques and editing tools like CGI, I don’t see why the filmmaking hub of the United States couldn’t of switched from Hollywood to somewhere else. Honestly it’s probably the money and the establishment that keeps major film companies there, but in our modern age why haven’t we considered moving production companies to different on location production companies. Why can’t film productions be scattered around the nation rather than centralized in the west coast. I’d really like to see the film industry spread out and expand, perhaps to places like the north, mostly I think there is more room for versatility in film production and I think the industry should embrace it, maybe the start will be a change of scenery.
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