HOLLYWOOD’S DYING

Hollywood's dying. Did you know? Some might say it started with the prolonged shutdown of California. In reality, that was likely the final straw. Hollywood was once a fountain for creative people to gather and create great work. Over the decades though, it has turned into this cooperate mammoth. Filmmakers are the storytellers of film. Filmmakers once sought to tell stories that provided important moral lessons. For example, Alfred Hitchcock. His film Psycho remains one of the classics. It starts by telling one story but morphs into one completely unexpected. This is what Hollywood now misses, for Hollywood has become a machine.

Machines break, we all know that. Hollywood became a machine. Hollywood saw money as more important than telling a good story. Telling stories had become subjected to a formula, a bland cookie cut out. We all know the old successful films like Star Wars. But films like that have become franchises. Franchises are all about squeezing out every bit of creativity to make a profit. Once that happens, the story is dead, thus Hollywood is dead. Art and big money have never been able to mix well. Audiences have noticed this investing their money in less extortionate services.

Streaming services. With the advent of the internet, regular forms of distribution became disrupted. Buying or renting physical copies of movies became redundant. The rise of the internet, lead to the rise of peer to peer sharing technology. So for once big money no longer held the monopoly on creative content. Big money had to re-entice their consumers. Big money could no longer get away with charging an extortionate price for their media. After all, peer to peer services could always give you the product you wanted for free. Thus cheap streaming services such as Netflix had taken centre stage.

Streaming services are in effect feeding our need for instant gratification. It worked for a while, but the old problem has arisen. Is it all that surprising when streaming services usually host Hollywood content? Too much of the same thing can be a bad thing. Too much of the same thing can lead to fatigue. Cheap prices might draw in consumers but it does not keep them. Many consumers are now looking for more authenticity of the human experience. With the internet, we now have access to all sorts of niches and different experiences. And this is where independent creators have come into the limelight.

Independent creators lead to the rise of YouTube. Youtube might have started with short video clips of cats. Youtube might have even played host to copyrighted content. But independent creators have taken the "You" in Youtube and made it their own. Imagine this, you have brought a new product. The instructions you receive are convoluted at best. What do you do? Search on Youtube for someone who has filmed themselves assembling the product. You can even go one step further. As there is surely an independent creator who dedicates themselves to your particular niche.

Niche markets. Big money ignored them, the internet loves them. Why go see a movie with the bland formula, when you can get a bona fide experience with a person and a camera? Big money once dictated what you should consume through their gatekeepers. Online platforms said differently. Do you want to watch someone performing comedy skits on Youtube, go ahead? Do you want to watch someone creating stories out of your favourite video game? That is available to you too. Indeed, it seems, that we have finally recognised that big money does not create good stories. The artists are the ones to do that.

Artists come in the form of artists, writers, filmmakers, musicians, commentators etc..... Big money also got its fingers into comics and graphic novels. Of course, this art form was once admired, well...before it became subject to the formula. This is where platforms such as Webtoon have come into play. Once upon a time comics existed only in print. Now comics and even graphic novels can be easily accessed online. Webtoon has capitalised on the web phenomenon. First, it had a webpage. Then when tablets became more mainstream, it even had its own app. The tablet is a throwback to the old, the printed comic.

Webtoon is like the Youtube for comic book creators. Mainstream comics have reached the end of their lifecycle. There are only so many times the same story can be told. This is where independent artists come in. Webtoon hosts comics for free. Yet Webtoon allows creators to share their content, gain followers and even funds. Comics hosted directly by Webtoon pay a portion of funds from ads to their creators. Third-party comics meanwhile can gain funds through donations and sponsors. The free market is prevalent on the internet. It can provide consumers with the authentic stories they crave. It also gives avenues for Creators to earn a living.

Indeed Hollywood is dying, but do not fear, human creativity is here to fill the void. The internet is the best boost for the free market. We are moving to the direct-to-consumer model. We are moving to a world where you no longer have to settle for what is available but find your niche. The gatekeepers of the old can no longer control what you want to consume and how. Big money can no longer cram lacklustre stories down your throat. There is always a creator who can fill the void, who can give you a better experience.

We have already moved past factories and uniformity. We have already begun the move into personalised products to suit our specific needs. Big money capitalised on big industries and uniformity. Independent creators may not have the backing of big money, but that is what makes them unique. Independent creators can create good stories without receiving diktats on what will sell. Independent creators can even form close relationships with their customers. Big money has tried to do this and failed. We are the consumers, we demand an authentic experience and we are the ones who have assisted the rise of independent creators.