I’ve always been a fan of movie marketing, waiting with bated breath for ‘this’ celebrity to do ‘this’ talk show or ‘this’ high profile actor to use ‘this’ trending Tik Tok sound for promotional purposes.
But now? I’m unbelievably tired of cheugy social media campaigns and trend-based promotions. Do I believe that social media aids in the promotion of art? Absolutely. But there comes a point when the viewer conflates the movie with the marketing.
Let’s take Marty Supreme, for example. To me, the entire movie was overshadowed by marketing. At one point, I was truly put-off by the overt promotion, wishing that I could find enjoyment in heading to the movies to purely watch the film instead of indulging in the culture it created. For a campaign that was heavily centered around ‘Dream Big’ jackets and orange ping pong balls, the five seconds of screen time that the latter received felt pointless. Instead of feeling the euphoric post-movie high, I was, instead, so focused on orange blimps, ‘dream big’ jackets and the performed, or perhaps, authentic arrogance Chalamet displayed throughout the film’s months-long campaign.
For that reason, I did not see Marty Supreme and believe it was an excellent film. I enjoyed it, thought performances were incredible and the movie was shot beautifully. However, I couldn’t enjoy just the movie itself. When I saw the movie, I saw the marketing. I believe my opinion would be wildly different about the content of the film itself if the marketing had not ruined its image in my mind.
We are so nauseated by the constant amalgamation of promotional material, violence, skincare tips and world news in the span of mere seconds on our phones that we don’t have to search for anything anymore. We are largely influenced by the things that find us instead of those in which we seek. So now, when I hear about a movie that I haven’t seen a single ad for, I am immediately intrigued.
An example of this is Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, now standing as the most Oscar-nominated film in history. I saw almost zero marketing for Sinners upon its theatrical release, and an even smaller amount for its streaming release.
Sinners had no need to market with an entire Le Creuset kitchen set like Wicked: For Good, or place Michael B. Jordan on top of The Sphere in Las Vegas like Marty Supreme. Instead, the film spoke for itself. Its artistic nature generated its popularity, without the inescapable advertisements force feeding viewers content about how supposedly incredible the film is. The art was just simply allowed to be. The film found its audience, and that audience marketed the film for the studio.
Honestly, I don’t fault large corporations for feeling that this marketing is necessary. Movie theaters took a massive hit after COVID, many of which are still trying to recoup the funding lost during the shutdown. When they opened back up post-pandemic, the general consciousness of theatrical releases was at an all time low, with The New York Times reporting that only 62 new release titles generated higher than 50% audience awareness.
Many make the argument, “Why pay to see it in theaters when we could just wait for it on streaming?” As an actor, and a Theater major, this is my least favorite phrase to hear. That and “What are your plans post-grad?” But I’m sure I’m not the only one that hates to hear that question.
The truth is, movies are meant to be watched together, in theaters. They’re meant to make us all collectively gasp, or scream, or laugh or cry. The directors we so admire are making these films for us to watch together, to feel the shared inspiration that hits us in the middle of a tight shot on Laura Dern’s face. They’re not making these movies for your fingerprint clad laptop screen in your childhood bedroom. They’re making these movies to make you feel alive, to force you to get up and choose experience over comfort. The community created within the leather reclining chairs of an AMC is what makes us human, it’s what links us all together when everything else fails to do so.
Thus, I can’t blame the incessant marketing because it’s actually trying to uplift true artistry. I just wish there was a way to preserve artistic integrity in doing so.
Please use this article as a sign to support cinema on March 7th and March 14th for the Best Picture Showcase!