Movie Dialog and the Deterioration of Culture

[Samson]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I voted for too stupid to write but I also feel people are more concerned with special effects than the storyline and acting.

Its a shame. Most new movies are just blah as far as plot and substance go.

 

[Modbert]

That's because there is not much original plot or writing anymore. Even Avatar while beautiful had no real original ideas. Movies have been around for a hundred years or so. A lot of the great ideas have already been done. What stands out now a days is a idea that is taken and made into a original one.

 

[American Horse]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I voted for too stupid to write but I also feel people are more concerned with special effects than the storyline and acting.

Its a shame. Most new movies are just blah as far as plot and substance go.

Just about the last flick my spouse and I bought a ticket to see was the "FIRM" with Tom Cruise about '93. After hearing the word F*** more times than either of us could bear we got up and walked out. I suppose there is a market for that, but most adults aren't excited by it. Since then the only other flick we've paid for (actually untrue; a birthday gift by son and wife) was the recent Star Trek which had way too many special effects; as you say, too much reliance on technology. I pretended to enjoy but wasn't much impressed. We wait for them on TV or rent DVD's, but only rent those which come highly recommended.

On that score I highly recommend David Lynch's Mullholland Drive (Naomi Watts), for those who enjoy psychodrama with unexpected and cryptic plot twists.

 

[Modbert]

The ironic thing is that some of the "best" movies ever are ones without any dialogue at all.

Examples: Nosferatu, The Man Who Laughs, Phantom of the Opera, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Metropolis, Modern Times, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Hands of Orlac, and many other great films.

And Birth of a Nation despite being a horribly horribly racist film broke new ground. The technical advancements that the film brought were brilliant, however the film itself will always be overshadowed by it's plot to say the least.

 

[Oddball]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I say the movie makers have become both lazy and herd animals, in search of the next great moment of shock value.

Can't speak fo movie goers...I haven't been one since the mid-80s.

 

[LuckyDan]

I think much of the creativie writing that came out of classic Hollywood was a result of having to work within the confines of the motion picture code. Writers were forced to get their point across in clever ways.

There is also this idea of "realism," or of being "true-to-life," which some whom I've dicussed this with claim is served by bad language.

Several years ago I saw Mad Dog and Glory in an edited version, with no rough language, and it struck me as a fun, entertaining and well-told story. I saw it again soon after in the theatrical edit, with the bad language, and it had a completely different mood and tone about it, and less appealing.

Then again, I really liked Reservoir Dogs, and laughed till I was in pain at The 40 Year Old Virgin, so I don't say there is no place for cussing, but cussing for the sake of cussing, or being real, is nothing for a filmmaker or screenwriter to aim for.

 

[Modbert]

I think much of the creativie writing that came out of classic Hollywood was a result of having to work within the confines of the motion picture code. Writers were forced to get their point across in clever ways.

There is also this idea of "realism," or of being "true-to-life," which some whom I've dicussed this with claim is served by bad language.

Several years ago I saw Mad Dog and Glory in an edited version, with no rough language, and it struck me as a fun, entertaining and well-told story. I saw it again soon after in the theatrical edit, with the bad language, and it had a completely different mood and tone about it, and less appealing.

Then again, I really liked Reservoir Dogs, and laughed till I was in pain at The 40 Year Old Virgin, so I don't say there is no place for cussing, but cussing for the sake of cussing, or being real, is nothing for a filmmaker or screenwriter to aim for.

Reservoir Dogs is one of the definitions of awesome.

 

[Ravi]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I bet someone from each generation could write this post and you've have millions of people from the same generation agreeing with it.

"Kids these days..."

"They just don't know what suffering is..."

"People these days have things too good..."

"No one used to be this rude..."

yada, yada, yada

 

[Samson]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I bet someone from each generation could write this post and you've have millions of people from the same generation agreeing with it.

"Kids these days..."

"They just don't know what suffering is..."

"People these days have things too good..."

"No one used to be this rude..."

yada, yada, yada

You're right.

But I'm not talking about films within my generation. Porn has been protected from being prosecuted in movies since 1970's. I'm comparing movies made back in 1930's-1960's with those made in 2000's, not with those made in my generation.

I bet you don't watch many B&W movies?

 

[Samson]

That's because there is not much original plot or writing anymore. Even Avatar while beautiful had no real original ideas. Movies have been around for a hundred years or so. A lot of the great ideas have already been done. What stands out now a days is a idea that is taken and made into a original one.

Interesting point: There is nothing New Under the Sun.

But just to contradict myself: Slumdog Millionaire

Has any movie shown a kid covered with shit?

I think Globalization has something to do with the degradation of dialog. Marketing a movie to a worldwide audience is much easier to do if all the characters grunt and grope each other.

 

[Samson]

I think much of the creativie writing that came out of classic Hollywood was a result of having to work within the confines of the motion picture code. Writers were forced to get their point across in clever ways.

There is also this idea of "realism," or of being "true-to-life," which some whom I've dicussed this with claim is served by bad language.

Several years ago I saw Mad Dog and Glory in an edited version, with no rough language, and it struck me as a fun, entertaining and well-told story. I saw it again soon after in the theatrical edit, with the bad language, and it had a completely different mood and tone about it, and less appealing.

Then again, I really liked Reservoir Dogs, and laughed till I was in pain at The 40 Year Old Virgin, so I don't say there is no place for cussing, but cussing for the sake of cussing, or being real, is nothing for a filmmaker or screenwriter to aim for.

I'm not sure cussing cannot be wittily done, fucktard.

 

[Samson]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I voted for too stupid to write but I also feel people are more concerned with special effects than the storyline and acting.

Its a shame. Most new movies are just blah as far as plot and substance go.

Just about the last flick my spouse and I bought a ticket to see was the "FIRM" with Tom Cruise about '93. After hearing the word F*** more times than either of us could bear we got up and walked out. I suppose there is a market for that, but most adults aren't excited by it. Since then the only other flick we've paid for (actually untrue; a birthday gift by son and wife) was the recent Star Trek which had way too many special effects; as you say, too much reliance on technology. I pretended to enjoy but wasn't much impressed. We wait for them on TV or rent DVD's, but only rent those which come highly recommended.

On that score I highly recommend David Lynch's Mullholland Drive (Naomi Watts), for those who enjoy psychodrama with unexpected and cryptic plot twists.

Now you need to LA Confidential and every Kevin Spacey Movie, especially The Usual Suspects.

 

[LuckyDan]

I think much of the creativie writing that came out of classic Hollywood was a result of having to work within the confines of the motion picture code. Writers were forced to get their point across in clever ways.

There is also this idea of "realism," or of being "true-to-life," which some whom I've dicussed this with claim is served by bad language.

Several years ago I saw Mad Dog and Glory in an edited version, with no rough language, and it struck me as a fun, entertaining and well-told story. I saw it again soon after in the theatrical edit, with the bad language, and it had a completely different mood and tone about it, and less appealing.

Then again, I really liked Reservoir Dogs, and laughed till I was in pain at The 40 Year Old Virgin, so I don't say there is no place for cussing, but cussing for the sake of cussing, or being real, is nothing for a filmmaker or screenwriter to aim for.

I'm not sure cussing cannot be wittily done, fucktard.

Why youuuu I oughtaaaa....

 

[Ravi]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I bet someone from each generation could write this post and you've have millions of people from the same generation agreeing with it.

"Kids these days..."

"They just don't know what suffering is..."

"People these days have things too good..."

"No one used to be this rude..."

yada, yada, yada

You're right.

But I'm not talking about films within my generation. Porn has been protected from being prosecuted in movies since 1970's. I'm comparing movies made back in 1930's-1960's with those made in 2000's, not with those made in my generation.

I bet you don't watch many B&W movies?

Sure I do...I love Alfred Hitchcock movies and a lot of WW2 movies...Casablanca is one of my all time favorites. But so is LOTR and Saving Private Ryan. You are looking back through rose colored glasses...there are a lot of shit movies that were filmed back then that no one watches now...simply because they were shit movies then...same thing now. Good movies travel across time and bad movies fade into obscurity.

 

[Modbert]

Interesting point: There is nothing New Under the Sun.

But just to contradict myself: Slumdog Millionaire

Has any movie shown a kid covered with shit?

I think Globalization has something to do with the degradation of dialog. Marketing a movie to a worldwide audience is much easier to do if all the characters grunt and grope each other.

Sure there is and if you look close enough you'll find it. It's like I said previously, some of the greatest movies are from the Silent Film Era. What happens is each decade has movies that stand out. And as I also said previously and you point out, there's nothing new under the sun. And if there is anything new, it's quickly exploited to the point where people no longer enjoy watching the style of it.

The best example of this is the Horror Genre which has changed the most in the last hundred years. Imagine trying to show Saw in 1915?

And remember how the Blair Witch Project was the biggest new type of horror movie? Now it's a bland idea.

 

[xsited1]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I know what you mean. There are a lot more gay and colored people in today's movies. The old movies didn't have that sort of filth.

 

[Big Fitz]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I voted for too stupid to write but I also feel people are more concerned with special effects than the storyline and acting.

Its a shame. Most new movies are just blah as far as plot and substance go.

In that regard, this is a fad too. Comics experienced this in the 90's... and in a way is STILL experiencing it because they got caught up in the art. Darn near wrecked Marvel. Well, it sure did their shared universe because the Kewl Fanboy Bait racked up so much initial dough. Then everyone did it and people got bored. Writers moved on and hacks replaced them. It's starting to reverse, but slowly. I remember a bit of advice I got at a comicon once when I was looking to get in the business...

"Art gets the first buy... story keeps them coming back."

So applicable to so many things.

 

[Samson]

Interesting point: There is nothing New Under the Sun.

But just to contradict myself: Slumdog Millionaire

Has any movie shown a kid covered with shit?

I think Globalization has something to do with the degradation of dialog. Marketing a movie to a worldwide audience is much easier to do if all the characters grunt and grope each other.

Sure there is and if you look close enough you'll find it. It's like I said previously, some of the greatest movies are from the Silent Film Era. What happens is each decade has movies that stand out. And as I also said previously and you point out, there's nothing new under the sun. And if there is anything new, it's quickly exploited to the point where people no longer enjoy watching the style of it.

The best example of this is the Horror Genre which has changed the most in the last hundred years. Imagine trying to show Saw in 1915?

And remember how the Blair Witch Project was the biggest new type of horror movie? Now it's a bland idea.

Interesting you mention the Horror Genre, and Saw I -VII.

Here is really a Story that Never Gets Old. Sure the special FX get more gore, but its still Snidley Whiplash Tieing Sweet Nell to the Tracks.

 

[Samson]

Some of you may like to watch old movies.

What do I mean by "Old?"

If a man and woman kissed in an "old movie," then the next scene showed him putting on his tie, everyone knew what had happened without a freaking explicite scene designed to leave no confusion in the minds of the Bone-Headed.

The dialog was witty banter.

There was, not could there be, much reliance on technology to entertain the viewer: there had to be a STORY.

I wonder if writing good movies has become simply impossible, or has the public become so stupid that the market for well written dialog evaporated?

I know what you mean. There are a lot more gay and colored people in today's movies. The old movies didn't have that sort of filth.

Yes they did.

It wasn't obvious to the typical Bone-Head...

oops, sorry xsited....***someone peed in my cornflakes***