Oliver Stone on how the “pessimism” of cinema will change
Oliver Stone is a titan in the world of cinema, having directed the war films Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon and Heaven & Earth, as well as co-writing Midnight Express and taking on the remake of Scarface solo. Stone’s works have dealt with several political issues that plagued the United States in the 20th Century.
As such, Stone is well placed to consider the current mood in Hollywood and in cinema in general. However, he feels that there is a certain air of pessimism surrounding modern film. He recently said: “These days, there is a cynicism and overall pessimism in the air, which, considering that the world is offering much more to everybody than it ever did, is surprising. For example, in Hollywood, the ending can never be too upbeat: the ending has to be somewhat depressed or compromised; otherwise, you’re accused of being sentimental or saccharine, or you are not taken seriously. That’s very much in the air. There are no good endings anymore.”
Indeed, it does feel that many films that we see these days lack a happy ending. But is this merely the production of the drastic social and political situation that we find ourselves in? Stone added: “I do feel like overall, in Hollywood, the protagonist doesn’t win; he just has to live his tortured life. There is a darkness among those at higher levels in the industry: critics, filmmakers, production companies… They want movies to be dark and depressing.”
But in always having bad or tragic endings to film, this leaves a stark gap in why some people want to watch movies at all: to escape the horrors of reality. Stone agrees with this sentiment. He said: “Where is the joy of life? We need that. I want movies that have optimism. Movies have to, in some ways, pay homage to cynicism, and I am always not happy with that.”
However, this pessimism is not necessarily a new notion in Hollywood. In fact, Stone puts it down to arising in the films of the 1970s: “Some of the movies of the seventies are famous because they brought in a new realism to a period — it was a generational change from the 1960s to the 1970s, and that was represented, a new form of behavioural freedom — but they were generally pessimistic. Five Easy Pieces, Midnight Cowboy, Easy Rider, [all] ended badly. All of a sudden, the world was a brutal place.”
Stone also has hopes that future generations of filmmakers may flip this trend on his head and move back towards more positive storytelling. He said, “The new generation might well be much more optimistic, yeah. That said, my son, who is also a filmmaker, he’s got a cynical curve to him about where things are going. And I fight with him about that! I don’t think the world is condemned. We have hope.”
The only change in filmmaking is likely to come from the next generation. Although, the way things are going socially does not leave an awful lot of room for optimism in those up-and-coming artists. As Stone himself puts it, “There is no hope, except for generational change and rethinking.”
