As an English Major, I'd like to offer a different perspective and another reason:
No good stories and no discipline.
As children of the 90's we were raised with such animated greats such as Animaniacs, Batman The Animated Series, and Pinky and the Brain. Great animated series with sophisticated themes that proved that animation could be a mainstream success amongst any and all audiences. For some including me this translated into an interest in anime with such great series like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, and Trigun which also proved that Anime could be a mainstream success. What does the previous decade have to show for it? Michael Bay, Reality TV, and 4Kids.
It's enough to make you cry, isn't it?
Of course, there's a whole lot of factors such as the recent economic downturn and how special effects have taken priority. But that's because studios and producers decide to cut out writers and instead put in all their money in effects because that's all the "mainstream" audience wants: eye candy! That's the only reason why Bay still has a job. Star Wars was a great film but it brought about the precedent of mind-blowing effects and a relatively weak story.
Few films can strike the right balance between substance and style (The Dark Knight, Inception, District 9, etc.) and even fewer directors have the discipline to maintain that delicate balance (Nolan, Scott, Terentino, etc.) The rest? Either they've completely sold their souls to the dark gods of effects (Bay, again) or have turned their backs on good stories in the name of profit. Cameron used to defy gender conventions but now plays race conventions ("White Messiah" complex in Avatar, anyone?) straight. Zemeckis could make great great films on a shoestring effects budget but now has reversed the formula with soulless films with effects that are definitely on the wrong side of the Uncanny Valley. And Lucas? The less said the better.
The current and previous generations have been spoiled by visceral and epic visuals. Studios have responded in kind by giving them what they want. While I can't speak for the group, I can only hope that my generation, the 90's generation, can learn from the mistakes from your generation, the 80's generation, and hearken back to the cartoons we used to watch that gave us precedent on how to balance story and effects.
If anything else, I hope I can apply said discipline in my writing.
No good stories and no discipline.
As children of the 90's we were raised with such animated greats such as Animaniacs, Batman The Animated Series, and Pinky and the Brain. Great animated series with sophisticated themes that proved that animation could be a mainstream success amongst any and all audiences. For some including me this translated into an interest in anime with such great series like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, and Trigun which also proved that Anime could be a mainstream success. What does the previous decade have to show for it? Michael Bay, Reality TV, and 4Kids.
It's enough to make you cry, isn't it?
Of course, there's a whole lot of factors such as the recent economic downturn and how special effects have taken priority. But that's because studios and producers decide to cut out writers and instead put in all their money in effects because that's all the "mainstream" audience wants: eye candy! That's the only reason why Bay still has a job. Star Wars was a great film but it brought about the precedent of mind-blowing effects and a relatively weak story.
Few films can strike the right balance between substance and style (The Dark Knight, Inception, District 9, etc.) and even fewer directors have the discipline to maintain that delicate balance (Nolan, Scott, Terentino, etc.) The rest? Either they've completely sold their souls to the dark gods of effects (Bay, again) or have turned their backs on good stories in the name of profit. Cameron used to defy gender conventions but now plays race conventions ("White Messiah" complex in Avatar, anyone?) straight. Zemeckis could make great great films on a shoestring effects budget but now has reversed the formula with soulless films with effects that are definitely on the wrong side of the Uncanny Valley. And Lucas? The less said the better.
The current and previous generations have been spoiled by visceral and epic visuals. Studios have responded in kind by giving them what they want. While I can't speak for the group, I can only hope that my generation, the 90's generation, can learn from the mistakes from your generation, the 80's generation, and hearken back to the cartoons we used to watch that gave us precedent on how to balance story and effects.
If anything else, I hope I can apply said discipline in my writing.
