Day 126: Catfish

"The Facebook family."

The methods that some studios use when marketing a film that isn't going to necessarily have you run to the theaters because of the star-studded cast, is going to attempt to reach you through the Internet. Especially nowadays since most filmmakers can find finance from people all over the web and still keep ownership of what they've created. We're entering that stage in film making where artistic integrity is beginning to once again be the most important aspect and money is slowly becoming a non-factor. Hollywood studios are having trouble selling movies that continue to pitch the same crap to audiences that are treated like idiots by these same exact studio companies. Think about it, were you as excited after watching the trailer for "Black Swan" than you were when seeing the 8-minute Comic-Con trailer for "Thor"? This is an exciting time in the genre and hopefully it'll  force studios to treat the audiences with respect and do something that they were once masters at: produce original films that force some sort of intellectual thought process. This takes me to this years Sundance hit, Catfish.

The same way filmmakers are using the Internet to promote their work, is the same way people are interacting with each other in general. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr are becoming the new lines of communication.Obviously it has it's advantages, yet the drawbacks seem to be that people are becoming more and more mortified to start an actual relationship with another human being, the traditional way. This movie could have been a modern landmark film that opens the eyes of people who are in fear of allowing themselves to become exposed. Instead, marketing not only built the hype for this film, it decided to pitch it as a psychological thriller and attempt to talk down on today's audience. WE'RE NOT IDIOTS! They're right when they say that "The last 45 minutes will leave you on the edge of your seat", the problem is that they shouldn't act like it's supposed to scare you. The end of this movie sends a beautiful message to those who suffer from self-alienation and really makes you believe that we're all slowly losing touch with every  text message, comment, post or tweet. 

Hopefully, future independent filmmakers learn from this movie and don't shy way from sending a positive yet tough lesson to society in favor of making some quick money. I call it the Paranormal Activity disorder. Take two pills of Catfish and keep your integrity, filmmakers. Believe me, we're all ready to be challenged.