Martin Scorsese’s Plea for the Soul of Cinema

Hollywood is at a crossroads with all its consolidation and chaos of recent years. We've seen the rise in AI as well, and just a devaluation of what filmmakers do as art.

That's why when legends like Martin Scorsese talk, we have to listen.

He just shared a poignant critique of how the industry has shifted its focus from artistry to algorithms. And how much he wants film festivals to stay around and to become important places again.

Scorsese highlighted a growing "repulsive" trend: the obsession with numbers over narrative.

Let's dive in.

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The Industrialization of Art

This feels like the decade where Hollywood has to completely sort out its future. And that future can feel bleaker every day.

Scorsese acknowledges the practical reality that filmmaking is an expensive endeavor.

But it is getting cheaper with the rise of digital.

Still, we're always fighting to find enough money to make our dreams come true. He notes that while it is understandable for studios to expect a return on their investment, the contemporary emphasis has shifted dangerously toward opening weekend statistics, international box office earnings, and view counts.

What happened to just being happy you made something good, and letting it leg out and find the people who connect with it?

This emphasis on those numbers is really killing a lot of original storytelling and stopping us from developing new voices and people from having careers.

A Spiritual Home for Filmmakers

Where do filmmakers go now that there are fewer studios and now that streamers have pulled the emphasis away from theatrical? ****

Scorsese points to the New York Film Festival as a vital sanctuary. He describes such festivals as a "spiritual home" where the commercial "considerations" that plague the wider industry have no place.

And film festivals need to see that they matter and bring people into the fold. They should find ways to prioritize new voices or at least feel like a launching pad for new ideas and bold visions.

Cinema Without Competition

One of the most striking points Scorsese makes is the value of a space without accolades.

Do we need awards shows to tell us what to watch, or do we need to move the medium forward?

He praises the absence of awards at the festival because the lack of competition allows for something purer to emerge: a love for the film and the finished product.

You get people there to celebrate the act of watching movies, which is why we invented the medium in the first place.

Summing It All Up

Scorsese issues a simple yet profound request to the filmmaking community at large: "There’s just cinema. So please keep it that way".

I heard this as a call to action for creators and audiences alike to protect the sanctity of storytelling from the encroaching shadow of the balance sheet.

I hope we can keep this essence true for the next generations.

Let me know what you think about it in the comments.