Spectacular narratives: Hollywood in the age of the blockbuster. Geoff King

Here are some notes I made whilst reading this book: (It will be used in my catalogue as I regard this source as an extremely important!)

From epic landscape to sumptuous interior, from visions of space, aliens and future cityscapes to explosive action and adventure; expansive vistas spread out across the width of the big screen, their presence magnified by the aural impact of multichannel sound. Everything is larger than life; not real but hyper real, leading us into the imaginary worlds of the cinema but also leaving us to sit back and wonder at its creations.

Growing demand for products that can be further exploited in multimedia forms such as computer games and theme park rides.

Narrative and spectacle can work together

Spectacle may disrupt narrative. May take on the character of ‘cinematic excess’ as Kristin Thompson puts it.

Spectacle, the production of images, has long played an important part in the creation of popular entertainment, from contemporary and early cinema to magic lantern shows, theatre and traditions of religious rituals.

Offer a range of pleasures. The enjoyment of larger than life.

Help to move a plot forward

The targeting of different films to different audiences was heightened by the advent of the ratings system in 1968. the blockbuster format was to create a much wider audience for certain films, an industrial strategy to give these attractions a large viewing. Advertising and promotional strategies baseda round the attempt to sel blockbusters as special events that everybody is going to see. To miss them, therefore, is to miss out, to be excluded.

Spectacular is sold on the basis of its sheer size and impact, its physical scale of image and multi channel sound: its function specifically for attraction. The viewer is sold the illusion of being transported into the world on screen and of experiencing the drama with the characters.

The developments of wide screen digital television, dvd and surround sound systems

‘ a series of blows to the consciousness and emotions of the audience’

Barker and Brooks interview action fans and their findings describe as ‘ the joys of being “done to” by a film’:

One whole way of talking about films describes a wish to be physically affected by them: typical wanted experiences are being knocked out of my seat, making me jump, hitting me between the eyes. This is driven by a demand of pace. A bad film is a slow film that sends you to sleep. A good films of this kind doesn’t just keep you awake, it shocks you awake repeatedly”

Theme park attractions claim to take us into the physical and experimental space of movies. Computer games based on films promise an interactive engagement with something like a world on screen. The latest in giant IMAX engulf us in vast encompassing images. These are the trends in contemporary Hollywood cinema