Movies: A Medium of Expression

    Ever since I could remember, I have been exposed to this form of medium called the movie. Looking back at my childhood, I can say that I viewed a few good movies. But now, I am surrounded by so many great movies that it’s almost impossible for me to keep up with. In my early childhood, I enjoyed watching movies like Aladdin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers. In my mind, those movies were good because they had a fairly decent storyline with some entertaining action here and there. On the other hand, the lame movies were the crappy 80’s action movies that came out every other week. The 80’s was a period dominated by “D-rated” action movies that showed nothing but a linear plot filled with mindless action, consisting of gunshots, punches, and explosions every 5 minutes. These 80’s action movies could not be any more predictable.

    Marshall McLuhan once said, “Movies are much better than ever!” Just as McLuhan had described, the introduction and use of CGI (computer-generated imagery) in movies has made recent movies much better than the previous non-CGI era. CGI added a new medium within a medium. CGI became a medium for movies because it allowed movie makers to express ideas, images, or the movie experience in a manner that movie makers previously were unable to produce. During the pre-CGI era, movies were limited to cartoon drawings and what producers can put together with their actors, props, and sets. Movie makers are now granted more freedom to depict their visions to their audiences. CGI permitted movie makers capabilities to translate their abstract ideas into images that audiences immerse themselves in without having someone in the audience point out, “Oh, that spaceship looks so ‘fake’, it’s obviously a toy-sized model.” CGI gave birth to the modern movie era, where almost anything is possible and the imagination of movie makers can be shared with its viewers. Movies like the The Matrix, Spider-man, and Watchmen would not have been so great if they were made during the pre-CGI era. These movies would have been limited by the process of being filmed under real and existent props, actors, and sets that all have to abide by the laws of physics. If these modern superhero movies were produced in the pre-CGI era, they’d all end up being dwarfed by the lack of “super powers” because these “super powers” had to be filled in by special effects of CGI. The modern movies that viewers see in theaters today are allowed to be created because the rules of the CGI medium permit these movies to exist.

    I am currently pleased by the constant introduction of new technology in the movies. Each new technology brought into the film industry enhances the abilities of movie makers to portray their visions, ideas, and experiences to their audiences. Recently, the new improved 3-D technology is being utilized by the film industry. It takes the whole movie experience to a more intimate dimension than the 2-D movies. A few weeks ago, I saw Resident Evil: Afterlife in 3-D and I was quite impressed by my first experience of viewing 3-D zombies. Contemporary movies are no longer restrained by the old laws of the previous movie era. Movie makers will continue to produce increasingly better films as more mediums are introduced into movies, which will farther relieve the restraints held on this medium called the movie.

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