"The Style Over Substance Debate"- A Response

My friend and fellow student, Adam Snowdon, posted this brilliant article on the old fashioned 'Style-over-substance' debate in film, a debate that is becoming increasingly more relevant.

Whilst I agree with what Adam states in the article, I just wanted to add a few of my thoughts on the matter. I hope he doesn't mind!


We must remember that film is a visual and auditary* medium. It's appeal comes from the fact that it is capable of achieving things that other mediums cannot. I'm not saying that watching a film is better than, say reading a book, for example. But it allows somebody's idea to be expressed in a visual way and this makes it unique.

Therefore, I believe we must embrace the technological advances that the film industry is going through. It is with these tools, such as 3D, that we will be able to advance our medium, keeping it fresh and exciting.

Now, I am not saying that all films should be the 3D visual epics that seem to be filling our cinemas nowadays; if  gritty realism is what a filmmaker wants then I am all for that. I agree when Adam states there has been a 'dumbing down' of films just because the visuals allow filmmakers to get away with it. I am not denying that these films are entertaining, and maybe that is what you want when you go to a see a film. I just do not believe that the technological avaliable is being used to it's full potential.

Filmmakers should not just rely on the visuals of a film. Rather, they should use this new technology to express the great ideas they have not been able to achieve before. Inception is the perfect example of this. The film has a brilliant crafty and emotional engaging storyline and the style is a part of it. The visuals are part of the film's narrative, not just there to make it look good and gloss over the not-up-to-scratch plot. Filmmakers and studios should not be asking "How can we make this look good?" but rather "What can we do with this that will help us make a great film?"

As I've said above, not all films need to be made in this way. However, to keep our medium the best that it can be, I do believe this new aesthetic in cinema needs to embraced. Let's show off what film can do! But do not let come at an expense. Rather, let the visuals help in creating that extraordinary story that you have in your head.



*NOTE: I mention audio because my 'Cinema and Sound' lecturer would probably kill me if I didn't! However, it's not just there to please him; the advances in sound technology may not be as recognised as the ones we see, but it is still an important development in the history of film-making- imagine Star Wars without those iconic noises!