When my brain which is used to Hollywood movies encountered a Nuri Bilge Ceylan (NBC) movie, I literally had a lump on my throat. To analyze the reason of this emotion and to solve the mechanism in the NBC movies, I decided to watch the rest of his movies as well. Here’s my analysis report.
Hollywood movies are made for people to consume easily. Thus, they are designed accordingly to make them easy to perceive. We struggle to perceive the eternity of the universe as it has no limits. In order to perceive an object, we expect it to have boundaries as well. The same is the case in perception of an event or a movie. In Hollywood movies, the boundaries of the plot are definite. Generally, the events develop in an introduction, body, conclusion order. We are so used to this order and the conclusion part that we say “I didn’t understand anything, it just ended so fast.” for the movies that we didn’t like. This actually bothers us. Because when there’s not a conclusion offered to us, we face uncertainty and people are usually bothered with uncertain situations. As a reflex, we attempt to get rid of the uncertainty but we have to think and imagine, thus use energy to do this. It’s for this particular reason that we say “It was tiring.” after watching some movies. One of the most important differences between a Hollywood movie and an NBC movie is that NBC movies take a section from life as a plot while Hollywood movies usually form of an event. After watching an NBC movie, the plot continues to play in your mind. However, this is not the case in Hollywood movies as it ends with the movie.
In Hollywood movies, the characters in the movie become a guest of our lives while in NBC movies we become a part of the actors’ lives.
In NBC movies we witness the lives of a group of people via a camera. While we witness, there could be cases that aren’t related to our fundamental topic, just like in real life. For example: If a man walking on the street spits on the ground, we know that this DNA sample will be retrieved from that spit and the fate of the movie will change, which means every event has a reason. But in NBC movies, the man might spit on the ground as he usually spits in his real life. So, there isn’t a reason behind every move. In Hollywood movies, the characters in the movie become a guest of our lives while in NBC movies we become a part of the actors’ lives.
Hollywood movies are small boats in a nasty sea while NBC movies are submarines which flow silently under a stagnant sea.
In Hollywood movies, all kinds of cheats are used to hook the audience. Especially the action scenes are exaggerated quite a lot. Because there could be not much of a thing in the heart of the matter. There is a saying in theater: You can make a bad movie with a good scenario but you can’t make a good movie with a bad scenario. Finding a good scenario might not always be possible in an industry where lots of movies are created but this could be covered up with action scenes. In NBC movies, action scenes are particularly avoided. There are no events that will distract or dispatch the audience from the plot. If there has been a crash, you don’t see the scene of the crash. If someone is killed, you don’t see how the character got killed as well. Hollywood movies are small boats in a nasty sea while NBC movies are submarines which flow silently under a stagnant sea. You have to look to see and when you see it, the emotions you experience are heavier than you expect.
NBC movies strive to make us witness the events from an objective perspective.
Leading actors have a significant role in the marketing of Hollywood movies. It is for this particular reason that the leading actors are selected from the famous people. In NBC movies however, it is the contrary. The reason for this could as well be the limited budget of the movie. A super-famous or an accustomed actor’s identity and private life might avert the plot. In real life, we can’t witness the life of Robert De Niro. However, we can easily take part in the life of an actor whom we’ve never seen before. If you are to ask 10 people who’ve watched a Hollywood movie about the name of the leading actor, all of them will say the name of the same person. If you are to ask 10 people who’ve watched an NBC movie, all of them might give you the name of a different actor. The reason is the Hollywood movies direct us about our point of view and what should we look at, while NBC movies strive to make us witness the events from an objective perspective.
Each second of an NBC movie feels like a photograph.
In Hollywood movies, the camera is fast and mobile. The shooting is done from many different angles. In a few seconds, we feel immersed with the scene from many angles. However, in NBC movies a single camera is stabilized on a certain point and record the same scene for a long period of time. This makes the audience to feel like they are sitting in a corner observing the scene and also ensures that the rule of avoiding action is followed. Another feature of the NBC camera is that each camera is positioned on the photographically best possible angle. Each second of the movie feels like a photograph.
Hollywood is fast-food, NBC is slow food.
I associate Hollywood movies as potato chips. It’s easy to consume. As you eat, you crave more. However, it is not healthy with special flavors and excessive fats and salt. I associate NBC movies as artichoke. You have to be patient and consume slowly, but it is healthy. If you are used to chips, artichoke’s flavor might feel dull. Hollywood is fast-food, NBC is slow food.
When the Hollywood movie ends, you eject the DVD instantly. In NBC movies however, you wait till the credits is over.
