Way back in the day, Aristotle (the author of these six elements) declared that Spectacle was the least important of the six. I’m not sure that message has absorbed into entertainment sensibilities today. Now, all too often Hollywood starts with Spectacle and builds (sometimes) the other elements around it. And, thus snobby critical people tear it apart for lacking depth.
I remember listening to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg talk about the making of the Indiana Jones Trilogy (they did this talking before Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). They spoke of their first meeting, playing around with the concept. They said, “It would be a great if a big boulder chased this character.” Or, “Have Jones jump from truck to truck.” Or, “If he were to fight a huge dude next to a moving plane”. And, thus they storyboarded a gob of scenes they wanted for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Afterwards, they handed those scenes to a bunch of writers, and said, “Make these work.” Fun fact: they originally wanted the mine car chase scene to be in Raiders, but decided that would be too much Spectacle.
My blue collar fact: I love the Indiana Jones movies (with Kingdom being much less so, but it’s ok). For the longest time, these were my favorite movies... Depending on my mood, they may still be. These movies work. They even soften many of the hardest critical hearts, even though they are Spectacle-centric.
Everyone has that bit of Spectacle that awes them. Why did Mythbusters do so well? Is it really because gobs of people are that interested in science? No. We love to watch things explode. Why do so many people find fireworks entertaining? Why do we love circus stunts? Monster truck rallies? Those arm-flapping balloon advertising things? Geico commercials? I don’t know. We are drawn to such things. Spectacle is the most eye-catching element. Yet, it can also be the most tiresome. How long could you tolerate a firework display? As long as the average movie? I love Spectacle and when added to various forms of art it can enhance the experience. But, it can also distract. We can only handle so much before we need something more. So, in art what makes Spectacle compelling. Concerning this, two simple questions come to mind.
Am I awed by the Spectacle? When I see Spectacle, does it grabbed my attention and shake it violently? Part of being awed by Spectacle is that it is done well... and that it is BIG. Take Jurassic Park. Such craft, such attention, and so much hard work was put into making everything perfect, nearly flawless, especially for the time. I contend, that the movie still would have been good, if they hadn’t done so well because of the strength of the other elements, yet the greatness of the Spectacle has placed it high on many people’s greatest movie list.
Does Spectacle enhance other elements? Going back to Indiana Jones, I want to mention two scenes. In the Last Crusade, Indy and his father are driving away from Nazi fighter pilots. They drive into a tunnel, where the plane crashes, following their car inside. In a ball of fire, the plane passes them in the cave and the pilot has a dopey look on his face as it passes. Scene two, probably the most infamous Indiana Jones scene. From Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (a gob of you already know what scene I’m talking about), Dr. Jones flees to a nuclear testing site, only to realize a nuke is about to blow. So what does he do? Why he hides himself in a lead-line fridge, and is blown to safety.
When you break down both these events, they are complete sets of over-the-top ridiculousness. Neither could happen they way they did in the movie. As a poindexter, I’d love to point out all the reasons both are ridiculously impossible, but I push my word count the way it is. Now, one scene is played off as a fun, action-packed moment of levity. And, the other is so reviled, that when other movies force in a ridiculous moment of Spectacle some call that “Nuking the Fridge” (its predecessor “Jumping the Shark”). Why is one fun and the other stupid?
In the former scene, the action builds to the moment. Take the scene out, and the writers would still have to figure out how to defeat the plane (sure they could come up with something plausible, but the movie is already filled with implausible moments). In addition, musically speaking, the scene is a great bridge from one action tempo to the other. Furthermore, as father and son look each other and the pilot, something is revealed about the characters. So off hand, three elements are enhanced by that Spectacle: Plot, Music, Character. While “Nuking the Fridge”, Spielberg and Lucas did nothing to enhance anything in the movie. Think about it, take the scene out completely. Indiana Jones just finished beating up that Russian guy on that fast rocket testing thing. It would have been a natural end to the action (I guess they wouldn't have had that washing Jones off scene… but he’s old, who wanted to see that?). But for some crazy reason, they thought Jones surviving a nuclear bomb would be awesome Spectacle… No one else did.
So… with all that said… BOOM!
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