Running Head: MONEYMAKING MOVIES

Moneymaking Movies

Alexis Barrios

University of California, Berkeley

College Writing R1A

MONEYMAKING MOVIES 2

Moneymaking Movies

As a child, I went to movie theatres to watch films so that I could experiences unrealistic

events of fantasy characters. Movie producers were able to put me in a magical, adventurous

world that I could not enjoy in my daily life. As I became older, I noticed how different genres

such as violence, romance, and sexual content affected what I liked and what others liked as

well. Studies have been done on these different factors and how they attract to the general movie

audience. When I was younger, I did not realize is how these movies were made and how these

factors made me so attracted to them. There had to be some secret that movie producers have

formulated in order to make a perfect film. One thing a movie audience does not know is how

difficult of a job filmmakers because they have to please a variety of people-consumers,

financers, and most importantly, themselves. A renowned movie director, producer, and actor

named Sydney Pollack analyzed what makes movies successful in his speech given during a

conference about how media influences American values. Pollack claims that good films are able

to provoke some kind of profound feeling in the audience, whether it be happy, sad, mad, or

contradict peoples own beliefs. In his speech, The Way We Are, he argues that although films

should present some sort of moral matter, the financial part of the movie industry requires film

producers to prioritize making something that they know will be entertaining to their audience.

By using analogies and sympathizing with the conference in his speech, he persuades them that

making a successful film derives from creating some argument that fascinates [him] and

expanding on that idea in order to interest his audience.

Analogies are significant in Pollacks speech in order to help the conference attendees

understand how movies can be related to basic necessities in life, like morals and even an object

like a gardening rake. First, Pollack recognizes that many of the attendees want and, by
MONEYMAKING MOVIES 3

participating in the conference, are actively trying to incorporate traditional values into modern

films. This point of view is fairly conservative because the idea behind it is that old methods of

thinking were somehow better in the past than what we have now. Pollack acknowledges this,

emphasizing that societys values have changed and the ethical concern for the sanctity

of human life doesnt exist in the same way (para. 5). Pollack also addresses how the

value of love in peoples daily lives had changed over time. Love was supposedly purer

and chastity was far more valued a century ago. By addressing how values of love and

respect for life have changed over time, Pollack declares it is difficult to determine and

establish a formula of a movie that people would desire to see. Forcing old views on the

current society of America will not influence people to return to those ways, even

though people are nostalgic for these values. In short, Pollack wants the conference to

understand that change is bound to happen. Another analogy Pollack uses is comparing

movies to a gardening rake (para. 17). The purpose of adding this rhetorical device is to

emphasize that movies and rakes are simply products. They are innumerable, and many

of them are bad, in terms of their quality and how well they work for consumers. This

analogy allows the conference to comprehend that it is difficult to make a successful

movie that will meet the standards of their audiences.

It is easy to assume that filmmakers are extremely wealthy because when these

producers create a film that is actually successful, they make more profit. Pollack

stressed otherwise. He wants the audience to remember that most [producers] who are

doing this got into it for the romance, the glory, the applause, the chance to tell stories, even

to learn, but rarely for the money (para. 20). He also adds that he would rather make a

successful film that makes the whole world sob rather than a small classroom filled with
MONEYMAKING MOVIES 4

film students (para. 20). The significance of these points in his speech is that he allows the

audience of the conference to understand that he continuously reminisces what feelings he

had as a young ambitious movie maker. He is able to persuade them into the idea that the

very first goal of producing a film should be to make a work that they are proud of. Even

though this conflicts with the concept that producers need to meet financial standards of

making a movie, money should not be the focus of filming a movie. Pollack reveals this to

the conference because he wants to emphasize what the intentions of filmmakers should be.

He wants the audience to understand that movie producers have a better understanding of

their successes based on how many people the film actually extends to (para. 20). Of course,

more money comes along with more audience, but he really wants the conference to

comprehend that achieving their financial goals should not be a requirement of making a

successful movie. In Pollacks own experiences, he came into the movie industry because he

wanted to promote arguments that were interesting to him and then develop them into a

movie (para. 32). With this, the conference is able to relate to Pollacks ambitions. By

inducing these feelings that were essential to many filmmakers in the early time of their

careers, Pollack is able to sympathize with them so that he can convince them that there is

more to a movie than the money they make.

The conflict between morals and money for film producers happens to add more

stress on what they should be presenting to their audiences. There is not enough accurate

information to observe what people like to see and not see. Just as Pollack says, filmmakers

should stick to their own intentions on creating a film because deciding what the audience

and financers want can ruin a great idea. A movie producers main goal is to create a work

that can entertain an audience and influence some type of challenging feeling in them.
MONEYMAKING MOVIES 5

Pollacks speech, The Way We Are, is filled with analogies and examples that arouse certain

feelings in the conference so that they can have a better understanding of how they can

make a good movie, despite constant changing morals of their audiences and the monetary

standards of movie financers. Knowing that Pollack was a successful movie producer

himself, it is safe to comply with the method of sticking to ones gut in order to organize a

great movie.
MONEYMAKING MOVIES 6

References

Pollack, S. The Way We Are. Movies. (n.d.) Retrieved from

https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/files/71516729/download?download_frd=1