Running Head: Rhetorical Analysis: Sydney Pollack, The Way We Are

Rhetorical Analysis: Sydney Pollack, The Way We Are

Howard Yoon

College Writing R1A

UC Berkeley
Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

Rhetorical Analysis: Sydney Pollack, The Way We Are

Hollywood movies tend to include similar components: guns, violence, car

chases and tense scenes. One study (Cerridwen & Simonton, 2009) showed these

components have a positive association with box office results. This raises a

curious question: is there an actual formula that makes the movies successful?

There is; however, Sydney Pollack has an opposite opinion. Pollack was an

Academy Award-winning director, producer, actor, writer and public figure, who

directed and produced over 40 films. (IMDb, n.d.) As Pollack said, If you are the

actual maker of the filmyou cant make films and worry about whether theyll

reach a large audience or make money, because nobody really knows a formula

for what will make money (para. 20). He argues that there is no such logic or

formula for making successful films. Only the filmmakers unconscious instincts,

imagination and ability to engage audiences emotion and concentration can

dictate whether a movie will be successful or not. In addition to that, according

to Pollack, American movies are a productA very few may become art, but all
Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

of them, whatever their ambitions, are first financed as commodities. Theyre the

work of craftsmen and artists, but theyre soon offered for sale; / More junk than

anything else is being made pursuing [the formula] (para. 11&15). Pollack

suggests that if American movies try to follow a formula, they will lack quality

and craftsmanship.

Although many filmmakers intuition is directly linked with their movies

success as Pollack claims, examples of recent Hollywood movies suggest that

there does exist a formula for successful movies. The Fast and The Furious series

is a good example. Rob Cohen, the director of the first movie of the series, and

Universal Studio worked on a budget of $38 million from their financiers. To

maximize the profit, he included multiple content factors that he felt would

fascinate teenagers and young adults such as gun fights, modified cars and illegal

street races. The film was a huge hit, with revenue of $144 million just in US box

office alone (IMDb, N.d.). Then, all the subsequent movies in the Fast and Furious

series have included similar contents, and they have been continued to prosper
Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

with exponentially increasing revenue. The studio and directors are undoubtedly

thrilled, and Universal Studio is even planning to produce Fast and Furious 9 and

10 in upcoming 2020 and 2021.

Furthermore, such contents gun fights and car chases - are trendy right

now. As Pollack notes, Societys values have changed. That kind of scrupulous,

ethical concern for the sanctity of human life doesnt exist in the same way, and

that fact is reflected in the movies (para. 6). The introduction of new forms of

media such as the Internet and mobile devices allow people an easier, earlier and

more frequent access to violent content (Bushman, Jamieson, Weitz, & Romer,

2013). All this exposure simply makes people desire more and more intense

contents. As mentioned previously, movies with guns, weapons and violence have

a positive correlation with cinematic success (Cerridwen & Simonton, 2009).

People just want to watch movies with violent content, and Hollywood movies

are doing a great job of fulfilling consumers needs. For instance, The Avengers

consists of mostly gun violence and superheroes killing their enemies. According
Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

to Metacritic.com, a website where people can leave reviews about movies, more

than 80% of consumers gave it a high rating. As one of the reviewers said

[Avengers]s action was non-stop and incredibly exciting throughout the last 50

minutes, it made me smile to see all of the characters work together to save the

citizens of New York and, well, the world (Skyminister, 2013). Since gross box

office is an index showing whether the movies successfully grabbed consumers

emotions and attention or not, Hollywood movies like Avatar - also full of violence

can hold the highest all-time gross of box office in the world (The Numbers,

2017). This is why we see a lot of Hollywood movies tend to have violent content

producers understand that it can easily grab audiences attentions. The formula

for successful movie thusly does exist, and filmmakers use it to success and not

to disappoint their financiers.

This shows where Pollack is correct: that Hollywood businesses vividly

show Americas traditional underlying core object: money. American film studios

and thereby filmmakers are supported by financiers and stockholders, and the
Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

concern over profit margins is unavoidable. Failing to pay back the financiers will

greatly affect the filmmaker and studios future productions and business.

Therefore, Hollywood movies priority is to sell. Because filmmakers are under

great pressure to reimburse their financiers, they do worry whether they can make

enough money. So, the studios and filmmakers may decide to follow a formula

for successful movies by adding contents that have been proved to be enjoyable

to customers.

As an experienced filmmaker, Pollack says a secret formula that can lead

movies to success does not exist, and even if it did, movies that follow the formula

lack quality. Personally, we may not care for films like The Avengers or The Fast

and the Furious. Such Hollywood movies may lack in artistic characteristics, but

they are tops in commerce and fulfilling peoples media demand for entertaining

films. They allow the audience to visualize of fantasies and create emotional

attraction, and that is why consumers love these Hollywood movies. And as

Pollack indicated, as long as consumers love and enjoy a movie, there is no

Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

problem considering them good movies.

Rhetorical Analysis: The Way We Are

References:
Bushman, Jamieson, Weitz & Romer. (November 2013). Gun Violence Trends in
Movies. Retrieved From
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/11/06/peds.2013-
1600

Cerridwen, A & Simonton, D. (2009). Sex Doesnt Sell-Nor Impress! Content, Box
Office, Critics, and Awards in Mainstream Cinema. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/aca-3-4-200.pdf

IMDb. (n.d). The Fast and the Furious. Retrieved from

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0232500/

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

https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/courses/1465513/files/folder/Readings/U5%
20Readings?preview=71516729

Skyminister. (2013). User Reviews of The Avengers. Retrieved from

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-avengers-2012/user-reviews

The Numbers, (2017). All Time Worldwide Box Office. Retrieved from
http://www.the-numbers.com/box-office-records/worldwide/all-
movies/cumulative/all-time