Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
Have you ever left the theater or turned off your TV after watching a film, eyes satisfied by the beautiful visuals and award-winning cinematography, only to realize that you haven’t formed any worthwhile thoughts or opinions — or even felt anything — from what you just saw?
There has been an increase in the frequency of films with out-of-this-world cinematography, visually and directionally, but also with writing that lacks substance and a meaningful story to keep audiences engaged.
This major disconnect between the visual aspects of filmmaking and the art of writing screenplays widened in 2023 when the Writers Guild of America, which represents thousands of screenwriters from across the country, went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, The strike resulted in approximately $6.5 billion in industry losses at its end in September 2023.
During this strike, hundreds of filmmakers had little to no options when looking for quality screenwriters for projects. It caused a multitude of delays and even cancellations for many major films, including “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” and “Dune: Part Two.”
Though this strike emphasized the importance of screenwriters in the film industry to filmmakers, films released years after are still lacking in their plots.
It could be that visual technology has improved; effects like computer-generated imagery (CGI), as well as wardrobe and physical set capabilities, are at their highest level of ability and visual appeal yet. As these capabilities become more accessible and increasingly beautiful and impressive, they’ve left the importance of a film’s writing in the dust.
“These technological developments raise the question of how much filmmakers value the human voice — or even the idea of building an authentic and purposeful plot that will make a lasting impact on audiences.”
Reviews for Emerald Fennell’s 2026 film adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” prove this. While this adaptation of the literary classic has gotten high ratings for its visuals — per Fennell’s directing reputation — film critic Austin Burke, whose YouTube review was published in Rotten Tomatoes, said that the adaptation’s “stylish atmosphere brings so much to the table, yet the screenplay often fails to match those visual highs with real narrative stakes.”
In addition to “Wuthering Heights,” Disney’s third installment in the “Avatar” series, “Avatar: Fire & Ash,” received similar feedback. Rotten Tomatoes critics credited the movie as a “meaningless narrative and assortment of one-dimensional, far from fleshed out characters,” while its “visual effects alone are worth the price of admission.”
These recent films are only two examples of cinematic masterpieces that have still missed the bull’s-eye on creating effective, well rounded films. Moving beyond the problem of filmmakers’ imbalanced priorities, artificial intelligence has also become a larger, possibly problematic tool.
According to Business Insider, filmmakers are starting to utilize AI tools like ChatGPT as an effective creative team member, battling struggles like writer’s block and even completing larger, more important tasks like drafting whole scripts.
These technological developments raise the question of how much filmmakers value the human voice — or even the idea of building an authentic and purposeful plot that will make a lasting impact on audiences. The increase of AI in writing professions is also a worry for screenplay professionals and those studying to enter the field. It raises an alarm for the future of screenwriting: Where do priorities lie in creating successful films?
I find that emotional storytelling is an art that’s becoming less of a priority in creating blockbuster films. Audiences pick action movies with intense fight scenes or horror movies with record-setting gore over films with deep, passionate characters and stories, long scenes of heartfelt dialogue and plots that explore rich topics like love, loss and the depth of the human experience.
While these films still exist in multitudes, social attention — and in turn, the box office — has inadvertently shifted to faster paced scripts. And with it, comes a shift in filmmakers’ priorities. “Wowing” audiences has shifted from building relatable, deeply emotional characters through life-altering scripts to using CGI that immerses audiences with their eyes, rather than from their heartstrings. Ideas aren’t expressed through words and plots that withstand the test of time, but now through exercising the visual muscle of observable spectacle for the ease and efficiency of creation.
Writing and storytelling take time. Though the visual aspects of a film play an important part in world building and captivating audiences, for a film to become one for the record books, there must be a screenplay that connects these two distinct worlds of art.
Reach Ava Stampa at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
