I don’t like horror movies. In fact, I don’t go see movies anymore at all (except for F1… that movie rocked, for the most part). However, something has happened that people like me are really happy to see.
Markiplier is a very popular YouTuber. I haven’t had a lot of exposure to him; I’ve watched a handful of times in my younger days. This isn’t a recommendation of his content necessarily. However, he did something recently that very, VERY few people thought was even possible. He broke in to the movie industry. He made an independent film, on his own dime, advertised for via his own marketing, a movie in which he stared, a movie he built an actual physical set for it – a movie he did with a small team independently. Without Hollywood. And, as far as I know, without using Artificial Intelligence.
This is massive. Markiplier funded and produced a movie (Iron Lung, the movie he produced based on a horror game of the same title), without being swallowed up by the Hollywood movie and movie distribution industry. And it worked. Not only did he make his money back, but he made A LOT of money back. And more than that… he’s potentially revolutionizing an industry that seemed devoid of creative care in filmmaking.
And he did it at perhaps the most crucial time. A time when Hollywood has never been more set on pushing one cultural message (often referred to as “Woke”). A time when the counter to Hollywood is something potentially even more soulless: artificially generated content.
It is a sad thing to see so many people being fooled by AI content, thinking that it’s real. And frankly, it’s getting harder every day to tell what’s real and what’s been artificially generated. People should consider carefully how we move forward, and that’s why I wrote this post: The Hypnotic Gaze – Artificial Intelligence’s War on Reality. This post isn’t about that. This post is about two alternatives to the Hollywood chokehold on theatrical releases. Either we go the way of independent releases… or we face the endless slop of AI generated, soulless media.
AI is nearing the point where it is viable for making theatrical-level releases.
This video, generated by Seedance 2.0 (a Chinese AI model), depicts Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in a fist fight. It is completely artificially generated. And honestly… it’s getting really good at replicating theatrical, professional releases.
And Hollywood is fighting back. The Motion Picture Association (MPA), as well as Disney and Paramount, have demanded that it be taken down.
Many are celebrating this rise of AI as the death of Hollywood.
Many are wanting to “fix” shows and movies already produced with AI:
And of course, I also celebrate that the de-centralization of filmmaking is happening. Of course, I also enjoy the fact that people are turning against the Left-wing messaging in nearly everything Hollywood is producing, and turning away from the constant virtue signalling from their celebrities. If you need an example of exactly what I mean by this virtue signalling, watch the last Grammy award ceremony, scan through this video for the compilations of Hollywood actors saying things, or this shorter video of actors signing Imagine while we were all locked in our homes.
I love that all of this is may be ending. I thank God for it.
However, I am deeply concerned that if AI takes its place, it will be just as bad, if not even worse.
Markiplier stands as an alternative to both Woke Hollywood, and AI, soulless slop. It can be done – despite Hollywood. And it should be done – rather than turning to AI.
If we beat Hollywood simply by producing AI slop that looks adequately the same as what Hollywood produces, we’ve still lost what makes human endeavour so good and heart stirring. We are meant to work and to achieve good things for those we love. Work isn’t bad. It isn’t a result of the Fall. It’s meant to be a lived-out expression of love, and, in a Fallen world, an expression of daily heroism.
For this reason, I highly recommend you watch the videos below in order to understand what I mean. Markiplier’s story is stirring. The heartache, the fear, the dedication, the resolve – these are good things, even if they were used for a less-than-perfect pursuit. They deserve acknowledgement. He does. A human being did this. A human being like you, like me. He has a story that’s inspiring. A story that means something – if not to anyone else, then at least to him.
ACTUAL EMERGENCY MEETING!!
I didn’t think this was possible
We need to think very carefully about whether we want to enter into a world where endeavour has rotted off from our culture, or where it is admired for what it is: The resonance of the image of God echoing across the earth.
For more on this theme, click here.
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Standing Before God, This We Are and No More 