Martin Scorsese Condemns Cinema's Obsession with Profit

Martin Scorsese has criticized contemporary cinema, particularly blockbusters and digital platforms, for prioritizing profit over artistic value. In an interview with BadTaste on October 14, 2022, he stated that cinema has been "devalued, humiliated, and diminished" since the 1980s, with focus shifting to box office numbers and opening weekends. He finds this focus on costs and earnings "repulsive" and an insult to filmmakers. Christian Caliandro, writing for Artribune, extends Scorsese's critique to contemporary art and literature, arguing that the concept of "content" reduces artworks to interchangeable items in a grid, where likeability and marketability erase distinctions between masterpieces and mediocre works. Caliandro also references Daniele Vicari's book "Il cinema, l'immortale" (Einaudi, 2022), which explores the social context of cinema. The article concludes that a system governed by business and money does not favor avant-garde or radical ideas.