In the darkness of a movie theater, anything can happen. What might be more surprising, however, is not how comfortable viewers are with the soundtrack, but with how simple it is to mouth that “famous” line from the movie before the character finishes saying it.

With predictable dialogue dominating Hollywood cinema today, the average moviegoer has to wonder about what has happened to originality, creativity and substance.

Psychology major Lana McCarthy, 24, said that we are living in a money-driven society, where demands for profit outweigh the needs of viewing educational, intellectually stimulating films.

“Hollywood cinema is focused on delivering a guaranteed hit with well-known actors and old, regurgitated plots,” McCarthy said.

Stars mean more than plot

“Let’s put in famous people with familiar plots; you don’t need a script when this happens. It depresses me that my generation will be known for remakes,” McCarthy said.

“It is pathetic, sad and disgusting. I’m not saying that those movies shouldn’t be here, but there needs to be a balance.”

Filmmaker and editing professor Alan Fraser said that the problem with remakes and putting red-hot movie stars in the films is that the characters they play do not have to be realistic.

“One of the problems with movies today is the emotion and feeling viewers have toward these characters – they don’t exist,” Fraser said.

“Viewers don’t really worry about them. They don’t think about the characters five minutes after they’ve left the movie theater; it is disappointing.”

Lack of original screenplays

The current trend of adapting comic books, novels and classic films has caused meaningful dialogue to disappear because when audiences know their pop culture, there is little that needs to be said or explained, Fraser said.

“These films don’t need dialogues. They need big visual elements, unique characters and big action scenes. They’re not looking for exploration through dialogues,” Fraser said.

Both Diane Bernardo, 19, English major and Ashly Anoina, 18, film major, said they agree that some people are not looking to see a movie with a hidden message.

“There are scenes that jump out at you or stick out and producers take advantage of that,” Bernardo said.

“I feel insulted that it seems that most people our age want to see these kinds of movies all the time, because I know I’m not the only one who wants to see better movies,” Anoina said about action movies like “Torque” and “The Fast and the Furious,” which both include attractive male leading roles and cast equally attractive females.

Independent films an alternative

Screenplay analysis professor Kevin O’Brien said that the current Hollywood trend is not as different as it was more than a decade ago.

“I think Hollywood has changed little since the 1980s. The trend is for the studios to play it commercially-safe and try for the blockbuster hit like ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Kill Bill,'” O’Brien said.

“Unfortunately, this cuts out a lot of independent films from distribution,” he said.

The so-called “indie flick,” or independent film produced without the backing of a major studio, offers an alternative to moviegoers who want to see more than just mainstream, formulaic movies.

“I think it is a misconception that there isn’t dialogue in movies. There are a lot of independent films that are personal and have meaning,” Alex Paris, 20, film major, said.

“The reason is, there is a trend because producers use a formula that makes money.”

McCarthy said she agrees that not all of the movies that are being played on-screen are bad.

“There are good movies, but they are few and far between,” she said.

Becoming attached to a movie depends on how much understanding can be gained through the characters, Fraser said.

“One of the ways that happens is through what they say and through their dialogue with other characters,” Fraser said.

“It is like an investment and you hope that investment will pay off in the end.”

“Even if it’s a slower film at the beginning, you’re drawn in one step at a time until ultimately, you have feelings toward these characters,” Fraser said.

Dialogues not the only tool

As a filmmaker and professor, O’Brien said that the key to telling a great story is not only through the use of dialogue.

“It is the quality of the story and how it is delivered. Dialogue is just one factor in crafting a film; the use of dialogues is a decision that every director faces when interpreting a script,” O’Brien said.

English professor Marilyn Anderson also said that less dialogue “shows” more in some movies.

“There are a lot of good films today that don’t have the best dialogue in the world, but that we love and we are captivated by because they play games with us,” Anderson said.

She cited “Momento,” “Run, Lola, Run,” “Being John Malkovich,” “American Splendor,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” as a few examples.

Plots should be relevant

Bernardo said that when she watches a movie, “it’s not about the dialogue being long or making big conversations, but about saying less and making it matter.”

Anoina, whose passion is in editing, said she agrees on the idea of what defines a good movie is its ability to show stories about life, love and friendship.

“What I like about watching a movie is that there is that one scene that I can relate to and I can say ‘Oh my God, that is the best scene,'” Anoina said.

“Like in ‘Vanilla Sky,’ people could talk about real life in it. A great movie is when it can change your life,” Anoina said.

“Some movies are shallow,” McCarthy said.

“For example, nobody in the world would believe that two people can fall in love in one day, like what happened in Titanic,” she said.