The following paper will discuss the aesthetic pleasure Hollywood films provide

through the use of well defined formats, use of ideology, good actors, and effects
often set in aesthetic settings.  

Hollywood, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles, California is the oldest and

largest film production centre which has become the epicentre most associated with
American film production (Britannica, 2021). While Hollywood is an industry that can
be evaluated in a myriad of ways, its commercial nature is inevitably at the core of
them (Sage, 2008). Hollywood, arguably produces some of the most thrilling films for
large audiences in the world (Berliner, 2020). Hollywood's ability to generate
commercial hits has been repeatedly proven, in itself challenging for academics
seeking detailed explanations for both its popularity and impact (Sage, 2008).
Despite its success, many critics argue that Hollywood is merely an industry of
commercial entertainment, producing repetitive, formulaic films.

Hollywood's paradoxical nature of being seen as ‘show business’ and

‘Tinseltown’ has long created a methodological challenge to those striving to
illustrate the creative and commercial links between films and audiences (Sage,
2008). Hollywood has never been shy of using its means to attract and entertain
diverse audiences, in recent years this has seen the deployment of enhanced visual
effects and technologies, alongside world famous stars and aesthetic elements
deployed to make films thrilling experiences (Sage, 2008).  Nonetheless, Hollywood
has earned its recognition, learning to change with the times, embracing new
technologies as part of its emergence and impressive growth into a multi-billion-
dollar industry (Navarro, 2022). The industry's remarkable global success highlights
that many of these practices have been well managed. Film-making has become one
that is sophisticated, creative, imaginative, and able to adapt to the times (Sage,
2008).  Hollywood achieved its success on the premise is that a well produced movie
should be aesthetically pleasing, adhering to well-defined and repeatable formats
that translate into repeatable box office hits.

To increase the probability of success, Hollywood has recognised that new

technologies need to be incorporated into existing “Hollywood formats”, improving
visual and special effects as computer aided graphics allow for greater scale and
more extreme and thrilling elements (ref).  Likewise, while some of the studios have
changed ownership, a complete ecosystem has evolved around the industry to
support its growth, capable of quickly identifying potential emerging trends and
topics.  Hollywood and its mega production and distribution companies constantly
trial new opportunities so as to remain on the cutting edge of the industry.   This has
been further enhanced by technology leaders and pioneers creating movies such as
the Star Wars and Marvel production series (ref).  Hollywood is well capitalised with
the availability of significant funding for new and sometimes extravagant projects
such as the movie Avatar which was produced over fifteen years with a budget of
over $300M (ref).  Because Hollywood filmmakers’ prime objective is to attract
viewers and generate profits, some argue that this translates to a loss of
individualism and self-expression in the process of attempting to fit into the box of
Hollywood’s practices and style, something my previous points refute. 

 
Aesthetic Pleasure
The term aesthetics is an allusive and multifaceted concept that can be defined as a
philosophical inquiry into the art (Pappas, 2008). It is the combination of auditory and
visual elements such as appearance, tone, mood and style (Tarvainen, Westman
and Oittinen, 2015). In films, these elements are often captured through the use of
cinematic techniques, camera angles, lighting, costumes, settings, production set
design and overall composition. According to James Shelley, many concepts of
aesthetics have evolved, raising questions around the relation between aesthetic
value and experience and whether artworks are necessarily aesthetic objects. In
Hollywood movies, aesthetics are an important visual and auditory element, coupled
with style, tone, appearance and overall mood (Oxford Cambridge, 2020).

- - Each of these elements are given careful consideration, with the Director paying
close attention to the composition, production design, lighting, costumes, setting and
cinematic techniques. -https://lisbdnet.com/what-are-the-major-elements-of-
cinematic-design/

For the purpose of this essay, aesthetics will be defined as something which creates
pleasure of the mind, in this case the movie’s sensory properties and how they
complement the movie’s content, or structure (Keating, 2006).  

To what extent are Hollywood movies standardised ?

 
“Hollywood cinema is perhaps the quintessential postmodern art form, as it
inextricably linked to its consumer capitalist framework of production and
distribution” (French, 2006).
 
The overarching objective of Hollywood studios is to generate and maximise profits.
Studios have emerged as business enterprises less focused on the production of
‘'classically' balanced and harmonious compositions.  In regard to aesthetics the
industry continues to be dominated by 'commercial aesthetic, fundamentally
opportunistic in its economic drive,' (Sage, 2008). From an economic standpoint,
Hollywood's exceptionally consistent character stems from the imperative of
generating audience demand and mitigating financial risk (Berliner, 2017). Hollywood
films are anchored in a robust, time-tested framework that limits options, while
encouraging creativity (Berliner,2017). The Hollywood paradigm creates a set of
“bounded alternatives” that Filmmakers can experiment with, as long as they do not
entirely deviate from the paradigm (Berliner, 2017). This is easy to comprehend
considering that ‘standardisation’ and abiding to fixed formats are what made
Hollywood productions highly efficient and profitable (Berliner,2017). In order to
maintain profits the Hollywood movie industry pays close attention to maintaining
high standards of excellence while being able to produce costly entertainment
commodities (Staiger). Thus, while uniqueness and innovation are encouraged, they
have to support or at least not disrupt the controlling standard (Berliner, 2017). This
practice reduces profit deviation while restricting diversity (Berliner, 2017). When
producing films, Hollywood pays utmost attention to meet expectations and targets
by focusing on end markets and audiences large enough to warrant the large scale
investment (Berliner, 2017). The cost of producing and distributing mainstream films
has grown exponentially and is too high to justify targeting small audience groups,
this is an economic constraint that often restricts prospects for creative diversity
(Berliner, 2017).
 
 
The Hollywood Aesthetic Composition 

Hollywood films' aesthetic compositions balance two opposing elements. The first,
Hollywood's tendency for unity and consistency, making its films align with the
definition of a classical art form. This format in some cases rarely changes as
production teams closely adhere to defined formats and or previous successes
(Berliner, 2017). The second element is that successful and accepted formats
include aesthetic properties as part of their composition and winning formula
(Berliner, 2017). This guarantees that the film director must incorporate elements of
aesthetic composition in the movie in order to keep to conformity and a similar look
and feel between productions (Berliner, 2017). As many Hollywood films adhere to
conventional practices and paradigms, the industry relies on outliers to push the
boundaries beyond the classical paradigm (Berliner, 2017). Such fringe productions
provide fresh and often extraordinarily complex aesthetic traits to enrich Hollywood's
conventional repertoire of filmmaking procedures (Berliner, 2017). These productions
provide novel and sophisticated attributes, bringing diversity to the cinematic
experience, which in many cases are later endorsed and deployed as standard
practice. Janet Staiger observes that innovations in Hollywood cinema substitute
"prior norms of excellence," as directors adopt "alternative standards for the field" in
an attempt to distinguish their films. With both elements at play, Hollywood cinema
can be considered both a form of classical and mass art. Hollywood producers
recognise both options, with financial implications and trade-offs between the two
genres becoming a key consideration (Berliner).
 

Are aesthetics negatively affected by Hollywood’s tendency for unity?

“We must ultimately be able to account for the most basic fact of aesthetic
experience, the fact that delight lies somewhere between boredom and confusion”  
Gombrich citation 2 from book

Hollywood produces forms of mass art, replicating techniques to produce

homogenous and unified films that are readily comprehensible by a wide audience
(Berliner, 2017). A key technique used to create such broad engagement is
processing fluency, which appeals to mass audiences who seek easy, familiar
aesthetic experiences (Berliner, 2017). Processing fluency is described by
psychologists as the ease with which a person comprehends new information
(Berliner, 2017). In the arts, according to Leder, et al. this consists of recognising an
item, storing it in memory, categorising it, and assessing it. Researchers have found
that properties which facilitate processing lead to enhanced pleasure. Multiple
studies indicate that individuals tend to favour average and easily identifiable objects
due to the ease of processing they present (ref). Hollywood’s popularity and success
can largely be attributed to its accessibility and ability to create a product that
incorporates universal features which are appealing to large audiences. Aesthetic
pleasure is one of the important components which when used effectively can
stimulate predictable psychological experiences unconnected to language,
stimulating emotional intensity, cognitive challenges, diversity, imagination and broad
level responses (Berliner, 2017). Incorporation of aesthetics in films often goes
unrecognised by the spectator, however it is an integral part of the product working
on other senses to generate effects which lead to spectator engagement, 
satisfaction, enhanced comprehension and emotional involvement

Ideology’s Relationship to Aesthetics - all from berliner

“In order to resonate to audience fears, fantasies, and experiences, the Hollywood
genres had to deal with the central conflicts and problems in U.S. society, and had to
offer soothing resolutions, assuring its audiences that all problems could be solved
within existing institutions.”13 Douglas Kellner  pg 136 Berliner 

While ideology is not something naturally considered to be an aesthetic attribute of

an artwork, Hollywood’s films demonstrate that when ideology is intrinsically linked to
the features of a film and contributes aesthetic value, it becomes a component of the
aesthetic design of the film (Berliner, 2017). An ideological framework plays a central
role in determining the degree of aesthetic pleasure a film can generate when it
aligns with or challenges our values, views and emotional reactions to the film
(Berliner, 2017). Thus, Hollywood films have the potential to shape our views and
values in such a way that we approve of certain events and detest others, hope for
some endings and fear others (Berliner, 2017).  A film's ideological framework can
provide several different outcomes as viewers interpret the array of scenarios
depicted (Berliner, 2017). This framework may include narrative elements (for
instance, characters, dialogue, and scenarios) as well as stylistic elements such as
cinematography, lighting, outfits and performance, (Berliner, 2017).

Many film scholars argue that Hollywood’s success and the enjoyment it produces,
stems from aligning the films’ ideologies with the viewer’s dominant culture’s, ideals
and beliefs (Berliner, 2017). Comolli and Narboni, argued that the mere presence of
dominant ideology meets the entertainment needs of the audience (berliner 136),
while Ray contends that Hollywood success is contingent on its ideology, and its
ability to resolve and address incompatible values. (Robert ray 136
Berliner).  However, Hollywood’s success should not be reduced to alignment of
ideologies, as it undermines many other artistic aspects, considerations, talent, skills,
time and resources at play, all of which play a role in producing hits. Berliner (2017)
proposes that “rather than viewing Hollywood as a tool of repressive ideology, as
many prior cinema scholars have done, we should consider ideology as a tool of
Hollywood's aesthetic aspirations”. Furthermore, Berliner demonstrates how the
cinema industry advocates and incorporates certain ideologies into the design
characteristics of Hollywood films in order to provide active entertainment products
for broad audiences, carefully avoiding others which may arouse heated debates
and negative reactions. 

The depiction of violence in many Hollywood films illustrates that Hollywood

promotes beliefs and ideals and not an ideological agenda, using elements of
violence as a means to enhance aesthetic pleasure (Berliner, 2017). Promoting an
ideology of violence does not align with Hollywood’s reported agendas, it does
however align with their aspiration to generate big profits. As such Hollywood
filmmakers have embraced violence when a thrilling action sequence is embedded
within the intellectual framework of a story.  The inclusion of these elements can
provide significant aesthetic pleasure and generate audience satisfaction (Berliner,
2017). In order to create spectacular action sequences, featuring an ideology of
violence is sometimes necessary. When this ideological framework is embedded
within a film, the audience is presented with opportunities to evaluate the events
occurring on the screen in relation to other aspects of the film, detached from reality,
such as the movie’s characters, themes, storyline and overall structure (Berliner,
2017). Thus, by influencing our judgement of events, a film’s ideological framework
is able to transform a sensory experience into an aesthetic experience that is more
suspenseful, unpredictable, surprising, fulfilling and exhilarating (Berliner, 2017). 

In real life, we are rarely presented with situations in which violence is the most
appropriate solution. However, the Hollywood action genre has mastered such
scenarios, producing films that present situations where the only rational and moral
response to the narrative is violence (Berliner, 2017). For instance, in the film ***
Fast and Furious () the viewers are presented with a scenario in which the 'good
guys' are Dominic and his crew (who are all technically car thieves and therefore
criminals) must save people by killing an antagonist. In this scenario, violence seems
to be justified, and leads the audience to feel excitement and relief. The Fast and
Furious series is just one of the many examples of Hollywood films that carefully
construct the storyline in such a way that viewers will feel “moral ecstasy” when
presented with scenarios that warrant the hero’s violent behaviour. In such
instances, the audience often approve of the use of violence, despite their
disapproval of such behaviour in real life (Berliner, 2017).

Star Power and Aesthetics

A critical element in the success of a Hollywood movie after the script is the line up
of actors and their roles.  This element in Hollywood's output has remained
persistently star-centric and generic in nature with the growing appeal of movie stars
transcending the films themselves.  Hollywood’s commercial success and appeal
can largely be attributed to the actors’ star power and aesthetic value to the
movie. In some cases box office success is dependent on the lead actor’s
appearance and performance (Berliner, 2017). With such influence and intrigue and
the evolution of social media, audiences follow stars’ every move, paying close
attention to every detail, be it his/her clothes, actions, conduct and aesthetics.  With
such potential consumer influence, Hollywood and retailers are very focused on
maximising the commercialisation potential of actors' appearances, carefully
considering what cars they drive and clothes they wear.  With such influence many
fashion companies are prepared to invest significant capital for their products to be
featured in films, which in itself can play an important role in a film’s overall
aesthetics.   
 
Hollywood’s Audience

Many film scholars believe that film audiences are passive about the entertainment
they choose, and spend their time watching films that feature famous actors or ones
that reinforce dominant ideology.  Several scholars argue that audiences are simply
pawns of Hollywood's marketing efforts (Berliner, 2017).  Comolli and Narboni
contend that Hollywood dictates what the audience wants and then provides it, while
Wyatt, attributes the popularity of many Hollywood box office hits to the industry's
continued use of "high concepts" which includes easily marketable storylines,
repetitive poster imagery, saturation with trailers and promotions, and use of popular
actors, and source material.  Adorno, goes as far as claiming that mass media
viewers are "powerless" in the face of a centralised "culture industry".  All of these
views of Hollywood spectatorship portray filmgoers as essentially passive recipients
of ideology, mass media, and Hollywood formula, rather than active participants in
their own enjoyment. 

Conclusion 
 
Hollywood succeeds in offering aesthetic pleasure on a consistent basis while
producing periodic mega-successes.  Hollywood’s history of successes and
innovations are an artistic and economic triumph crowning it the capital of the movie
industry.  Over the hundred years of its existence Hollywood has consistently proven
an ability to repeat successes through systematic production and mass accessibility
which have survived the test of time.  The industry has proven an ability to monitor
changes and embrace new technologies, which once proven are adopted and
reproduced in masses.   Hollywood is a business that operates within tight
constraints, carefully ensuring that all the needed elements are included in
productions, including the correct level of aesthetics which are an integral part of the
product.  
While scholars have tried to draw a distinction between art and entertainment,
arguing that the two cannot coexist, Hollywood’s success can attest to the fact that
mass art can afford aesthetic pleasure too. Furthermore, Hollywood has mastered
the delivery of aesthetic pleasure, systemising and packaging it on a mass scale. 
In conclusion, Hollywood aesthetics is not a contradiction, rather an important and
pleasurable element which contributes to draw large crowds to the movies that
translate into box office hits.

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Available at: <https://www.statista.com/statistics/271856/global-box-office-
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French, E., 2006. Selling Shakespeare to Hollywood: The marketing of filmed
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