I just finished reading a pretty scary book. A good book, but a scary book. Contemporary author Cormac McCarthy’s latest Pulitzer Prize winning work, “The Road,” actually came out in 2006. I had wanted to read it since then—only the all too long queue of books to read for school got in the way. That coupled with a chronic forgetfulness about the list of things I want to do eventually led to me sitting alone reading “The Road” yesterday. What reminded me to read it was none other than the interesting recent news that Hollywood has made a film out of the novel, starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-Mcphee. For those who haven’t read it, the book takes place on Earth apparently after some cataclysmic disaster has destroyed all of society and nature. A father and son walk a desolate road towards the sea in hopes of finding some means of survival—along the way encountering cold, starvation, and, oh yeah, cannibals. Although it has a message of hope and redemption, it is not for the faint of heart.But why wouldn’t Hollywood try again to create a movie from one of McCarthy’s characteristically stark and brutal novels? Last year’s best picture winner “No Country for Old Men” was also based off of McCarthy’s book of the same title. Bloody, violent, and pretty dang scary, “No Country” was without a doubt an excellent film. But it seems as if the movies churned by Hollywood in recent years that are actually considered good all have consistently grave themes. Just look at a few best picture noms from the last few years: “No Country,” “There Will be Blood,” “The Departed”, etc..

It’s not that there weren’t darker-themed films before or that more light-hearted films aren’t also made. Only nowadays, it seems that the darker movies are more widely pervasive in the film industry as a whole, at least in this country. The trend in a swing toward the evil side of things has even become apparent in superhero movies, which once consisted of little more men running around in colorful tights spouting cheesy lines. Now it couldn’t be more different. Remember when Spidey went emo in “Spiderman 3”? And what about a little film called “The Dark Knight”? By the end of that movie, the audience is left thinking about some fairly hefty not to mention dark ideas—like the true nature of heroism, the thin line between good and evil, and the roles of chaos and chance in determining the outcome of a person’s life. Current comedies are also dealing with increasingly charged subjects: “Juno” confronts teen pregnancy, “Pineapple Express” deals with drugs and murder and “Tropic Thunder” involves the Vietnam War. Even Pixar put out “WALL-E” (my personal favorite summer movie), which features a destroyed planet earth and obese humans. I guess there were a few purely silly films, like “Love Guru” and “Zohan”, both of which were pretty bad and box office disasters. It seems like today it’s fear and controversy that sell tickets and excite critics.

So, in the words of the Joker from “The Dark Knight,” why so serious? Maybe the current movie-going populace is so attracted bleak ideas because of the sinking economy, the war in Iraq or the gloomy notion that we are all going to pollute ourselves to death or kill each other first. Or maybe not. I’m no philosopher or social scientist; I’m just trying to make an interesting observation. And I guess I am falling in with this trend; despite the frightening pretense, I really am looking forward to the release of “The Road”, slated for November 26th of this year. Bring on the fear, the hunger and yes, even the cannibals.

Image Source: Oregon Live