Rule of 11

This “rule” can be labeled as a conspiracy theory, but in the end it makes sense. For quite a long time people from all over the world have been discussing the quality of Hollywood movies, if not all of them at least a good part of them. “Rule of 11” is supposedly a series of measures taken by studio owners and the movie industry senior players to make sure their movies will pay off properly. The idea is to keep a movie dumb and simple; to the point an 11-year old kid could understand it. If they can, everybody else older than that can too. I don’t know when it started, but apparently it was in the 70’s or 80’s.

It makes total sense. The bulk of people admit they go to the movies to entertain themselves, to forget life outside or to see something they’re not used to. Lots of what happens in American films are quite cliché or at least far away from real life. It’s all about entertainment, something that demands to be uncomplicated. If you want to test how target stereotypes still work, just organize a focus group with average American people and invite them to watch a film by Francois Truffaud. They will not understand everything, won’t like and will have problems with the subtitles, and will likely complain about the film’s pace.

Obviously those who are “manipulated” (us) do not have access to this kind of information. Neither a movie producer nor executive will publicly admit this. I learned this from a very smart Compared Communication teacher on my sophomore year at university. And that kept me thinking. It’s the kind of thing we never think about it, but when it comes to mind there’s no way to deny.