Epilogue: Past is Prologue

Abstract

When this book began, Hollywood was “in a hurry to grow up.” Now as we venture further into the new century, it seems that Classical Hollywood is retreating into its own past. More an artifact than a living presence, it’s on display in memorabilia auctions and in museums, congratulating itself in endless awards ceremonies, nostalgia channels and celebrity cruises. It streams across cable and internet, incestuously feeding on itself, recycling its own past in endless generic reboots, retreads, and sequels, its big-screen glory reduced in size to hand-held mobile devices. At the helm is the new “Auteur,” the Fan Editor, who co-opts the work of others on laptop computers.