CGI and AI: Raiders of the Lost Art

In today’s world of pretense and illusion, a surprising trend has emerged: the quest for authenticity.

To be authentic is to be cool. To value authenticity is to be deep. To create something authentic is to be intriguingly sophisticated.

An enduring value, authenticity never went away. But it struggled to attract an audience in a time when truth had been redefined as “my truth.” And it seemed to lose relevance in a pixelated culture where every reality is framed by an iPhone Pro Max lens.

Authenticity was too certain of itself, too real.

Ironically, authenticity today finds some of its biggest fans in Hollywood’s dream factories. Decades of sequels, remakes and inauthentic storylines left a void, and creative minds are rediscovering the great satisfaction of being true to their craft, and genuine in their art.

Authenticity is also a safe harbor amid the rising tides of computer-simulation fakery. As audiences tire of CGI (computer-generated imagery) and actors fight to preserve their identities in the face of advancing AI (artificial intelligence) technology, authentic storytelling — past and present — has won new admirers, and new respect.

Many of today’s film lovers are finding authenticity by looking deep into the cinematic past. Hollywood’s Golden Age doesn’t refer to digital films populated with CGI marching clone armies, but rather to classics from seven to eight decades ago. These films endure because of engaging stories, lifted up by extraordinary writing and acting.

Even when the great directors of the Golden Age were hoping to fool us, we could still see the truth. The retro special effects were part of the fun. Audiences still can laugh at the awkwardly obvious strings propelling the Wizard of Oz flying monkeys, or at the thought of the Tin Man spending hours jacketing himself in his silver suit. We can still be fascinated by the backstory of the Wicked Witch’s exit from Munchkinland, an on-set catastrophe chronicled for the ages in Technicolor.

In Citizen Kane, we find authenticity in the unique camera angles and perspectives, the incredible use of light and shadow. These were novel techniques and technologies, but they relied on a creative vision and enhanced the story, rather than distracted from it.

It is still impressive to imagine the obstacles to filming each scene, the creative solutions, the brilliant innovations. Citizen Kane’s priceless visuals were the work of gifted creatives who pushed themselves beyond the limit. The wonder didn’t magically appear by clicking commands into a keyboard. It was genuine, authentic.

Contrast that with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The CGI special effects of the 2023 film failed to impress either audiences or critics. Phrases like “disappointing facsimile,” “unreal visuals” and “digital sludge” peppered reviews. Many critics were especially irritated by the CGI-driven “computer de-aging” process, by which the octogenarian Harrison Ford became a younger Indiana Jones, albeit one with the flexibility of Forbidden Planet’s Robbie the Robot. By neglecting the lost art of its franchise — a great story — the film seemed inauthentic.

Many audiences today curate authenticity not from the latest Indy adventure, but from creative pioneers blazing trails in the indie film genre. Independent productions often rely on the timeless fundamentals: well-crafted stories and genuine performances.

One recent example is I Like Movies, which co-stars Canadian actor Percy Hynes White. As the title suggests, the movie is itself a tribute to great films. After its September 2022 premiere, a leading critic named I Like Movies one of the best Canadian comedies of all time. At the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards it was honored as Best Canadian Film of 2022, and Percy Hynes-White was awarded Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film.

Of course, “indie” doesn’t always equal high levels of authenticity or quality. For every Lost in Translation there’s a Swamp Murders sequel. For every Percy Hynes White there’s a Tommy Wiseau. That, it turns out, is part of the fun of indie movies: finding that one diamond in the rough that will someday be remembered as true and authentic — a hand-painted masterpiece in a CGI-glossed world.