Natalie Portman Blames 'Decline of Film' on Social Media; Thinks It's a Good Thing

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | February 23, 2024 |

By Emma Chance | Celebrity | February 23, 2024 |

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman talked about how social media has changed Hollywood and filmmaking in general.

“The striking thing has been the decline of film as a primary form of entertainment. It feels much more niche now. If you ask someone my kids’ age about movie stars, they don’t know anyone compared to YouTube stars or whatever,” she said.

While there’s been debate about that decline—Jennifer Aniston once saying “There are no more movie stars. There’s no more glamour,”—Portman sees it as a “two-sided coin.”

“There’s liberation to it, in having your art not be a popular art. You can really explore what’s interesting to you. It becomes much more about passion than about commerce. And interesting, too, to beware of it becoming something elitist. I think all of these are forms, when they become less popularized, you have to start being like, ‘OK, who are we making this for anymore?’”

I, for one, love that. It means more art by and for everyone. She agrees that social media has allowed for more accessibility and inclusivity:

“And then amazing, too, because there’s also been this democratization of creativity, where gatekeepers have been demoted and everyone can make things and incredible talents come up. And the accessibility is incredible. If you lived in a small town, you might not have been able to access great art cinema when I was growing up. Now, it feels like if you’ve got an internet connection, you can get access to anything. It’s pretty wild that you also feel like at the same time, more people than ever might see your weird art film because of this extraordinary access.”

That sounds to me like a great manifesto for creativity and better filmmaking. Maybe—hopefully—Aniston was right, and there are no more movie stars, and maybe—probably—that’s a good thing.