What caused the summer blockbuster?

What caused the summer blockbuster?

The film 'Jaws' was the first high concept film. A high concept film is a film that has been hyped up via trailers, adverts, posters, merchandise, promotions, and audience word of mouth. People saw the film Jaws as an event, spawning the term of 'Event film'.

The high concept film structure influenced the film industry's and how they produced films. They decided to start producing films for people with an emphasis on promotion and merchandise and making the film a financial success. The summer blockbuster was built out of this. Films made solely to make money and putting narrative and storyline behind in terms of importance, instead focusing on special effects and animation. Summer blockbusters today still have the model of high concept movies because they are a tried and tested method of producing financially productive films, which is even more important considering the economic state of today.

My opinion on summer blockbusters

In my opinion, summer blockbusters are a negative aspect of the film industry. The industry produces more and more films with less attention to story, character development and more attention to special effects and 3D. The industry makes money of the casual film-goer who just wants to be entertained and enjoy a film. However, for film fans, the lack of story and the abundance of blockbusters means it might make it difficult for other films with emphasis on story and characters to be recognised or financially successful when there are so many similar summer blockbusters. This doesn't necessarily reflect negatively on the film industry but maybe more on the audience attending these films?