Modern day classics

Can something be a classic if nobody watched it?

 

Yes, but I think that it has to be very influential to other artists in the field.

 

There are quite a few artistic achievements that are considered classics that were not commercial successes in their time.

 

Instead of just "Consider the Lobster," I would say that everything DFW wrote from "Infinite Jest" till his death will stand the test of time. Whether micro stories in Esquire or a collection like "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men," whether fiction or non-fiction, David Foster Wallace was a titan.

 

Eh, I don't even think it deserved the Best Picture nod that year. Still an above-average sword-and-sandals flick, but even just in that class I'm not sure it cracks the Top 3. It also didnt' do anything particularly new. "Avatar" was just "Dances with Smurfs" from a story perspective, but the way it was done technically makes it the benchmark for 3D movies now.

 

That's a good point. If something was ignored when it came out and built a huge following later, I think it would qualify. I still think shows like Deadwood and Arrested Development don't fall into that category.

 

In movies, I think you can make a massively popular work that is a modern classic.

I think it's tougher to create a popular book or album that is also a classic. Clear Channel and the decline in literature's importance in the life of the average American seem to separate art from commerce. The best books of the last 20 years are likely not sitting on shelves at half of America's public libraries (rural especially) because they wouldn't get read. And yet the movie collections at those libraries is voluminous.

People are still captivated enough by great movies to make them commercially successful.

My take, at least.

 

"Inflatable penis" jokes don't travel very well across the Atlantic--kinda like Benny Hill.

 

Arcade Fire's catalog
LCD Soundsystem's catalog
There Will Be Blood

 

Have you read much James Joyce?

 

Any votes for The Shield and Battlestar Galactica?

 

I would say 90% of my friends ages 25 to 35 are madly in love with Arrested Development. Many would list it as their favorite sitcom or show in general. And it has a vocal-enough fan base to carry on its legacy.

Also, maybe I hang out in different circles than you all, but I never hear a bad word about The Departed. It won Best Picture. I think it definitely has more staying power than any of the movies Dick listed, which had more derisive critics. The exception might be No Country for Old Men.