In terms of American big studio films, The Aughts has been a lackluster decade. One reason I think that is so is because this has been The Era of the Fanboys. Now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with fanboys. Also, fanboys in this case doesn't just mean sci-fi fans or horror groupies. People can blame the blogosphere for "Snakes on a Plane" but internet scuttlebutt also got "The Women" a wider (and equally undeserved) release. And the biggest fanboys are arguably the Sundance/indie crowd; how many films have they "loved" that then came out and not only tanked but just weren't that good? While fanboys often bemoan the fact that their genres are watered down too much for public consumption, indie fans revel in the fact that most people don't want to sit through their films.

The problem as I see it is that the studios' focus of fanboy affection is on the ancillary elements of a beloved genre and those elements are held in higher regard than the need for strong stories and compelling characters. Horror films became torture porn or completely campy. Actions films have become a collection of over-the-top set pieces and explosions. Comedy became raunch. In a fairly interesting twist, women were pushed out as chick flicks were no longer female dreams of finding true love; they were male coming-of-age fantasies. Thrillers are all but dead since those seem to require actual craftsmanship. Art House films are almost comically focused on the self-absorbed pain and anguish hidden in ordinary households. Today, the artsier films don't pretend to even consider having a mainstream appeal while mainstream films mostly gave up the idea that they could insterest the masses without being the lowest common denominator. In terms of quality, I think this decade has been carried by foreign films and documentaries.

I also don't think it's a coincidence that the one genre that has really made strides this decade is superhero movies. While every other genre has seemed to decline towards its base level, superhero films have expanded and become more than just capes and crime fighters. The characters are becoming fleshed out, the struggles are both saving the world and internal; things aren't just good and evil anymore.

While I hope that The Dark Knight could inspire more thoughtful storylines (although it would be nice to do so without so many monologues), odds are that Hollywood's response will be "Ooh, people want darker movies".