We spent 30 years teaching computers to make movies — then got mad when they learned
j3434 · reddit · 2026-10-05
A Reddit essay traces 30 years of film history to question the cultural backlash against AI filmmaking: we spent decades teaching computers to make movies, then got upset when they actually learned.
- Jurassic Park's digital dinosaurs (1993) were treated as magic and won the VFX Oscar, proving CG could replace miniatures and stop-motion
- Titanic, The Matrix and LOTR pushed boundaries; The Polar Express explored mocap humans; The Perfect Storm's CG water was itself a selling point
- Whole crafts were displaced along the way — model makers, matte painters, miniature builders — not because audiences disliked them, but because the tech got faster and better
- The author doesn't dismiss copyright, consent or employment concerns, but asks why audiences once marveled at the idea of computers doing all this, only to say "okay, but not like that"
Conclusion: maybe the technology didn't change — our attitude did.
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