Martin Scorsese believes comic book movies threaten our very culture: "We've got to save cinema"

Martin Scorsese is once again making it clear that he's not a fan of blockbuster comic book-inspired films — which he once likened to "theme parks" in the past. In a new profile with GQ, Scorsese slammed comic book movie culture, asserting that it's negatively impacting audiences who aren't familiar with other types of film.

"The danger there is what it's doing to our culture," he said. "Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that's what movies are."

Scorsese continued, "They already think that. Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it's got to come from the grassroots level. It's gotta come from the filmmakers themselves. And you'll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you'll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? And hit 'em from all sides. Hit 'em from all sides, and don't give up. Let's see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don't complain about it. But it's true, because we've got to save cinema."

Scorsese also clarified his definition of cinema, saying that "cinema could be anything; it didn't just have to be serious." Movies like the 1959 crime comedy "Some Like It Hot" are considered cinema in Scorsese's books. But, he adds, "I do think that the manufactured content isn't really cinema," he said.

"It's almost like AI making a film. And that doesn't mean that you don't have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork," Scorsese added. "But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?"