You can be uneducated, unsophisticated, and naturally unintelligent; sit down, and be seriously entertained at the hands of a piece of American cinema. American movies are a perfect example of production genius in this sense. American films, through being easy to watch, understand and enjoy, have instantly marketed themselves to the entire globe. Anybody can watch an American movie, and anybody that watches an American movie will be entertained, guaranteed. American films are made to entertain the viewer with more low-culture derived forms of entertainment: comedy, action, violence, sex, etc. Films made elsewhere, Italy's "Il Postino," for example, contain high-culture derived entertainment vehicles: art, irony, love, mystery, drama, etc. A European film does not appeal to the wide range of viewers that an American film does. American films follow an "American aesthetic" that can appeal to a global audience.
Perfect examples of films that follow this "American aesthetic" are the good old American sex comedies. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Porky's, American Pie, and many others contain the universal form of entertainment, sex. These films have a simple story-based plot, with no hidden plots, or underlying stories. There is virtually no symbolism in any of these films either. There is only sex and comedy in these films. These films contain no material that could be considered "artful" by the higher-class movie-goers in Europe, yet any single one of these American sex comedies has made more money than the last 10 major releases from anywhere in Europe combined. Why? Because anybody can watch them and be entertained.
American action movies are the same way; simple, direct, easy entertainment. A perfect example of this is Cliffhanger. Actually, any movie with Sylvester Stallone is a perfect example. Cliffhanger comes to mind first because the setting doesn't EVER change.
