YEAR: 1996
DIRECTOR: Gaël Morel
PINBALL MODEL(S):
Baywatch (1995, Sega)
Maverick (1994, DataEast)
Indiana Jones: the Pinball Adventure (1993, Williams)
Batman Forever (1995, Sega)
GAME LOCATION(S): Arcade
NOTES: I've discussed the significance of pinball as a component of French youth culture in previous posts, but this particular scene reveals perhaps the most widely recognizable connection between pinball and cinema: licensing.
Game design has long established itself as a useful vehicle for promoting various products during pinball's long history, but tables that bear a movie theme have proven to be a more reliable strategy in ensuring unit sales as pinball has struggled to remain a marketable entertainment commodity during the past two decades. The arcade featured here in Morel's film is a useful example of this narrowing of potential design themes in favor popular cultural properties (movies, tv, bands) over more original/abstract ones, whilst also alluding to the ongoing ability of Hollywood to maintain its pop-culture dominance on a global scale.
