Originally Posted by
Mister Mets
I am a bit younger, but the lack of gatekeepers may be a major factor in the explanation.
I've been thinking of some possibilities.
#1- The audience is divided so there are less recent consensus picks. You like action? There's the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Daniel Craig James Bond, and Mad Max: Fury Road. You want the continuation of the 1990s indie directors? There's Kill Bill, Boyhood, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Do you prefer films by women? There's Nomadland, CODA, Power of the Dog, Lady Bird, etc. Do you prefer films by and about African Americans? There's Judas and the Black Messiah, Get Out, Fences, Moonlight and much more. Do you want historical prestige pictures? There's The King's Speech, Gosford Park, There Will be Blood, Lincoln, etc.
#2- There are artistic compromises for various reasons, with the focus on superhero films, the advent of streaming services, a desire to get films to play in international markets, etc.
#3- Serialization means it's hard to pick one representative example of a top franchise. What's the best MCU film? What about the best Lord of the Rings? So this leads to a lack of consensus, even if as many people might consider at least one MCU film to be on the level of Pulp Fiction.
#4- Are critics more diverse? Perhaps the apparent consensus of the past is due to gatekeeping by an establishment that prized stories by New Hollywood directors about straight white men? Maybe the reputations of Shawshank Redemption and Unforgiven would decline in favor of Boyz N the Hood or The Piano?
#5- The golden age of television has taken some of the cache and critical attention of movies.
#6- Critics and the culture pay more attention to foreign films, and with a much larger pool of films in the cultural conversation, it's harder for an American film to really take off.
I don't think it's on the same level. Take a look at the lists. You're much more likely to see Silence of the Lambs than Once Upon a Time in Hollywood or Goodfellas over The Departed.
Aggregates can matter. Individual critics/ magazines might have unconventional choices, but these will be more spread out rather than showering a handful of films with love and attention.
There is some stuff that has an immediate impact. Schindler's List made the AFI Top 10 a few years after its release. The AFI Top 100 in 1997 included Silence of the Lambs, Unforgiven, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas and Forrest Gump.