Could this be an effect of the novelty of a new art medium?
When films first became a thing, no one knew how to make them. The proven template didn’t exist. There was more variety because there was more experimentation, and eventually what was once pioneering experimentation becomes mainstream commodity and the novelty wears off.
The same thing happened with music when the synthesizer was invented; no one knew how to make music with a synthesizer so it was all experimentation. It still happens today in burgeoning subgenres of electronic music. A new sound is invented (or rediscovered, more recently), music producers flock to this exciting new frontier, eventually it reaches mainstream, and by that time it is no longer novel or interesting. Rinse and repeat.
When films first became a thing, no one knew how to make them. The proven template didn’t exist. There was more variety because there was more experimentation, and eventually what was once pioneering experimentation becomes mainstream commodity and the novelty wears off.
The same thing happened with music when the synthesizer was invented; no one knew how to make music with a synthesizer so it was all experimentation. It still happens today in burgeoning subgenres of electronic music. A new sound is invented (or rediscovered, more recently), music producers flock to this exciting new frontier, eventually it reaches mainstream, and by that time it is no longer novel or interesting. Rinse and repeat.