The truth is, reactions from the audience are not something that can be predicted, and the ‘difficult-to-understand’ works are there precisely to foster an audience. Back in the day, there was a culture of watching ’slightly complex films’ at small arthouse theaters, and that’s what gave us some room to take on new things ourselves. But now, there are no such spaces, and I feel everything has become a bit shallower.

The most relevant quote from the article. Emphasis mine.