People love to rail on Hollywood for being “out of ideas.”
Recently, theaters have been flooded by crappy, uninspired sequels, adaptations, remakes, reboots and gimmicky 3-D films. Similarly, pop music has never sounded more similar to itself, and people are sick of the status quo.
Spoiler: We were the monsters all along. We were the ones who decided entertainment should be free. My generatioxn, today’s consumers, are the reason pop music and pop culture rehash themselves more than ever.
The Internet changed everything, and there’s no going back. Netflix got the drop on Blockbuster. I cannot remember the last time I bought a CD. Movie theaters are desperately trying to keep an audience, to prove they have a place in the world. Online piracy is considered normal. If you aren’t one for piracy, there is always YouTube, DailyMotion, Blip or Mega. Intellectual property theft is a problem we still don’t know how to combat because no one wants the Internet to become censored and controlled. On top of that, the economy is still slow. No one will spend money if they don’t have to.
Hollywood is cranking out unoriginal films for one reason: They are more likely to make money. A franchise already has a built-in fan base, which can (hopefully) be counted on to go see a movie on its opening weekend and (hopefully) break even at the box office.
The music industry does the same thing by following and prolonging trends and hesitating to take risks on any musician who doesn’t fit in. Last year’s top 40 was a homogenous blob of electronic dance music because electronic dance music was the safest bet — not the most adventurous product but the one that could be counted on. And on. And on.
It’s not the end of the world, just an ongoing process. In time, artists and producers will learn to work with the Internet instead of against it.
To those who enjoy complaining about the state of pop music and film, just remember: You get what you pay for. So get ready for more of the same and quit whining before the Katy Perry movie gets a sequel.