By Gerrit Goodwin/campus news editor
Hollywood and the higher powers of Tinseltown have found a way to keep their hands in customers’ wallets by selling them the same movies, and consumers keep buying them.
But keep in mind the habit of taking old movies and remaking them or rebooting a series is not something specific to this generation. It has been done time and time again since cinema was first invented, and, perhaps I would have less of a problem with rehashed movies if they weren’t all so terrible.
Throughout the past decade and a half, I’ve been sold a remake of Poltergeist, The Karate Kid, Godzilla, The Thing and a reboot of Terminator, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars and Star Trek, and still I have not seen something that has broken fresh ground.
The problem with movies being redone is that it doesn’t allow creative minds to innovate.
Instead, Hollywood has been allowed to get away with reusing a plot, casting the most current trending actors and throwing millions of dollars of CGI behind them.
However, it would be unjust to wave our fingers at Hollywood without accepting our fair share of blame as consumers. It would be easy to ascribe the phenomenon to lazy writers or lousy directors, but in truth there is a demand for these quick fix movies that moviegoers perpetuate by continuously seeing them.
Not all is lost, though. There still exists writers and directors who change and contribute to the medium, but if they aren’t continuously challenged creatively and have to compete with the likes of a remade Ghostbusters, then we can’t expect cinema to evolve at an even pace.
The market is made for consumers and not the other way around. That is why it is our responsibility as customers to demand more from Hollywood.
So the next time you decide to go out to the movies and see the new Star Wars, Marvel or Paranormal Activity, may I suggest instead something new, something without a prequel or sequel.
Because who knows, you might just see something new.
