It’s official: originality is dead. It has been kicked, beaten, and buried under the Hollywood sign. At least that’s what I must assume happened given the fact that there seems to be a never-ending list of “new” spin-offs, sequels, and remakes being announced. Ranging from movies to shows to commercials, our forms of entertainment are slowly becoming overly repetitive and increasingly unoriginal. What could be the reason that producers and writers have taken a backseat to creativity and begun to spew out what’s already been done? I’m not sure that I’ll be the one to get to the bottom of the stifling of creativity, but I sure will whine about it for 500 words.Â
My belief in the death of imagination began when my dad texted me about the new TV adaptation of Harry Potter the streaming service Max is creating. Keep in mind I am ( unfortunately) a giant Harry Potter nerd, so my dad sent me a TikTok about the new show, thinking I would be stoked. I was in fact not stoked. I began to rage once I thought about it. Why did they need to touch a series that had already ridden its success line and recreate it? I’ll tell you the answer- it’s either because Hollywood has run out of ideas, or everyone has become lazy money grabbers.
Although, it’s not always a bad thing for stories to be reused. The Percy Jackson TV series that aired last year has been a hit on Disney+. I enjoyed watching the stories I read about as a kid come to life more accurately than in the movies. And, side note, even though those movies are considered trash, my husband, Logan Lerman, stars in them and deserves respect. But even as I was watching the series, most of the time, all I could think was that the show was unnecessary. Â
I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum, but speaking of the unnecessary, let’s take a quick look at a small, unknown movie franchise called The Fast and the Furious. I just saw on Instagram that they announced the 11th movie to be released next year. My stomach began to turn and shock took over my body because there was no way they were making another movie. But, even though I think it is ridiculous to continue that franchise, I know the movie will find some success.Â
Getting down to the nitty-gritty of why Hollywood seems to be in such a slump, we must look further into how the industry runs. In many (most) cases, money is the leading motivator. When movies like The Fast and the Furious keep introducing new characters, it can be hard to let that success go, so it gets beaten to death and then even more post-mortem. Original stories can be risky for producers, unsure if they’ll get their bang for their buck, which I can’t fault them for completely. However, I believe these actions that support a lack of creativity affect everyone. Watching the same stories repeatedly can create a sense of monotony in a pastime meant to be an entertaining escape. However, we can’t only place the blame on those in the industry. Instead, we’ve got to take a little look inward to see if we’re contributing to this first-world problem. Are we allowing Hollywood to resist change by buying a ticket to every new live-action remake of a Disney princess movie, I know I am. And while I’m not saying we can’t watch these movies anymore, because you will have to pry that upcoming Tangled remake out of my cold dead hands, I am saying that it is important we don’t let ourselves get caught up in only familiar things. We should take a step back to admire new perspectives. And while I’m here dogging on remakes, I know full well I’ll be sitting in the theatre the day Shrek 5 makes its debut. The hypocrisy is eating me alive, maybe it’s time for us all to branch out and expand our horizons before I find myself buying tickets for the eightieth Halloween movie.Â