Iris29 Feature

Today’s cinematic landscape is littered with sequels, remakes, and reiterations. Hollywood seems to be headed toward creative bankruptcy, with studios delving into the vaults to revive stories that have already been told. Movie franchises spawn exceedingly bad sequels, while remakes blaspheme the classics, and stale stories are told yet again. The current state of affairs in Hollywood is a market flooded with cliché stories and unimaginative storytelling. Or is it?

By shifting perspective, the recycling of culture and creative ideas can be viewed as a natural part of the creative process. Is it really possible for an artist to create, free from influence of pioneers or peers? The situation raises questions about creative identity. Is an artist’s creative identity merely a reflection of the sum of all the creative stimuli that the artist ingests? Are we running out of original creative ideas?

Cultural recycling is not limited to Hollywood by any means. The music business produces copycats, clones, and generic artists with a rampant fervour that parallels Hollywood.

The fashion, literary, art, and design fields are not immune to recycling as trends come and go, and come again. Understanding creative identity requires an examination of the causes and mechanisms of cultural recycling.

The Good

In this age of mass media and instant gratification, consumers constantly expect new forms of entertainment, and they want it now! Technological advances in our time have allowed consumer demand to outpace creative output. Hollywood filmmakers can hardly be blamed for satisfying consumer demand, while raking in the dollars. That’s merely capitalism at work.

Sequels allow for a character and story to live on in viewers’ minds, while remakes allow for new interpretations and the application of new technology to a story. Recycling in culture is completely natural; whether conscious or unconscious, it is a part of creative identity.

Sometimes nothing beats an original, but occasionally a remake can add depth, perspective, technical innovation, or longevity to a story. Originality may enhance our cultural identity, but our influences shape it. Remember, film is a business, music is a business, and yes, art is a business.

Remakes may ensure some degree of profitability, but ultimately they need to add something new to the source material. Hollywood remakes aren’t likely to go away anytime soon, so get some popcorn, and get used to them.

The Bad

Sequels and remakes of classic movies show evidence of the recycling of ideas in Hollywood; it seems like we are running out of original concepts. Can this terrifying statement actually be true? Somehow, amidst all of the money that comes along with remakes, it seems that individuals are losing their personal identity in relation to artistic expression.

Generally, original movies are much better than their remakes. Is it because the content is original and has true passion? Is it because sequels and remakes are strictly moneymakers? Or, is it the fact that some of the movies that spawned disappointing remakes and sequels were never meant to be continued or remade in the first place?

The film industry has become increasingly stale and generic. Remakes and sequels drive the industry, killing original thought, one screenplay at a time. The audience isn’t expanding their minds either, but are merely reflecting on an old idea.

The recycling of ideas is detaching humans from their identities and preventing originality from developing in pop-culture. It’s hard to express yourself if you have no idea who you are.

Best Hollywood Remakes

The Departed (2006) remake of Infernal Affairs (2002): This remake took an already great Hong Kong film and Americanized it while earning Oscars for Best Film and Best Director.

Scarface (1983) remake of Scarface (1932): This adaptation brings a Cuban flavour to the Scarface mythos. Say hello to a worthy remake!

Batman Begins (2005) remake of Batman (1966, 1989): A darker vision of the caped crusader is almost enough to help us forget about Batman & Robin. Almost.

The Fly (1986) remake of The Fly (1958): David Cronenberg’s remake is a creepy tale of metamorphosis, though quite different than the original.

Cape Fear (1991) remake of Cape Fear (1962): Robert DeNiro steals the show in this masterful suspense thriller that does justice to the original. Plus, The Simpsons also did a cool remake starring Sideshow Bob.

Worst Hollywood Remakes

King Kong (2005) remake of King Kong (1933): From a commercial point of view, the remake was a success. Artistically, it adds nothing to the original besides an over-inflated special effects budget.

Batman & Robin (1997) sequel to Batman (1966, 1989): This sequel beats and disfigures the Batman story to a metaphorical death. Simply put, a terrible film.

Psycho (1998) remake of Psycho (1960): Gus Van Sant tries to match Alfred Hitchcock’s original in this shot for shot remake. Don’t mess with the master.

The Wicker Man (2006) remake of The Wicker Man (1973): The only highlight of this movie was watching Nicolas Cage get his legs broken and then burned alive. Yeah inferno!

Mr. Deeds (2002) remake of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936):The original was bad and the remake is nothing but commercials starring product-placement whore Adam Sandler.