Is original content nonexistent in 2021? Why does everything have to be remade or rebooted “for the next generation”?
Before we start the post, let’s play catch-up on some posts I did earlier this month:
How Do Book Triggers Affect You? // Let’s Talk Bookish
Reality Check Writing Process // I’m writing a poetry novel!!
As I was browsing the interwebs one day, I noticed that there was yet another remake of West Side Story, directed by Steven Spielberg, and starring Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler. Not that I’m not excited for this movie. I like Ansel as an actor, and Steven Spielberg is a legend in the movie business! But why another remake?? Where is all of the original content in movies?
Even when I saw the movie adaptation of In the Heights, written by Lin Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame), I wasn’t surprised that it was becoming a movie. Because many people hadn’t seen the Broadway musical back in 2008. It took Manuel years to create a movie out of it, and people still weren’t satisfied because of the bias against dark-skinned Afro-Latinx actors not cast. So even when producers, directors, showrunners etc. create remakes for remakes’ sake, and it’s still unsatisfactory, what’s the point? Why not just make more original content?
Disney+ and more
NBC News and Deadline reported that Disney+ is investing $14 billion to $16 billion for new content — but not a lot of newer ideas — as well as Hulu and ESPN+ by 2024. But when you have Chris Columbus finding out Disney+ is remaking Home Alone without his acknowledgment, that’s a huge problem. He stated in an interview with Insider, “Nobody got in touch with me about it, and it’s a waste of time as far as I’m concerned. I’m a firm believer that you don’t remake films that have had the longevity of ‘Home Alone,'” he added. “You’re not going to create lightning in a bottle again. It’s just not going to happen. So why do it?”
Exactly!! Why do it?! I know it’s easier for corporations to rely on nostalgia because it sells better. Hell, I’m even excited for the remake of The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey from Chloe x Halle. It’s about time that we’d had another Black princess, even if it’s been redone many times before. However, think of all of the amazing, talented writers, directors, authors, producers waiting for the call for their original ideas to be produced. And yet, we still choose to consume reboots and remakes because we can’t let go.
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Comment below! Do you think there are too many remakes/reboots? What can we do to produce more original content?
Thanks for reading,
