Welcome to the weekend! We're back again, as always. Before we start, in case you missed it, the Patreon has both two new chapters of my newest book as well as a brand new podcast episode on genrefication! You can sign up to delve into it right here!
Following on from last week's subject, we take a look at what happened to the idea of the standalone story. In the '20s, unless you're doing endless sequels and franchises, no one wants to hear about it. It's either endless product, or nothing. This doesn't apply to even one industry, either. All anyone seems to want to produce or consume is endless amounts of bland products or content (neither of which is a very good name to describe anything of value, by the way).
It goes without saying that no only is this not sustainable, it's not even actually wanted. Talk to someone long enough and they will tell you that they prefer stories that end.
So instead, let's focus on one medium for today. Like last week, we'll stick with modern film, one of the biggest laughingstocks going.
When was the last time a movie was made without the idea of turning it into a forever series to be milked endlessly until the cow is dry? When was the last time someone just had a story to tell, told it, then moved on to a new story? Why does everything need to be part of the same tired formula as everything else with the same beats, the same crusty 20th century themes, or the same climax? Whatever happened to variety? Whatever happened to ambition?
Well, the machine itself is part of the problem. The rusting Hollywood mechanism has become too bloated, too fixed in one direction, unable to be flexible enough to adapt to the demands of a wider and less cohesive modern audience--the one they helped create in the first place. Therefore they will only continue to spread themselves too thin until all that remains are the diehards of the diehards who will never be pleased with anything less than perfection in their desired formulas. There is only one ending to this story and it's an ending we've seen before.
In other words, the industry itself both chose and created this very dead-end they are currently barreling towards. They have dug their own grave and are desperately avoiding the plot sitting underneath their lowering casket.
Of course this is just one of many problems they are currently suffering from, but its an attack on multiple fronts, all by problems they caused themselves years ago coming home to roost. It is why it is imperative that it be constantly reminded to audiences of how dead an industry it really is. It is important to remind the audience that no recovery is coming and the ship will not be righted. It would be in everyone's best interest to go elsewhere and let the ship crash into the very rocks it has always wanted to steer towards. We can find better ways.
You can do nothing but move on and let them to what the self-destruction they desire. This is the end they were always desperate to arrive at, and we should let them have at it.
A related problem to this is that of the remake--an attempt to cash-in on an old idea that once made them money when they weren't so desperate for more.
What many don't seem to get is that the remake is an excuse to make a new franchise out of something that has no room for a sequel. It's the real reason a failed product like Ghostbusters 2016 was made in the first place, especially given it was put directly into production to cash in seconds after the original creator died (after also blocking him from making a sequel to his own franchise for decades, by the way). Unfortunately, the executives eventually got their endless franchise by cloaking it in the ever-popular modern drug called nostalgia, despite the fact that with the creator is dead, this is all nothing but fan fiction. People are only watching it because of memories of the product, not because of story or the man who was the driving force in making it in the first place.
This is the true reason why remakes are so prevalent. The "late sequel" was once such a trend, but it was reserved for when there was still something left to milk. We are now too far along for this to be a relevant trend for modern audiences.
For those curious, the below video describes the process of the "late sequel" that is no longer much of a trend, for various reasons.
If you've been alive for long enough, you were probably around for Hollywood's Silver Age of success (the late '70s through late '90s) in time to see the fumes run out through the '00s and hit a wall in the 2010s. The fact of the matter is that it had its Golden Age before anyone alive today was born, and its second wind is now looking just as ancient as most of the properties the studios are still trying to suckle off of. Every human institution eventually dies, and those of us alive today are seeing just that. Putting your memories and nostalgia aside, you can tell what is happening.
We are witnessing a slow death that has been a long time coming.
Of course, modern Hollywood isn't the only source of moviemaking and never has been. It's also not the only place that has had its own rise and fall. When it comes to film there are always the classics, foreign movies, and the independents--though the creaky studio system is quickly crumbling as we speak. Despite the fact that the highwater days of the medium are over, it doesn't mean it's dead nor does it mean film can't still be successful or relevant. It only means the iron fist grip of out of touch executives from a polluted land of vice and debauchery has been lost--and no one should lament that long overdue shift.
We've got much change to look forward to in the years and decades ahead, especially as collapsing and unraveling old systems lash out on their way to the grave they were destined for, and while there will be some nostalgia popping up among our number as they finally go, in the end everyone is going to realize exactly why this all had to happen this way. It was always inevitable, even if we wanted to pretend it wasn't.
Until then, enjoy a classic, find an indie doing something interesting, or look to distant lands, and support accordingly. You won't find anything remaining in the modern zeitgeist (if such a thing exists) except a zombie system that refuses to be laid to rest in the grave it is already being lowered into as we speak.
Art never dies, but human institutions always eventually do. All we can do is prepare for what is coming next.
And something is always coming next.
That's all for this week, and I'll see you next time as we head into August! The heat isn't letting up, and we won't be, either!
Check out the Wild Stars campaign! The space opera adventure series has reached the 40th anniversary and Cirsova is putting out the seventh book! It's already two thirds of the way there. Jump in today and help put it over the top!
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