From Shane Conto

What happened to the landscape of film? There are so many films coming out today to the point where it is literally impossible to keep up with them unless that is all you do all day and everyday. What is most interesting is the evolution of what types of films are coming out and how that has changed over the years. Being born in the early 1990’s, my whole life of film has been dominated by franchises, sequels, remakes, prequels, and adaptations. Most box office successes are included in those distinctions. We hear complaints that they don’t make anything original anymore. But why is that a bad thing? 

Well…what are the negatives that are common? When you get a lot of sequels, you start to see a lot of films that feel quite familiar. There are the increasingly rare situations where sequels take characters and stories in whole new and exciting directions. But unfortunately, most of the time you get a rehash of what was seen before. That does not mean it cannot be great but it lacks the excitement of taking the audience on a brand new journey. The same goes for remakes. For the most part, you are getting that same story. The trappings can be different but at the core it is just the same film over again. Only the truly great remakes can transcend that expectation. Prequels fall into the overly familiar trap of leaning into references for the sake of connection and tend to reflect many of the same issues as the sequel. Even an adaptation is going to lack originality as there is already a source for this story. 

But what is the most important question to ask yourself in that situation? Is that what you are looking for? For all the complaints to the contrary, there are still plenty of people who will complain if they do not get what they wanted out of a film. There is comfort and safety in a story we know. But for me, a great film will take you on an expected journey. The feeling of getting lost in a film and letting it take me through all of its twists and turns is one of the most satisfying feelings. For a film (especially in 2023) to completely subvert your expectations is quite the feat. There is a balance of satisfaction and subversion that needs to be met but sometimes it can be really boring to know each and every beat that is going to come at you during a film. It is not a guarantee for original films to truly surprise you but at least there is the lack of baggage that comes over with a previous film. 

Speaking of baggage, isn’t it becoming increasingly more cumbersome to keep up with so many franchises? Sometimes it is quite refreshing to know that the next 90-minutes, 120-minutes, or even 180-minutes will give me a whole story that I can appreciate and just go home with. I am a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but there has been an unfortunate consequence of its success. Everything needs to be a franchise now. There needs to be characters in every film for the sake of setting up another. There needs to be so much more to the story to explore because it needs to expand into other films. You need to be able to commit to films and shows that build and build to just get a full experience. I am fine committing to one (specifically the MCU) and maybe another (like the rising DCU) but if every property becomes this, that is plain exhausting. Studios like A24 and Neon feel like the few places where they are not out to just pump out franchises. From a business standpoint, I get it. Franchises and recognizable properties make the most money. But from a cinematic and artistic perspective, it is just plain boring and repetitive. 

But what is the worst baggage growing with franchises? The toxicity of fandom. Being a Star Wars fan used to be fun and fulfilling. But now, it is hard to enjoy any release because everyone is so quick to hate them and complain that it is “not what they wanted”. This might be a conversation starter (to say the least) but the fans don’t make the art. The artist is the one who should be setting the tone of where the story goes. I never understood the fascination with having films playing exactly how I want them to or expect them to. Why get invested in the experience if you know the whole experience already? The toxic discourses that surround almost every known property released is filled with hate, vitriol, and (worst of all) spoilers for everything. The conversations going into the film are so filled with theories and big reveals that the final product feels soiled on some level. Original films do garner some of this depending on the artist behind the (i.e. Tarantino and Nolan) but overall, they are fresh experiences that can just be enjoyed without all the nonsense. 

Can the film landscape change? There is really only one thing to do. Money. If originals can be shown to the consistent money makers, then the studios will focus on them. But right now, that is not the truth of our current cinematic world. Most of the highest grossing films of all time are franchises and/or known properties. If audiences go out and support films Everything Everywhere All At Once and Parasite, studios will take notice and we will get more. So let’s show original content some love and help bring those projects back to the forefront.

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