Civilization, Whither Art Thou

Movie Identity Crisis

At least a few times recently I have been talking to some young person (i.e. a teenager) and they have asked me if I saw such and such movie. I tell them yeah, I saw that a long time ago. That’s when a confused look appears on their face and I have to ask them, “What’s up?” They tell me that the movie just came out and look at me like perhaps at 31 I’m getting Alzheimer’s disease. I figure out what’s going on and inform them the movie they just saw was a remake. This has become so common today that I almost assume that a movie coming out is a remake. But I don’t want to discuss my issues with remakes or how I think Hollywood is daft like "(pretty)these guys(title Kansas)":http://www.kansas.com/2013/04/07/2750926/when-it-comes-to-hollywood-remakes.html claim or how excited I am like these other guys out there. No, I want to discuss what this means for the younger generation in terms of how they define themselves. When I was born in 1982 Blade Runner came out. It was one of my father’s favorite movies and has become one of mine as well. Other movies that came out in 1982 include _E.T. the Extraterrestrial_, Pink Floyd’s _The Wall_, _The Last Unicorn_, _Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan_, and _Tron_. Of these films the last two have been remade or adapted and many of the others are in the works of being remade. So what happens when the new _Blade Runner_ comes out? It is reportedly going to be a sequel, which would imply that it is for my parents’ generation and perhaps mine as well; but certainly not these kids born in the year 2000. Now where I was raised in Austin, Texas, we all loved _The Beatles_. I’m not sure why, but we coopted them and made them our own. No one really seemed to mind and for all appearances they seem to be timeless. Go in to a music store today and _The Beatles_ will be everywhere. But we had our own music as well. _Nirvana_, _Sublime_, _Tupac_, _The Notorious BIG_, _Barenaked Ladies_, _The Spice Girls_, _No Doubt_, and _Madonna_ to name just a few. Those beatniks from Liverpool were just an addition to our repertoire. So what does this generation have? Not much. Currently there are over 50 remakes or adaptations in the works or already made. Here’s a quick table to lay it out for you: |_. Name |_. Original Year |_. Name |_. Original Year| | Arthur | 1982 | They Live | 1988 | | The Crazies | 1973 | Romancing the Stone | 1984 | | The Incredible Shrinking Man | 1957 | The Illustrated Man | 1969 | | When Worlds Collide | 1951 | Fantastic Voyage | 1977 | | Back to School | 1986 | Meatballs | 1979 | | Metropolis | 1927 | The Dirty Dozen | 1967 | | 13 | 2005 | Conan | 1982 | | Clash of the Titans | 1981 | Akira | 1988 | | The Karate Kid | 1984 | Death Wish | 1974 | | Footloose | 1984 | The Taking of Pelham 123 | 1974 | | State of Play | 2003 | The Last House on the Left | 1972 | | Fame | 1980 | Red Dawn | 1984 | | Short Circuit | 1986 | The Thing | 1982 | | The Birds | 1963 | Hellraiser | 1987 | | Poltergeist | 1982 | Old Boy | 2003 | | WestWorld |1973 | 36 | 2004 | | Logan’s Run | 1976 | Child’s Play | 1988 | | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | 1975 | Flash Gordon | 1980 | | Rosemary’s Baby | 1968 | Starfighter | 1984 | | Forbidden Planet | 1956 | Sympathy for Lady Vengeance | 2005 | | Near Dark | 1987 | Barbarella | 1968 | | Red Sonja | 1985 | Last Tango in Paris | 1972 | | Angel Heart | 1987 | The Host | 2006 | | High and Low | 1963 | My Fair Lady | 1964 | | Rashomon | 1950 | All of Me | 1984 | | 10 | 1979 | Captain Blood | 1935 | | Highlander | 1986 | Brighton Rock | 1947 | | Dredd | 1995 | Evil Dead | 1981 | | Robocop | 1987 | Annie | 1982 | | Point Break | 1991 | The Crow | 1994 | | The NeverEnding Story | 1984 | American Psycho | 2000 | | Porky’s | 1982 | Little Shop of Horros | 1986 | | The Lone Ranger | 1956 | Dark Shadows | 1966 -1971 | | Man of Steel | 1978 | Spiderman | 2002 |

Wow. I’m going to stop there with the table; and it is quite a table. There are two things that really struck me when I was making this table. One was that many of these movies have sequels and the other is that it is horribly incomplete. Will we have a _Neverending Story: Part II_? Will there be an _Evil Dead 3_? I’m not sure. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. But after we filter out the remakes what are we left with? Not a whole heck of a lot in the mainstream world. There are definitely some indie films out there with original plots, but even the indie world is getting into the remake business. It seems that before long we will only be able to see remakes and the new generations will have nothing of their own. Imagine the teenager who thinks that _Evil Dead_ is an awesome film and that it is part of his generation, only to learn that a huge cult following around the original already exists. How does he feel?

I feel that much of my identity came from the movies I saw. They are a large part of who I am and my memories as a child and teenager. Is there an identity crisis brewing in this younger generation where they have no solid identify of their own besides movies like _The Fast and the Furious_, _The Hangover_, and _Hostel_? Where is or perhaps what is their _E.T._ or _Star Wars_? What is their _Neverending Story_ or _Karate Kid_? Surely not the remakes.

Perhaps in time we will see what becomes of this generations memory of film. I wish them the best and good luck; because they don’t have a lot to work with.