Michelle Li, 4/16 Week 15 - Revival
Have you heard about the Harry Potter HBO reboot? I’ve known about it for some time, but thought it would be cancelled eventually due to lack of support. No such luck; they just announced the casting for some of the Hogwarts staff. Really? Can’t we leave a story with a satisfying ending alone, and—more importantly—stop funneling money to J.K. Rowling?
No. Hollywood is addicted to reboots. Whether it’s creating sequels that fall flat in comparison to their originals or relentlessly pushing out live-action Disney remakes, the film industry won’t stop creating unnecessary additions to classic franchises. But we still eat it up every single time because of our nostalgia.
Reviving old shows is essentially an emotional shortcut for streaming services. They don’t have to go through all of the work of creating a new one when they can instead build off of an existing series that has a guaranteed audience. Fans remember the show’s characters, world, and lore, all of which a new reboot can bring back alongside that same sense of familiarity from comfort shows.
And it doesn’t just apply to television. We’ve seen nostalgia resurface in fashion as well. I know I’m not the only one here who’s fallen victim to the ultra high-rise jeans from 2020—but that was essentially a revitalization of the high-waisted jeans from the 1990s. And now low-waisted pants from the 2000s have returned. It seems that even the mid-2010s aren’t safe from this repackaging of trends; Tumblr and EDM pop are both making a comeback.
If you’re curious as to why so many trends have been brought back, look towards the current state of the world. Unfortunately, we live in an unstable political, economic, and social climate, and many of us find ourselves feeling nostalgic for simpler times. Everything seemed so easy back then—but admittedly, that perspective might have been influenced by how young we were, the lack of stress we felt, or the fact that things have changed for the worse since a certain orange man became president.
I’ve been a Tumblrina for years and I love Zara Larsson; there’s nothing wrong with looking back on the “good old days.” But being stuck in the past makes us less aware of the present. And right now, with everything happening in America (and the rest of the world), we can’t afford to be ignorant of current events.
ReplyDeleteGreetings Michelle, I loved reading your blog. I have to try to defend the essence behind the reboots, the television is a medium to spread stories, if there are stories to tell then it is worth it. For example, the Harry Potter Novels have a lot of stories that were left unanswered, and those stories can be fulfilled through this new medium of television. Yet realistically, they will not spend the required amount of love necessary to bring this concept to life. Gen Z has failed to create cultural moments, because the independence of consuming media at your own leisure has robbed us of pivotal moments to be consumed together. This has led to the current generations focus being directed on to previous media.
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing up this topic, because the flood of reboot after reboot, sequel after sequel, live action after live action is genuinely frustrating me. I do not think I have watched any original movie that has been good in a while. I think the fear of taking creative risks is gone. I watched something interesting which actually might provide a reason why. It was a video explaining the hemline index being an indicator of the economy. It explained that when the economy is doing good, people (women) tend to push the norms and take more risks. They push for their rights and freedoms, which is evident in their more risque clothing choices. However, when the economy is doing worse, they tend to stick to traditional conservative clothing, because it is tried and tested. While the insurgence of reboots is not related to fashion, I think the fear of trying new things when there is so much uncertainty gives them the push to capitalize on nostalgia.
Hi Michelle! Your blog about how the entertainment industry and pop culture have been in a creative drought lately through their endless rehashing of certain brands and IPS is a topic I’ve always wanted to talk about. In my opinion, making entertainment focused on economic success rather than artistic achievement is partially the reason as to why there is an extreme amount of both nostalgia and disgust towards modern-day media; big brands, especially Disney, fear of being irrelevant, as that would mean losing their reliable large amount of income. Many Disney remakes are box-office hits, but never critical darlings or generally well received.
ReplyDeleteWhen entertainment becomes more about the numbers and charts and less about the art presented, audiences quickly become fed up with the current state of entertainment. They look back and wish that the original and memorable parts of pop culture and entertainment from years or decades ago would be back—and ironically, big brands listen. They reboot, they remake, they redo with the goal of both appealing to nostalgia and playing it safe; and again, they lose sight of paying tribute while making the remake have a soul of its own (the new Percy Jackson and the Olympians show does this well, not perfectly but well) never appease the viewers in the way these companies had hoped. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps on happening—hopefully the abomination that is the recent Snow White remake will put an end to this horrible culture of mediocre reboots.