Given the immense amount of fiction out there in the world, I have long wondered why the same stories get made into movies over and over again. It is a complex answer in part, but it generally boils down to two things: Ego and Security. Businesses tend to be risk averse. Film making is a business. This, accompanied by ego leads to some actual nonsense. I realized this last night sitting in bed and finally watching a bit of the 2019 Lion King. This film, which tests the boundaries of the uncanny valley, is little more than a flex. It is basically a shot-by-shot recreation of the animated story. Heck, they even kept James Earl Jones as Mufasa. The difference is in the digital ‘live action’ animation. You can see the flex in the way that certain shots are extended merely to show off how good the cgi looks. It does look good. That doesn’t warrant putting it out in theaters again.
I miss seeing entirely new things. I can only find that sort of freedom and reveal in books anymore… Heck even books seem very copycat anymore. I wonder about the creative world and why it is that so much of what we consume is a replica of what we have already consumed. I’m not wondering from the business standpoint anymore, because that is obvious. I am wondering from the creator’s perspective. What are you doing in order to create something brand new?
I am as guilty as the rest. I feel like my creative power is waning hourly. I feel like I used to have all the ideas in the world, and now I rehash nonsense and try to make it sound fresh and cool. I thought I was better than that, and I still think I can be. I ought to figure out a way to try.