Remakes have always been a part of Hollywood, averaging 19 movie remake releases a year. With so many movie remakes many ask the question as to whether Hollywood has run out of creativity. Rather than hiring authors with good and authentic ideas, they chose to take a movie that had been defined as “classic” and mess with it. This angers many of its original fans.
Movie remakes have been a thing within the film industry since 1896. The original director of the movie “Playing Cards” Louis Lumière, released the movie early in the year. French director George Melies took on that same project and remade it later on in the year. Then again remade to appeal to the younger audiences of 2017.
When the announcement that there was going to be a live-action remake of a childhood classic, “Snow White”, the internet broke out into a surge, and not in a good way. Many question why they needed to make a live-action version, especially one that spurs so far from the way the story was originally written.
“Remakes just don’t capture the original glow. Like the new Snow White remake coming doesn’t capture the same energy as the original,” freshman Victor Waturuocha explained.
Instead of the classic love story where Snow White gets saved by Prince Charming, it is said that Snow White saves herself. Fighting back from that narrative and the patriarchy, which on its own is an amazing story and would be for another princess. Changing the whole story is unethical and stupid when they are perfectly capable of creating a new story with a new princess.
As junior Derek Wright-Deputie explained that with movie remakes there is just too much that is different and that is why people tend to not like them.
Diving into the idea of what a movie classic is and what makes it considered untouchable one must understand how a movie is considered classic in the first place. A “classic” movie proves a lasting power, it reveals itself over again after years or decades. It is not just in the spotlight for a month but for generations. The movie speaks to its audience in a way that keeps it dear to their hearts.
I’d say for like a lot of people like the older movies rather than like movies that have come out in the last 20 years.”
“I would say for a lot of people like the older movies rather than like movies that have come out in the last 20 years,” Wright-Deputie said.
With remakes, it is not always bad. The main reason for remakes is not just a money craze but they are made to appeal to the upcoming generation and get them into the same stuff people older than them may have watched or enjoyed.
“I think it’s like a good idea because it brings back the past,” senior Muhammad Hassan said. “It brings back pop culture from the past too.”
Movie remakes have been a part of the film industry forever and will continue to rapture Hollywood producers because of the potential money that can be brought from those projects. Overall though movie remakes have benefited audiences by bringing in the younger generations to what older generations enjoyed. The uncreativity and possible disrespect done to remade classics will continue to upset viewers and 19 released a year is unethical especially when no one is asking for it.
“In a way remakes kind of ruined my childhood a little bit. I used to love ‘The Lion King’ and then they came with a remake and oh my god that was so bad,” Waturuocha said.
