The Death of Originality in Cinema Even though it's been a while since I've been able to go see a film in the cinema, I'm a huge fan of the film industry. The last really great movie I saw was Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. It ended on all the right notes, answering all the questions, and tying up all the loose ends in very satisfying ways. I felt like it ended so well, that I really hoped they wouldn't make a sequel, as unlikely as that obviously was. A few days ago, I got in touch with a friend in the US, who informed me that Ben Affleck had been cast as the new Batman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel. I was a little annoyed by this, which turned into an argument with my friend about all the sequels Hollywood has churned out. Our conversation led to a prurient curiosity about how many sequels, remakes, or prequels had been released or would be released on the American film market. I did a bit of searching on the web and found some interesting trends and information on the major film releases of the last 20-30 years. I didn't realize how much we have been bombarded by the film industry's unoriginal films, some of which were excellent and some of which were terrible. I looked at the ten best films of 1981, 1991, 2001 and 2011 and the change in the type of content we saw on the big screen. Which led me to this conclusion: Hollywood is clearly out of ideas, and the amount of sequels they've made proves that they can barely keep their heads above water when it comes to original stories and ideas. But is it really their fault? I believe the American moviegoing public, as well-intentioned as it may be, is fueling the lack of originality on our silver screen... middle of paper... it matters. It's much better to show something of quality than nothing at all. Our children need heroes, both the ones in real life and the ones they see on the screens in front of them. Movies, original or not, teach us lessons, relieve stress, and can even bring us together. They make us laugh, cry, believe, rejoice, get angry and more. We need our myths to pass down, our tales to leave in history as the Greeks, Egyptians and countless civilizations before us did. In a harsh world that is slowly getting worse, we as people need an escape, any escape. And $10 for a couple hours of that free time is relatively cheap and worth it. http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2012/01/05/has-hollywood-lost-its-way/Boxofficemojo.comB. Snyder. (2005) Save the Cat! The Last Screenwriting Book You'll Ever Need George Haerle Personal Quotes