So I was thinking about remakes recently, mainly why so many, and then the Youtube channel PBS Idea Channel did an episode on it so it seemed like fate that I write this. Now, here goes:
I think the recent thought to progressive media has something to do it. In fact, I was thinking about remakes because I was thinking about the new all-female cast of the new Ghostbusters. In the diversity episode of Idea Channel, Mike Rugnetta said ‘From a very young age…we’re told that superheroes are not real, but we are not told that portraying every Muslim or Middle-Eastern character as a terrorist is equally unreal’. So changing old media to fix these issues not only gets adults excited, but it’s something adults will share with their kids. This progressive wave that’s happening, slowly and maybe with problems, but it is happening, is especially prevalent as fans not only get more power, but get more analytical. With channels like The Game Theorists raking in a sizeable amount of subscribers and of course that little known website Reddit, any possible hidden meaning in anything, good and bad, is discussed and debated, thus making remakes not just redoings but something that adds layers and even more meaning to a piece of media, if done right. This means that fans become both critics and advertisers, and if the future of fandom is indeed dictating casting choices and plotlines, then they also become co-creators, fixing and remixing anything they want.
Alternatively, memes might have something to do with it. Every time you see a meme more often than not there’s a familiar face, like Kermit or Spongebob, so now memes not only express a relatable thought or action but also a relatable person or time of life, meaning people who understand the memes on both levels make up a sort of internet in-crowd. So now memes not only convey the idea that we’re not tired of these pieces of media but it gives people not in the in-crowd a place to familiarize themselves with that media.
And just a note to Simon Pegg’s idea that we live in age where we don’t have to grow up immediately after leaving school and therefore experience a second childhood, I totally agree. In fact, my full Youtube username was supposed to be ‘a nerdy coming-out story’. Growing up I was very introverted and was mainly a book nerd, which is basically a solitary activity, meaning I missed out on being engrossed by key pieces of media, specifically Disney movies. I also wasn’t much of gamer, FYI. But now I’m 20 and am experiencing a sort of geek rebirth, getting into retro games like Legend of Zelda and Pokemon and also superhero movies and comic books. And at first I was kinda embarrassed because it seems I am too old but now, not so much. Perhaps that’s because of something else Simon Pegg said, that ‘society…[has been] been infantilised by our own taste. Now we’re essentially all consuming very childish things – comic books, superheroes. Adults are watching this stuff, and taking it seriously.’
Now, his recently responded to this, but that’s not important at this time. All I’m saying is that it seems that everyone is doing it, so why can’t I?
The Quirk Works 