What happened to the imagination of people where movies/music are remakes instead of originals?

Question

Has anyone else noticed how most music we hear today is remakes or re-using music from past to make a new song?
Also with movies.... I get on Netflix to rent something and two same titles will come up and I find that they are remakes of originals.
Where did the imagination and creativity of human beings go that they can't come up with their own music/movies anymore?

Answer 1

Once upon a time men saw movies and radio as great frontiers waiting to be conquered so they went out and started up companies and sought whatever talent was out there to make things happen. It was easy, there wasn't much competition and people worked for peanuts. Then the money started rolling in, and talented people began wanting more. United Artists was the first sign that thing were changing. The artists were taking over the management of the product. Same thing happened in music. Eventually the Beatles opened Apple. You then have union and pay scales. You have a diminishing number of new voices on broadway, a diminishing number of novelists, and a diminishing number of song writers. Businesses start having to pay more celebrities, that meant they had less to groom celebrities, to build writers and build musicals. In music, Nashville formulated county music, and Rock went in so many directions it didn't seem to matter what anyone wrote. Right now it is cheaper to redo old projects than to start new projects. There are few great stories and they have to be great to generate the dollars to pay for the salaries. Independent movies are out there but they show on fewer screens and to smaller audiences. And if you are looking for that new sound, it is probably in a club and not on the radio. Don't expect this to change. It is going this way for a reason. Money. You have got to have it to make it. Not everybody has a Disney World and a Disneyland to help finance its upcoming movies and singers, and both of those places have been leveraged more than once.

Answer 2

Music remakes are called 'covers.' The reason they don't call them remakes is because newer versions are virtually unchanged unlike a 90 minute movie which by its very length leaves it open to more reinterpreation (different characters, settings, etc.). And you have to keep in mind that a lot of songs popularized by artsists you know were never written by those artists anyway. The songwriting artist is in decline at the majors so if you really want original material, start reseaching artists on the indies.

But I certainly agree. Hollywood and major record labels really are ramming the crap down our throats (remakes or no), but remember we're living in a very conservative time and the entertainment industry tends to reflect the politics of the day. With FCC fines recently being increased tenfold, I'm afraid the majors will be too scared to put up on a legal fight on weakening First Amendment grounds. It's easy to just rehash the old, safe material. Another Superman movie anyone? How about Dukes of Hazzard II?! :)

Answer 3

Great point, and yes, I definitely have noticed. Making movies & music is an art, but sometimes it turns more into a business. It actually has been shown that remakes historically are on avg more successful (moneywise) than new creations. Also, psychologically, it has been shown that we prefer music that we are familiar with. Sometimes, it's just a shorthand to get to the feelings due to past associations.

Answer 4

they are worried Americans won't like arthousey films as it seems many writers are now going down that route. Producers are worried American audiences won't like these types of filmsbecause they are too dull or too intellegent for them so they stick to tried and tested formulas and what better tried and tested formula than a movie that has already been out there and loved by the audiences?

Answer 5

They are all high on xanax bars,or crack,or powder cocaine with some weed mixed in.Or maybe they smoke a little meth to feel creative than they take several oxycontin to unwind!Or maybe take some beans to enjoy the work!I agree whatever happened to all the originals,thats why I watch Sundance,all original.