Saturday, May 11, 2013

Are New Franchises Really A "Gamble"?

I saw this recently in Variety, and it gave me hope.  Alas, it proved to be false hope.

I interpreted the headline to mean that Hollywood was giving up its addiction to the tried and true, sliced thinly and sauced with special effects, and then spread out over several "episodes.  Then I read the article, and was reminded that nothing changes in Hollywood.  You know what they're "gambling" on?  New franchises.  And, in the case of "The Lone Ranger," it's not so new:  a Western classic with Johnny Depp as a Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-style Tonto.

Only in Hollywood could something so old be passed off as "new."  What would really be new would be fresh stories, stand-alone films and a steady supply of new talent (as opposed to over-priced has-beens).  In other words, Hollywood from the 1930s to the early 1970s.  A time, I might point out, in which our politics as well as our culture was ready to embrace things that were new and challenging.  A time when much of what is now worshiped as "iconic" was actually being created.

America doesn't seem to function that way anymore.  The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is now The Land of the Retread and the Home of the Shopworn.  If it is true that we are a conservative nation, we are conservative in the very worst sense:  too tired and timid to embrace something that hasn't already been hugged to death.

Look, I'll admit:  I just saw "Iron Man 3" tonight.  I grew up on Marvel Comics, and am thrilled that movies are now being made from them.  But I don't want to live in a culture where all movies are comic-book movies any more than I want to see one kind of building, wear one kind of clothes or eat one kind of food.  I have always trusted a culture in which anything is possible and everything has a chance.  A culture that doesn't just stand on one leg and pray that the leg doesn't break.  A culture that is supported and energized by everyone, because everyone has a place in it.

Conservatives are right about one thing:  culture is reflected in politics.  But that's no compliment to conservatism.  Our stale culture is reflected in our stalemated politics and, as of right now, both are dying.

My advice?  Support local artists, including filmmakers.  Get involved in the arts yourself.  Patronize the distribution of independent films and other content outside of "show business."  Do whatever you have to do to rebel locally, and pray that what you do will spread globally.

Then, maybe, just maybe, we'll see some "gambles" that are worth taking.

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