The Matrix..Er, Hollywood Has You...

Image courtesy of Imgur

 You know how I know we're living in the Matrix? Because we've all seen this before. Take a look around you. Shades of decades long since passed can be seen in just about every facet of contemporary society. Just have a look at your garden-variety big-city denizen if you need proof. 9 times out of 10 they're a patchwork of social sensibilities that have pervaded the last 50 years of American culture. Liberal thoughts on promiscuity and relationships?- From the 60's. Those low hanging pants? - They're from the 90's, oh, and the way they fit?- from the 80's. From haircuts, to jewelry, to eyeglasses (and by the way, when I wore them 25 years ago, trust me, they were NOT AT ALL cool) there's hardly a youth among us, myself included (I'm partial to 90's slang, I must admit) that hasn't found longing in a piece of yesteryear's nostalgia in this our 21st of centuries. And if you haven't guessed by now, despite my somewhat disparaging tone on the matter, I'd like you to know that, for the most part anyway, I'm pretty much ok with this apparent lack of social innovation and hand-me-down culture. There's always a sort of strange comfort (and learned caution) to be found in the familiar, a quixotic appeal to basking in the relative safety of that already lived. And so it is to this thought, this space of warm embrace, which I greet with the words of the iconic Han Solo in the 2015 Star Wars sequel: "We're home." Ironically, it is this brand of thinking that conveniently brings me to the point of this article, which is: there's (at the very least) one area of our collective culture that does not stand to benefit from this willful regurgitation of the 20th century and that's storytelling.

 Anyone familiar with the 1999 Wachowski phenomenon knows that the jist of the film revolves around a nefarious plot by the world's machines to enslave humanity by keeping them enthralled in a computer program. Ironically, this is not far from the truth (ha!), or at least my truth anyway. The parallel I'm trying to draw here was one of the big themes in the movies. This idea of recycling, this churning up of the old in an attempt at creating something "new" - and in doing so, missing the point entirely. The remake has by far and away been the most familiar thing in entertainment over the past two decades. At the tender age of 31, I myself have seen more prequels, sequels, reboots and remakes than I care to admit. From Alien to Terminator, Tron to Jurassic Park, the list goes on.  Even the one time pariah of a film Blade Runner got its chance at 21st century glitz in 2017 with a sequel that featured Ryan Gosling in the lead role along with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Dekker, an ex-cop who specialized in hunting down and "retiring" robots masquerading as humans. And it's not just sci-fi that gets to ride on the sequel/remake carousel that has become on of the cornerstones of Hollywood (one the others being superhero films). Most recently some old guy in a suit, or Willis himself (in which case, still true) thought it'd be a good idea to remake Death Wish, a film franchise made popular by actor and badass Charles Bronson. The 2018 remake (likely to spawn several sequels should this one recoup its budget) stars Bruce Willis, known for his role as John McClain in the 1988 action film Die Hard, which itself spawned a number of sequels spanning into the 2010's. The tendrils of the reboot don't end at the dust ruffle of the film industry, as the T.V. faithful have seen their insidious grasp extended into their realm as well. Evidently emboldened from the same wellspring, countless programs of the Vonnegut era have tried their hands with the audiences of the internet generation- some to lasting success, such as Netflix's Full House which, at last check, was in its third season.

 Now don't get me wrong. I get just as excited as any 80's pop culture fan when I get a chance to see classics like Star Wars and Roseanne (whoops!) get a chance to reach the younger generation- made shiny and new with all the bells and whistles of ridiculous budgets and lengthy shooting schedules courtesy of the faithful consumers of the couch culture. The very idea conjures up images of rainy Sunday afternoons of popcorn and iced tea, watching these cinematic wonders as loud as I want through my headphones while my mom enjoys her sob fest (likely Beaches or whatever cheesy marathon was on Lifetime that weekend) in the quiet comfort of the living room. But as I alluded to earlier, nostalgia is something that must always be enjoyed with a learned caution much like wearing a Yankee's hat to Citi Field. The desire to see the past live on mustn’t be sustained by the life blood of what could be. For it is this proclivity to innovate and depart from the awkward conformity of our past that made those decades we seem desperate  to relive so special as we retrospectively stare at them over our shoulder. That's all. I just needed to make that point. Oh, and to paraphrase what that wise old guy said that one time (though I can figure out for the life of me what his name was right now): those whom forget the past, or at the very least forget that it has already happened, are doomed to repeat it.