Unoriginality And Repetitiveness In Hollywood
Once in a while, the box office will display a movie unlike any other…emphasis on once in a while. A lot of popular movies portray basically the same plot with different variations. In superhero movies, romantic comedies, sci-fi movies and more, the plots seem to blur together.
If someone were to watch every superhero movie from this past decade, they’d find a bunch of similarities. The same themes and storylines show up in every movie. According to Vanity Fair, one of the themes that pops up is Hero vs. Hero—when the characters face-off in an epic display of clashing egos—shown in Batman versus Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, Daredevil, most X-Men movies, etc.
Another theme Vanity Fair called “the Ultimate Sacrifice,” shows up when the main character gives up his or her life for the greater good: again, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Dark Knight, The Hunger Games and more. Another extremely popular trope is the beloved antihero, or when the hero/heroine fails to display the typical characteristics a hero usually does, traits such as courage, kindness, idealism and morality. Characters like: Deadpool, Jessica Jones, Catwoman, Wolverine, the Winter Soldier, etc. all fit the antihero trope.
When it gets down to romantic comedies, a viewer can expect to see the same tropes appear in most of them. A heterosexual caucasian girl meets a heterosexual caucasian guy, they like each other, they break up, they get back together in an elaborate display of romanticism. All wrapped up in a bow at the end of an hour and a half. The actual storylines vary from time to time, but for the most part, the same tired concepts are used over and over again. Movies like The Proposal, The Notebook, Ghost and more.
Remakes, reboots and sequels pump out of Hollywood as well. According to Mashable, a news website focusing on pop culture, 122 remakes were made between 2003 and 2012. Historically, some of these remakes were successful, such as Ocean’s Eleven and True Grit. Yet among these successes there are many failures, one striking example is the 2016 version of Ben Hur in comparison with the original 1959 version. The original won a whopping 11 Academy Awards along with other nominations, while the dismal remake got nothing but a 25 percent rating from the film critics of Rotten Tomatoes.
Movies containing new and original ideas in their scripts prove tricky to find in your average box office. With all the remakes and predictable plot-lines, when you watch one movie, it can feel like you’ve watched them all.
