How Capitalist Hollywood Has Ruined Films

Anna Farrar, News Editor

Summer 2018 had some of the highest selling movies of the year, including highly-anticipated blockbusters, such as “Ocean’s 8,” “The Incredibles 2,” “Solo” and “Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom.” What do all of these movies have in common? They are sequels, reboots, sequels of reboots or standalone films within a series. It’s almost easier to find more original and unique productions in television shows, especially streaming services such as Netflix or Hulu.

The Walt Disney Company is the biggest source of the problem. Acquiring companies such as Freeform (formerly ABC Family) and 21st Century Fox allows Disney to reboot and extend dozens of movies, all with one goal: money. Companies like Disney have created a precedent for films to be purely for capitalistic gain, taking away from the art form that it once was.

Disney currently is in the process of continuing the “Star Wars” saga. In 2011, Disney acquired Lucasfilms, run by George Lucas and the original “Star Wars” producer. Disney began the reboot with “Episode VII”, which was released in 2015. Shortly after, “Episode VIII,” “Rogue One” and “Solo” were all released, making “Star Wars” the second highest grossing film series ever.

The films gained mostly positive reviews from critics; however, many fans were underwhelmed. The plot of “Episode VII” is almost identical to “Episode IV,” complete with a Death-Star-like space station and a struggling resistance. The new “Star Wars” movies have been so tiredly formulaic because they are tailored to a larger audience than the original trilogy was. These blockbuster-type movies want to impress everybody, so the studios go back to the same tired framework and throw some fancy CGI to wow the viewers. Rather than let the film directors or actors use creativity in the film, Disney had to trust with what works, whether it makes sense with the storyline or not.

The same pattern is exhibited in Disney’s Pixar films. Forcing such films as “Finding Dory” and “The Incredibles 2” causes an untruthful artistic process in the making of films. Pixar didn’t make sequels to these movies’ predecessors because their story was complete. There was nothing more to say. Throwing sequels onto movies risks ruining the franchise, much like five extra movies has done to “Star Wars.”

Even though some of these movies can be enjoyable to watch, I’m exhausted by never seeing original films in the theaters. From the 30+ superhero movies to the new reboot of “Halloween,” I want to see a film that doesn’t have to rely on the fan base or reputation of its precursor to be successful.