The Remake Conundrum

So this year a couple of remakes were released. such as A Nightmare on Elm Street, only it's not called a remake anymore but instead they are being promoted as a re-imagining of the story. This seems to be a newly formed pattern when it comes to promoting remakes nowadays, this non-use of the word remake. Instead words like re-imagining, re-starting, tribute, Americanization, and, my own favorite, rebooting is being used whenever Hollywood decides to recycle.

It seems today the word remake has gotten a negative connotation to it, and whenever a remake is in talks, the fans of the original will undoubtedly come out of the woodwork to loudly complain about it, and in almost every case, not one of those fans has seen any of the footage from the remake. It almost seems that the complaints that the fans of the original have are just a knee jerk reaction to the word remake and if you as a fan of the original don't complain about it, well then you are seen as not being a fan at all.

However, I'm going to take the opposing view to this. I say remakes are good. Now I'm not talking story wise because let's face it, remakes almost always get it wrong, but when I say remakes are good, I mean they are good for the original. I say this because if a remake is being done, in most cases there is also a lot of buzz about the original, which in turn will make more people see it, hence, the original, which in almost all cases is seen as the epitome of film making, will get more fans.

This can also be seen when books are adapted for the silver screen. The book being portrayed will either be sold more at bookstore or borrowed more often from the library.

This is because in the end, people want to know the source material, and they want to know why this specific movie is being remade or why that book is being filmed. People are naturally curious and they think knowing trivial things like what and when something is being made into a movie will get them more culture capital and make them cooler.

So the next time one of your friends want to see the newest remake, don't follow your gut reaction, take a breath and ask them if they want to see the original beforehand. Maybe this way one of your favorite films will gain a fan.