Why Should Hollywood Keep Remaking Movies?

         Reboots in Hollywood are very popular these days. In a way it makes sense from a studio perspective. Why take a risk on something new when there’s a built-in audience for a particular name and story? 2016 has already repackaged The Jungle Book and Ghostbusters for us and still has Pete’s Dragon, Ben-Hur, and The Magnificent Seven on the menu (though in fairness, The Magnificent Seven was itself a remake of Seven Samurai to begin with). In all of these cases, the original was regarded as a classic. Well, except for Pete’s Dragon. Surely most people don’t want the same thing presented to them again, and if you asked them if they’d be excited for a reboot of one of their favourite movies, they’d reply in the negative. You can never improve upon the original, they’d say.
          Only, that’s not true. No film is perfect and as much as some of us would hate to admit, there is always some way a story can be improved upon. It may be something very small, a nitpick of nitpicks, but it will be there. It’s a weak but in a small way valid argument for rebooting movies. And when I watch a movie remake I always look for something it does better or different, that in some way is a conscious effort to improve upon the original while still maintaining the spirit of what made that film  great, if indeed it was to begin with.
          And sometimes remakes can be better than the original. You may hear the term and think of misfires like How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla, strange abominations like Gus Van Sant’s Psycho, and numerous Tim Burton attempts from Planet of the Apes to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Alice in Wonderland. But every so often a movie like John Carpenter’s The Thing, or the Coen Brothers’ take on True Grit come out that improve on the original and make for a better movie. Admittedly though these appear to be the exception to the rule and for every successful remake there seem to be double the failures, so why do studios keep green-lighting them.
          Well I have to say there is something optimistic in the idea of retelling a great story to an audience who may have missed out on it the first time. Some may say the new Ghostbusters was an affront to nostalgia. But not everyone grew up with Ghostbusters, and this is an opportunity to introduce the story and world to a new demographic. There are plenty of stories I would love more young people to be aware of, but the sad truth is, saying they should just see the original isn’t going to make a difference. Not everyone wants to go to the trouble of seeking out something that’s older, and would find it much more convenient to see it presented in an updated style on the big screen. If the story’s strong enough, I can understand the argument to retell it. And if they like it enough, they might want to see the original for comparison.
          It should also be borne in mind that the original films we loved aren’t going anywhere regardless of whether or not they’re remade. I can still watch the original Ben-Hur in all its glory, Hitchcock’s Psycho is as brilliant as ever, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory still wondrous. Few will go the George Lucas route of re-editing original films so that it changes the product the fans loved (though some can make their films better by doing this, i.e. Blade Runner).
          There’s also the fact that while we may say we don’t like reboots, a lot of us are going to see them anyway. Many people who saw Ghostbusters went in thinking they were going to hate it, which based on the marketing made sense. But despite the horrible marketing, people were morbidly curious; they just had to know how this newcomer would represent their beloved classic. So many of us grew up with the original Disney Jungle Book, yet we made that recent live-action remake a box office hit for a number of weeks. Movies like Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes and Clash of the Titans though hated now, were box office smashes when they were released. So regardless of how some of us may feel, remakes can make a lot of money.  
          I think the real fear is that a remake or reboot will take the original’s place in the cultural lexicon. Even the fact that you now have to make the distinction between the two when talking about the film you love, you can’t help but feel the original is threatened. It can be annoying, especially when you really dislike the reboot. I’ll admit, upcoming remakes like Beauty and the Beast and All Quiet on the Western Front are worrisome to me because the original films were so wonderful and a part of me really thinks they’re untouchable. 
          But I’m comforted by the knowledge that truly great art will never die. How many people remember the Robocop remake or the Total Recall remake of a few years ago? Most people when they think of The Karate Kid think of the original 80’s movie rather than the 2010 one with Jackie Chan and Jayden Smith. What about Poltergeist? And most of us aren’t even aware there was a Rear Window remake starring Christopher Reeve. So if you weren’t a fan of Ghostbusters, don’t worry. The original is still going to stand the test of time and this movie won’t affect that. Yeah, the new Ben-Hur looks awful, but the original will still be remembered for the multi-Award winning epic it was. Hollywood’s never going to stop remaking and rebooting movies that have proved popular in the past, but don’t worry too much. These are just new interpretations of stories you love; be thankful they’re good enough to be worth retelling.