Wall of movie posters at the Regal Champlain Centre in Plattsburgh.
By Nadia Paschal
Hollywood has been making movies since 1908, and many trends have come and gone since then. Since its conception, the film industry has made massive changes, yet not all of them have been great.
A large number of films these days being sequels or remakes, the writing choices have been questionable to say the least.
With large studios such as Marvel and Disney focusing on quantity over quality, films seem to have shifted towards having formulaic plots and pumping out as much content as possible.
Michaela Zehrfuhs, a junior at SUNY Plattsburgh, enjoys going to the movies and looks forward to watching the latest films. She finds that some studios churn out as many movies as possible, but recognizes that not all of them operate this way.
“It depends on the studio. Some studios are putting out movies we’ve been waiting for, for a long time or going to get someone generally interested,” Zehrfuhs said.
Zehrfuhs also said that studios such as Marvel put out too much. In 2023, Marvel released six movies, with five of them being sequels. Three television series also premiered that same year.
Dialogue in movies and television series also doesn’t reflect real conversations. This is especially true with shows aimed towards teenagers and children.
Some writers and those involved in the process are out of touch. Other writers are treated poorly and end up leaving projects, causing the quality to decrease.
“I’m hoping that now that the writer’s strike is over, more original ideas get put out. It’s probably going to take them a while,” Zehrfuhs said.
Certain casting choices also represent the current culture within the industry. Instead of scouting for new talent or actors that may be a good fit for the role, studios will use larger names to garner more attention and a larger audience.
“It feels like what they’re putting out isn’t what it used to be,” Zehrfuhs said.
Although many films seem to function solely as cash grabs, some studios still put out unique and new content. Even if it does not perform well, it’s always refreshing to see studios or artists venture into new territory and experiment.
“Once you hit their wallets, then they’ll change,” Zehrfuhs said.
There’s a place for each type and genre of movie. After a stressful day, you may want to unwind and watch a simple comedy. Or you may want to watch the newest indie film at a local festival.
It’s important to have variety within different forms of media, and it’s okay for audiences to want to experience nostalgia when going to the theaters, but film companies have capitalized on that and taken it too far.
Studios should still be putting effort into what they produce and constantly innovating, instead of keeping dying franchises alive for multiple decades.
