Once upon a time,authors were rewarded for creativity, originality, and innovation. Not anymore.
Fad writing has grown from a subculture into the norm, authors hanging onto the coattails of others for the sole purpose of achieving commercial success. Many aspiring authors are no longer willing to be the starving artists of old, sacrificing everything so that their original ideas could be heard. Now, authors follow the latest trend, as do the people behind movies, and creativity seems to be retreating as a priority.
The book that really set off this trend writing was Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, the tale of teen angst told through the lense of vampirism. It was not the most original story to start with, but it inspired many would-be writers to attempt to cash in on the wide-spread vampire mania that came with Twilight. TV shows like HBO's "True Blood", the CW's "The Vampire Diaries", and ABC's "The Gates" all attempt to stir the same passion in their teenage audiences that the Twilight series did
Even the werewolves of Meyer's books have become so popular among teens and tweens that they have leaked into the cinema. The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston, just hit movie theaters and grossed $57 million the first four days, far more than Coraline, a movie with a very unusual plot,demonstrating how much this mimicking business earns for its participants. It pays to be a copycat.
But why? Don't people want to see something new? Something different? Not so long ago, people were awed by Pan's Labyrinth, a unique combination of history and fantasy that created something dark and moving. These Twilight look-alikes do nothing of the sort. Instead, they continue to recycle old ideas until there is nothing of value left in them.
What ever happened to viewers and readers valuing innovation in what they perused? Now most seem to settle for less. It's about time we stop.
Well as great as an original story line is, hot guys are even greater. There is no argument against that. So if you want people to go watch something with an original storyline...cast hot guys in your movie.
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