Creativity is dead...

Yeah, I said it. And I'm honestly beginning to believe it. I've mentioned this to some folks before...andI've been met with protests, insults and words like "jaded," "pessimistic" and "ridiculous." But seriously...let's look at creativity today...

So many of the movies, television shows, music that's out today are unoriginal. I mean, they're not even trying to hide the fact that they're copying the ideas of their predecessors...they are actually remakes. Recent movies that have been out, Starsky and Hutch, Guess Who, Alfie, Planet of the Apes, The Manchurian Candidate, the upcoming Dukes of Hazzard and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And while I'm very excited to see Tim Burton's cool-looking (albeit a little disturbing) take on Willy Wonka, these are still all ideas that have been done before.

In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, they talk about all the slasher remakes that we can expect soon. As if Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror (not to mention the seemingly neverending Exorcist sequel, prequel, just plain quels) weren't enough, we can look forward to remakes of The Fog, The Hills Have Eyes, When a Stranger Calls and Prom Night, all in development...some being remade by their original makers. And while I admit that I enjoy a good remake...it just makes me wonder...what if there's a finite amount of creativity in the world, it's completely tapped out and what we're left with from this point on are remakes and recycled ideas?

Every song I hear seems to have some cut or hook that has been done before...I mean...maybe it's not the fault of songmakers and movie makers...there's no judgment on my part in saying this...but maybe there just ARE NO MORE IDEAS.

I know it seems like an outlandish theory. But think about it? Could we ever expect there to be another Renaissance, let's say? Another period of time when creativity just exploded? I have trouble imagining it...and maybe that is what makes people call me "jaded." And there is the whole indie movie scene, which I'm not really including in my argument, that is often ridiculously creative and original...but then I wonder...will there ever be a time when indie movies are the kinds of movies we expect to see in the summer blockbuster lineup? Does originality stay below the surface because people would rather see a remake of Charlie's Angels than a brand new untried idea?

Now, I'm not saying that there hasn't been ANY original blockbusters out there. Pixar pretty much blew me away with their animation in Toy Story...and I actually thought Sin City was pretty creatively done...but I think my argument is just more of an "on-the-whole" type of argument.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love any and all movies, whether they're original or unoriginal. So I want to make it clear that I'm not passing negative judgment on the plethora of remakes and redone ideas that are floating around out there. Just simply making an observation. And wondering if the art, music, films that we're producing now are ever going to hang in the Louvre or be appreciated generations and generations from now.

It's hard for me to imagine...maybe I'm just not that creative.