Do you feel swindled? Bamboozled even? Scam sham slammed? I gotta admit, I do. I get more than a feeling of not being given enough choices in pop culture entertainment. Are comic books the only literature we celebrate? Where are the new voices and talents? Why is everything so recycled?
Lately, when I look over our fiction fractured landscape of entertainment, all I see are more productions of Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel and DC. Now, we can add Lord of The Rings to the group. LOTR seems to be poised to be the next fever franchise burning through billions of studio dollars and our own wallets. Gandalf, Galadriel, Elrond and Sauron will soon become the Professor X, Magneto, Wonder Woman and Darth Vader of the fabulous franchise fever.
What’s the real deal steal, Neal? Don’t believe there’s a crisis? It’s gotten so incredibly weird out there and beyond meta, even legendary superheroes now go to see their own super powered movies.
Is there any hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi? She-Hulk: Attorney At Law, at least, is breaking some new ground by going a different route for superhero content. Sitcom She-Hulk may not be Friends, but it’s a different vibe.
You may say perhaps I’m just ranting needlessly, but I had to get this one out. C’mon, my fellow sci-fi, fantasy and horror lovers, let’s fight for our right to have something wondrously new.
Franchise Fever: Are We Getting More Of The Same As Genre Fans?