Sign of the Times?

We all know that movies don’t change that much. There are no real genres anymore since most movies these days have elements from many genres. In any event, the stories are all pretty much the same. That said , I saw Takers with my younger brother. Without giving too much away, the plot of Takers is basically the same as any other heist movie. There are some differences, mostly just elements of style, but major themes, character arcs, and outcomes are, of course, very familiar...

So… clearly half of the major players die in the end. I know this from being an avid movie watcher since my first (that I can remember) trip to the movies to see Boys N the Hood. I also know that there won't (shouldn’t) be a sequel. However, this concept is foreign to my brother. At the end he looked confused "Everybody dies? Naw, somebody lives and there could be a part two!" Uuuum… what?

I can only take this as a sign of the times. My brother's generation did not grow up watching the kind of movies we did. Over the last 10 years it seems like every movie's major twist is that someone lives and there is a sequel. Even movies that are complete stories within themselves have sequels (i.e. The Hangover). Gone are the days of telling the story at hand. Now… they tell the story and if is makes a lot of money they tell it again…and again in different locations and dimensions (i.e. Fast and Furious, Final Destination).

In a discussion about Inception, NPR noted that most of the major movies this summer were sequels or remakes. That's a pretty big statement when you consider everything that came out. That my brother seems to expect a sequel is a startling (though certainly not new) sign that movies are all about the money. They're mundane, not in a fun, "I-know-the-formula" way, but in a cynical "it'll-make-a-billion-dollars-without-me-and-i-know-the-ending-so-why-see-it" kind of way.

Further, that my kid brother doesn't recognize plot cues is indicative of an overall dulling of… everything. Dad kept saying "He's 12," as if that means he's not supposed to know archetypical plot lines. But when I was 12, I was quoting Scarface. I knew that little brothers and creative types die first. I knew that the character with the least to lose is the bad guy. The guy who thinks the plot is a bad idea will be wounded or killed. That "one last job" never goes as planned. By 12, I was already Randy Meeks.

I'd like to think that I'm just a nerd, but all my friends have the same relationship and knowledge of movies, even if it doesn't match my intensity. You could say that I just have nerdy friends. Eh, I do… but my generation happens to pop culture. We participate while my brothers' generation seems to be full of spectators. And that's so wack.