media

A Worthy Remake

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

A meme I’ve seen going round repeatedly can be best summed up as “don’t remake good films, remake bad films” with the idea that you should give good ideas badly done a chance.

Now first, despite having good friends that study remakes, I do get a bit tired of them. But there are also times remakes are a good idea, and I think this may be one of them.

So when is “it was bad but it could be good” a good reason to remake something.

Is There Something There?

There are quite a few films and shows out there that may not have been good but have some seed elements that are actually interesting. Think of all those bad movies or cheesy shows or not-great-but-interesting novels that we may critique but somehow like. We connect with it, there is something in there that’s worth it.

Now just because we like it, it doesn’t mean it’s remake-worthy. But if a story of some kind has good seeds, we should ask if these are things worth sharing. Would a remake bring benefit to others if we made it?

If you’ve ever tried to explain the “magic” of a not-really-good thing to someone, you get the idea. Imagine if something could be remade so the magic comes out!

The Artistic Value

When remaking something there’s little value in just doing it the same. Just updating a film or rewriting a book is really more polishing something. It may be good to bring out the magic, but I think more value comes if there is some artistic challenge or improvement.

Change Of Media: Maybe a bad book is better as a comic or movie.

Change Of Style: A poorly done movie might be better done if there’s a change in genre or shooting style.

Change Of Sequence: A bad TV series could be better as a movie to tell the whole story – or a TV series might be better done as a serial show.

The Challenge: A good writer or actor, giving a flawed but interesting work or remake, may grow if given that challenge. So a remake of a bad piece of work could bring out the skills of others.

A Few Examples

Finally, a few remakes I’d like to see – most of them courtesy of Rifftrax/MST3K

Manos: The Hands Of Fate – This infamous cheesy film had a certain charm, mixing cult fears, horror, and some occult/eldrich god stuff. That’s an interesting mix, and I think a remake could do something with this.

Space Mutiny – The oft riffed film is interesting for two reasons. One, there was clearly some larger storytelling there that got shuffled around due to the many crises on set. Secondly, it rested on the easygoing charisma of Reb Brown. A remake as a miniseries, with the right lead, and a retro sensibility would be fun – and allow name recognition to promote a good lead.

Gamera – Gamera, the famous Godzilla ripoff, got a remake as some darned good kaiju films. But I feel that it actually could be redone one more time – as a TV series. There are some continuing plot elements in the film, and a story of people ant their relationship to this protective/destructive kaiju would be incredible.

So there you go folks. What would you remake?

Steven Savage

Musings On Ideal Media Culture

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Last time I posted on how it was hard to deal with there being so much “stuff” out there, which Serdar has commented on. In turn, he also provides this link on how books are still dominated by a few megablockbusters. So yes, there’s problems with “so much stuff” as well as “big stuff over all of us.”

Think of it this way. We also have a lot of new stuff on Netflix and giant blockbusters dominating everything else. We can publish anything but there’s also huge books firmly lodged in popular culture It’s easy to get lost in obscurity or be overshadowed.

This doesn’t change my take on writing or creating your thing – do what you want and what works for you. But it does lead to another question.

What do I think a healthy media-culture ecosystem is? Admittedly not this one, but what is my ideal that I think is, you know, good for people (and thus creators).

Before answering that, let me turn to my ideas on a healthy society.

Steve’s Ideas on a Healthy Society (Duh)

So first, what do I think a Healthy society is like? I view it in a very organic sense – a healthy society maintains itself, grows, and evolves.

Thus I think of a healthy society as one that contains “interlinked independence” across all levels. People and organizations, states and government offices, are highly connected in ways that support each other. Think of it this way – an individual supported/supporting a strong union, working at a local business, voting at all levels, and working with an NGO dealign with climate change is closely tied with the world and closely supported. Everyone’s got your back with connection – but also you have the ability to “firewall” away from negative influences.

Or in short, a society needs people to have each other’s backs on all levels, while having the ability to survive the conflict among various factions and elements that will doubtlessly occur.

So that’s my ideal of a society in an abstract form. Now how does that apply to media?

A Healthy Media Ecosystem

In a healthy culture, I see media interest and creation as “scaled” much as I see a healthy society, a series of linked interests and enthusiasms on various levels. People would not just indulge, however, they would advocate.

  • You may do your own creative work, and and advocate for it. Your friends and connections would assist you, and perhaps you get wider views.
  • You enjoy local authors or niche authors. You advocate for them, promote them. Perhaps they get wider views.
  • You enjoy your various media tastes. Obviously you advocate for them, small or large.

Thus you’re independent and evaluating your own tastes – while also promoting them and taking feedback. You connect with media on various levels, from local to extended. You advocate and promote work.

New things get found, people evaluate, work gets elevated – and you never get dependent on one media strain or theme. Plus, of course, its hard for any one media company or source to dominate.

Needless to say this works best in a world of strong monopolgy laws.

So Is This Actionable?

So in our current world, is this actionable? Beyond a dream of mine based on my ideals can we do anything?

Well, yess.

First, KEEP CREATING. As I noted, do it for your own reasons.

Secondly, PROMOTE YOURSELF and tell people what you do.

Third, CONNECT with writer groups as well as other social institutions.

Fourth, PROMOTE other people you meet, help them out, help them get noticed.

Fifth, SELECT your media consumption to keep your life diverse and interesting.

Sixth, POLITICALLY be aware of the way our politics affects media.

This is an obnoxiously short list. Maybe it can be a point of discussion.

So, everyone . . .

. . . start talking.

Steven Savage

The Infinite Goods

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr.  Find out more at my newsletter.)

Recently, I saw Promare for the second time. If you haven’t heard of this film, think “superhero firefighters with robot suits versus pyrokinetic terrorists” and then that’s only the start. In short order with this premise, it then races towards crazytown at the speed of light while slamming an energy drink. It’s a roller-coaster ride and visual treat, but not an emotionally deep story – it’s not aiming for that.

But, is it good? It seems to have been what Studio Trigger wanted.

I’m also catching up on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, the animated series. It has many story arcs, and like Promare, starts with a simple premise – Victorian martial arts action where people battle a vampire. However, over time it becomes a generational tale of people with “Stands,” psychic doubles, battling various evils and each others. Oh, and it’s filled with music jokes, crazy posing, and character designs somewhere between Tom of Finland and a Rave.

But, is it good? The creator is obviously having a blast and it’s enjoyable being in on the ride.

We can ask that question of so many things. Recently I saw Fellini’s famous surrealist character piece, And the Ship Sails On. And the Great British Bake Off. And any number of things.

But, where they good?

Well the fact I put time into them and got a lot out of them tells you I thought they were good. The thing is there are different kinds of good.

Promare and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures are experiences that are almost about feels, they’re states of mind. Fellini’s bizarre piece was both mood and exploration. The Great British Bakeoff is a mix of human and history and information. All were good, but not necessarily the same kind of good.

Right now you’re doubtlessly worrying about your own writing, art, games, etc. You wonder if they’re good, but that belies the question.

It’s not if they’re good – is it the kind of good you want?

Maybe the game you’re writing is supposed to be an action game of mood, of feeling over continuity, of mashed buttons over careful strategy. And that’s fine if you deliver the right kind of good.

Perhaps your story is inaccessible to many, a thing of dense references and subtle connections. It might not be for everyone, but it’ll be good to the right audience.

It could be your current creative work just has to be good to you as it’s fun, and if other people like it, they can sign on for the ride.

Stop worrying about doing “good” work and aim for the right kind of good. Make your choice of how your book or comic is supposed to go and embrace that. It focuses you, it guides you, it tells you what to leave out and what to include.

Also picking your “good” means that you accept you won’t please everyone – because odds are you won’t. If you were inventing chocolate or pizza for the first time, you could please most people, but those have been kind of done. So don’t please everyone, please the right people.

Life goes easier when you understand this. Besides, when you pick one good, you can find others, or expand your “goods” later in your works.

But pick a good and go for it. It may be shallow or deep, silly or serious, but it’ll be yours, and you can focus.

Steven Savage