Once upon a time, we trooped in droves to darkened movie theaters and expectantly turned to Hollywood for entertainment and artistry that eventually latched on to us to become treasured ageless classics artfully depicting people and events to aspire for and emulate.
And to this day, we hearken back by repeatedly watching them in the darkened comforts of our homes coming from the newfangled devices we have acquired. And re-living the missed thrills and emotions evoked from them.
Now what do we get as almost daily fare for our entertainment from Hollywood?
Movies that feed on our eternal childhood fantasies, as immortalized in the comic books of the past, now made even more escapist and unreal as fast as evolving technologies could churn them out. CGI gone wild and beyond! The new blockbusters are simply “adaptations” of comic book heroes of our youth and beyond, as scary and unreal as they can be made to act and look.
Where are the countless creative minds of the past?
Are we now forever shunted to our childhood daydreams, like mature adults refusing to grow up and face our gruesome realities? Escapism lived to the utmost?
Or is Hollywood simply turning on the money machine via surefire blockbusters?
And the crowding viewers do not disappoint.
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As a kid, I was an avid consumer and collector of comic books of superheroes and any and all items where their images were emblazoned. I lapped up anything and everything my little grubby hands could reach, though admittedly there were not too many of those items around. But to this day I fancy myself as possessing as much trivia about them as the next guy, or next kid.
I even resorted to drawing them on paper and collecting those, too.
But we understood there was always going to be a point of satiation. And indeed, we woke up one day, and found our interests having shifted to other more mundane things.
That is our usual expectation of life. Moving on to things that matter more.
Hollywood, please take note. It is not always about the money.
Ever wondered why they are called comic books? And not fictional books, fantasy books, or even, dime books? Maybe, because somebody is laughing all the way to the bank?
Seriously, because at some point, most or all of them were part of the “funny pages” of the typical newspaper.
Now it is serious business.
