Revisiting Reboot

Four to five years ago, we saw the birth of this trend in commercial film making (i.e. Hollywood) and now we can feel the effects in the world of literature. This can't be prevented, given that a lot of films base their stories from books and comics, and vice versa. Insiders would say it was justified given the success of reboot works like Nolan's Batman Trilogy (I already expect the upcoming Dark Knight Rises a success) and Rob Zombie's Halloween, while others remain skeptic after failed attempts of Superman Returns and Dukes of Hazard.

Those who fell in love with the original and classic works say there's no need for reinvention, we just need to create something new. But the problem with this is writers are running out of original idea these days. It's all becoming common, and it's all been done before. JK Rowling's Harry Potter is similar to Neil Gaiman's Tim Hunter, Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games is directly comparable to Koushun Takami's Battle Royale. Even in the narrative and the character structure, Joseph Campbell's "Monomyth" hypothesis or commonly known as The Hero's Journey/Cycle has been used and re-used (coincidentally or not) over and over again by writers of fiction. It can be seen in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Neverwhere, American Gods, Stardust, The Earthsea Cycle, Enders Game, and other successful mythologies for both the young and old.

Others would just see "reboot" as primarily a financial move for producers and publishers due to global recession, while for authors it's just an experimental attempt, a tinkering of past creativity like a circus move, tiptoeing on a very sharp edge of a sword. But the people's verdict is still, out there. Producers must never count the consumers out since people are becoming smarter. We just have to wait if this trend will turn out good or until reaching a saturation period (3-5 years from now) when the need for a new trend is imminent. Waiting for a resolution, perhaps?

choose your own definition