RANDOM THOUGHT

I remember when movies spawned TV shows and video games and not the other way around. But then again, in the past, movie makes used to read and watch classic books and movies and use them as inspiration. Now, the movie makers are remaking classic films and turning video games and television shows into films. Sometimes the video games themselves were directly influenced by films. Resident Evil the game was obviously influenced by Dawn of the dead. Is it any surprise that the film version looks like a postmodern retread of dawn of the dead and other similarly influenced zombie flicks?

Good television shows had fought for years to break out under the shadow of film by creating great gripping dramas and fresh non-sitcom comedies. Film had been considered the medium of true art and television of the opium of the masses dulling out fluff. Although most of what Television creates is still fluff there is an occasional program that rivals the storytelling of a good film (however, sadly, the special effects on TV still are no where near film quality). Now filmmakers are turning the fluff into feature length films. Who wants to go to a film to see the likes of "Bewitched" or "The Dukes of Hazard." At least a bad televsion program doesn't set you back ten bucks.

What will the next generation of filmmakers use as inspiration? Remake the remakes? Make movies based upon the video game that was based upon the movie that was originally a video game that was inspired by a movie? How much more CAN we dilute pop culture? In the past, most pop culture was loaded with inspiration from classic novels, ancient mythologies and classic films. That was the thing about pop culture, it used to refer to its influence in an ironic way. Now we get pop culture that was inspired by pop culture. What is going to be left? I assume we will be left with a pop culture that refers to nothing but itself. And winking at yourself is just weird.