There's a rash of very "summer movie" movies coming out and it got me thinking. We, as a pop-culture people, feel way too much pop-cultural obligation. That's my new term, watch it catch on. Those underlined words are a real meme. Read it and then go look up what a meme actually is.
Pop-cultural obligation
noun
An act necessitated not by the actual subject at hand, but by acknowledgment of a referenced or legacy concept.
Example: Why people went to see Star Wars episodes 2 and 3.
With episode 1 there was hope. Not a new hope, but a tired, used up hope. We all had our doubts after the special editions of the actual Star Wars movies. But who knew? Then we saw it and it was painful. No? Jar-Jar. Still not remembering the pain? Then it's probably because you blocked it from your memory. It's a defense mechanism. And you did see the next two, didn't you? Yes. Why? Pop-cultural obligation. You knew they would be bad and they were. You might have told yourself it was just to get the plot, have the whole story in your head. But that's a lie. If they randomly released only episode 2 with nothing to fill in before or after, you wouldn't care. Even if they did that and told you how bad it would be, you would still see it. Why? Because it's Star Wars. And I'm not blaming you. I saw them all too. But that's why we all saw them; not based on movies but based on the legacy behind the movies.
Why was I thinking about this? Transformers set me off. Normally I wouldn't consider doing anything to a Michael Bay movie other than urinating on it but perhaps I'll see Transformers. Why? I figure it will suck if only because of the director, but it is Transformers. Rather, it represents the Transformers of old that I like. It's not what it is, it's what it's standing on.
Spiderman 3. I walked out of the theatre hating Spiderman 2. The dialog was more than awkward (less than good) and all the cute "inside joke" Evil Dead shots really just reminded me of how far Raimi can fall when standing on a high enough budget. I knew that the 3rd was going to be bad. I didn't expect worse but it was. Why did I see it? See the subject of this post.
Here's my thesis: I don't think that pop-cultural obligation (pop cob, I shall be calling it) is always a good thing. I love the thrill of seeing something you remember being brought back just as much as anyone. If Hollywood was to make a big screen version of Dinosaucers I would be first in line to get a ticket. But when it extends to sequels and series I think it may be time to step back and think before you buy. It's getting to the point (and the producers know it) that they can pull anything from the nostalgia vaults and we'll all go see it. Did you like Terminator? Yeah. Terminator 2? Hell yeah. Terminator 3? No. Well guess what, just think about the first 2 and then go see the TV show they're working on.
So consumers, please please please heed these words! You might love what you've seen but that doesn't mean that you'll love what you will see. Stop going to shitty sequels. I'm sick of having them shoved in front of me, and I feel the pop-cob just as much as you. So when Speed Racer (and Speed Racer) come out, THINK!
Can you guys think up any more examples?
Post Script
X3 does not call into pop-cob. 1 was good. 2 was better. It was supposed to follow suit but didn't. Sometimes sequels are bad because they're built on cheese. Sometimes they are just bad sequels.
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