Superhero movies are all the rage. They're hip, they're cool, they're trendy. Hollywood is swimming in a sea of gold because we love them so much. But will they last? Steven Spielberg seems to think they will go the way of the western.
"There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us"
About two years ago Steven Spielberg spoke about his belief that the mega-budgeted films of Hollywood would breathe their last. They would soon collapse like a flan in a cupboard. He's not the one either. Many people, filmmakers, critics and the like, have backed the same notion. It makes sense, too. In general, the cost of making and marketing a film are astronomical in comparison to the return. So why continue to make a product at that price point if you're not making a profit? That is precisely what most people are arguing.
Spielberg says: "I still feel that way. We were around when the Western died and there will be a time when the superhero movie goes the way of the Western." Like anything else, once it is overplayed, it's outdated. But I'm not entirely certain that's true for the superhero genre of films. There is something about the genre that seems to reach a larger audience. Westerns died out because they didn't seem to have a relevance in the current day. Mind you, I love westerns, but many of them do have an antiquated feel. Superhero movies, and the comics they're based on, seem to have somewhat of a timeless appeal. The genre is more easily adaptable. They Western does not. It's locked in a specific time.
I do agree with Spielberg, though. I think these bloated budget films will eventually die. The tech and the means to produce high quality films is becoming easier to do. Not to mention at lower costs. Spielberg offers up this: "These cycles have a finite time in popular culture. There will come a day when the mythological stories are supplanted by some other genre that possibly some young filmmaker is just thinking about discovering for all of us."
So who what is this new possible genre and where the hell is this new creative? Only time will tell. Until then I'm perfectly happy with my superhero movies. Some are better than others, which is true of most movies in any genre.
I'd like to leave you with an interesting twist to the discussion. Many of the westerns deal with a hero battling some kind of evil. A lone sheriff stepping up to save the townsfolk. That sort of thing. Granted, they're not all that type of story. Is that not any different than the superhero movie? What if the superhero movie is just an evolution of the western?
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