And Just Like That, I Couldn’t Help But Wonder: Is Hollywood Going Creatively Bankrupt?

In the past year, a strong sense of nostalgia for the late 90s/early 2000s has risen noticeably. It seems like creative industries have been influenced by this sudden wave that is taking all of us 20 years back in time. Fashion designers are creating pieces of clothing similar to those we once swore would never wear again– ehem, low rise jeans. Musicians are releasing songs that practically scream 90s “please don’t leave me, I will love you forever” R&B. Photographers are inspired by that old-school look that only disposable cameras can provide. And even Hollywood seems to not let go, announcing the reboot of several tv shows that died the same year as the Von Dutch brand did. 

But why? With so many students enrolling into film programs, with the hopes of making it big in the film industry, why do producers opt for old shows instead of investing in new ones? Why do entertainment studios neglect new, fresh talent, and try to revive something that is long gone? 

All of these questions stormed into my brain as soon as I found out about the revival of Darren Star’s Sex and The City (SATC).

As a viewer that has binge watched the show a couple of times, I felt…..conflicted.

Even though the show was well-received worldwide, giving young women the hopes and dreams of a fabulous life where all you do is drink Cosmopolitans whilst complaining about men, its past two movies couldn’t keep up. At all. Though the box office of both films raised over $200M each, the SATC audience felt that the projects were too predictable and lazy. A common opinion that usually characterizes sequels. It was sort of like an “Emily in Paris” type of situation–it’s too painful to watch but for some inexplicable reason you just keep doing it.

With all the negative reviews that SATC received, I couldn’t help but wonder (see what I did there?): What is keeping Hollywood so infatuated with the past? Why do these revivals keep failing? Has the passion for creating new and exciting shows been completely overridden by the greed for wealth and fame?

The main cause of this nostalgia wave seems to be traced back to money. Producers know what the audience wants, and would rather be safe than sorry. And even though it’s understandable for them not to want to lose money, especially in today’s economic situation, their attempt at reviving old shows is not working anymore. They are taking that comforting familiarity that we usually feel when watching shows like SATC, Gossip Girl, and Full House, and turning it into an unpleasant memory. The lack of creativity behind these productions causes the viewers to easily predict what’s going to happen next in the show, demotivating them to even keep watching it.

This kind of attitude is the cause of the disencouragement that forces film students to quit, and change majors. They feel like outsiders that will have no chance in the industry, unless they have connections. They no longer feel like they will succeed because their ideas are not related to old tv shows/movies franchises.

Luckily, not all faith is gone. Cultural institutions and companies like Dazed, have realized the creative potential that fresh talent has and have created projects like Dazed100– a fund to support a new generation of talent, allowing them to exploit their potential and making it big in the entertainment industry. This is the kind of actions that current film producers should follow, to get out of their comfort zones and start producing new, exciting projects.

It is quite difficult to keep up with the expectations of a fast paced society. As human beings, we crave change. The context of our current society is completely different from last year’s, let alone the one from 20 years ago. SATC was created in a day and age where bisexuality was still a spectrum– flashback to the scene where Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are shocked at the fact that Samantha was dating someone from her same sex–and paying $700 for an apartment in New York was believable. 

The decision of bringing SATC back to life is bold and scary. Not only will the screenwriters be forced to come up with a fun, up-to-date script that matches the eclectic energy of the 2020s, but will also have to find a way to cover the disappearance of one of the main characters of the show. Samantha Jones, which many considered to be the “Sex” of Sex And The City, will be not be coming back to the show. I personally believe that she was one of the main reasons behind the success of SATC. Her boldness, female empowerment, and reckless attitude kept us wondering what she was going to do next, matching perfectly the current energy of the 2020s. Without her, the show’s title might as well be “Dry Spell In The City”, starring three housewives who are mentally stuck in the 90s. But I should probably stop, before I am forced to change the title of this article to “Reasons Why I Believe Carrie Bradshaw Should Be Exiled From Manhattan”.

All eyes are on the creator of Sex And The City. Darren Starr, who is now facing a big creative challenge. He can either prove to the entertainment world that revivals are still the way to go, or that it is time to say goodbye to risk averse decisions, and actually start creating exciting projects, with new talent.