Overconsumption Only Begs for Mediocrity

Now I am going to completely contradict what I wrote last week when speaking about franchises. I was singing praises about them and suggesting people binge them. And now I'm going to shit on them. I'm a woman of many opinions and talents, so just hear me out.

Usually when a film gets more than a trilogy that's a good thing. That means the franchise is a certified money maker and a safety net for all those involved, financially. And it's even better for the fans, right? More content for the consumers to enjoy and discuss, and theorize over. More media to obsess over, more collectibles to horde. The thing is, while all this is good for fanatics, when you look at things objectively; is stretching out a franchise really a good idea?

Take Friday the 13th for example. While the films fun and supply some entertainment and laughs, everybody knows the quality dipped. The script writing isn't exactly top tier and the acting certainly doesn't improve. And for films that rely on CGI or special effects, like The Conjuring, that doesn't always look amazing as the years go by. Especially if the studio doesn't give them a large budget. The franchise only starts to suffer.

Take Hellraiser for example. While I watched every single film out of curiosity, I regretted watching one them just because of the downfall in quality. I am talking about Hellraiser Revelations. My god, was it abysmal. The cast, the plot, just... I can't even describe how shit it was. You'd just have to watch it yourself to believe me.

Does this accurately depict the Fast and Furious films?

Then there are films like Fast and Furious. WHY IN THE WORLD DO WE HAVE 13 FILMS ABOUT A MOVIE THAT WAS ORIGINALLY ABOUT DRIVING FAST AND UNDERCOVER COPS?! I'll admit that I haven't seen not one of these films, but there's no way that all these movies have spectacular scripts. If anything, they gave us an abundance of memes that we all know and love. What are these movies and spin-offs even about now? What story could you possibly tell over 20 years without rebooting it? When do we draw the finish line? What's the motive?

Speaking of motive, don't even get me started on the SCREAM franchise. Granted, I have watched every single one just because I love the Ghostface character but admittedly, there shouldn't be anymore! Let it end. There is no way any group of people can be targeted this much and not join the witness protection program. And it just gets easier to predict the killer with each film. And the pacing just feels off. Is it just me or do the later ones kinda drag a bit? Then they run out of ideas and cameo characters that have been dead for over 20 years. So what's the problem?

Alongside crazy fanbases, the studios just get so money hungry because despite how shitty some of the projects are... PEOPLE STILL PAY TO SEE THEM. I'm guilty of this too. Somehow, someway people contribute to encouraging these studios to put out subpar content. And we eat it up. Just look at the Marvel films. I can't even count how many times I've seen people bashing the newer films on twitter, and wishing it was the way it was 12 years ago. But guess what. They still pay to see everything produced by the same writers, directors, etc. It's because of this, they put out things that the studio deems "good enough".

It's all for the sake of making a quick buck off of loyal fanbases. And as much as you bitch and moan about it being "bad" or "low quality", if you stream it, pay for it, or talk about it then you are keeping it alive and relevant. That's all they need. So maybe the key to getting better content from your favorite franchises is just boycott.