I was a bit bored yesterday when I noticed that the Sci-Fi Channel was running the first two "Saw" films, back to back. Now, it's been some time since I've seen the "Saw" films, and so I watched them both. The first one was, as I remembered, a wonderful little horror movie with an intriguing perspective on things. The second one was, while moderately entertaining, nowhere near the quality of the first film. As I sat and pondered the sad state of "Saw," it occurred to me that there are still three more films after the second, with a sixth in production right now - each has been worse than the last and has been clearly motivated by a lust for profits. This bespeaks a serious problem implicit in the blending of art with profit.
The "sequel". Is there anything worse in the film industry? Well, possibly the prequel, but it's a close call. The dance is always the same. A movie comes out that is truly good; a movie that captures the imagination of the audience and sends everyone home happy. Now, in order to fall victim to this "rape of creativity," a film need not necessarily be a work of art - after all, it happened to the "Die Hard" films as well. But it's all the more tragic when the film is inspired and well-crafted. I heave a sigh for the film industry when, like Medea, it murders its own children.
The list of films that have been ravaged through franchise is familiar to everyone who knows anything about movies. I've already cited the example of "Saw." "Scary Movie," which, while not artistic, was really the first sort of parody film of its kind for my generation, has suffered the same fate. And hey, remember how cool the first, esoteric "Matrix" film was, before the franchise descended into ridiculous Christian allegory with Neo as Christ in the last film?
Then, of course, there is the most well-known example of a filmmaker's unbridled greed, overweening arrogance and possible psychosis leading to the utter destruction of something that was once amazing: the "Star Wars" prequels. With those prequels, George Lucas has succeeded in taking one of the most engaging, brilliant, epic and revolutionary film series of all time and reducing it to an object of derision for cynics like myself. Oh, and not just that, he also managed to squeeze a pathetic Computer-Generated Imagery film, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," out of it. It is for this reason that Patton Oswalt is so fond of saying that if he could, he would go back in time and murder George Lucas with a shovel. Personally, I would bludgeon him with the original "Star Wars" VHS box set.
Will this orgy of greed and philistinism ever end? The answer, unfortunately, is no - not as long as there is a single dime to be rung out of the public by repackaging the same tired sequels. I eagerly await "Austin Powers IV,"
"Saw VII," a new "Matrix" film and, of course, "Star Wars" episodes VII-X, complete with merchandizing and television spin-offs. As long as people will pay, this Black Mass will continue. When it reaches its crescendo, perhaps George Lucas himself will emerge from a darkened room, dressed in a black robe, kill the Coen brothers and then, sated, return to slumber until he unleashes another Jar Jar Binks on the world.
Remember, McDonald's is a franchise, a movie is a work of art.
Eric Chianese is an English senior. His column appears weekly.
