Hit me baby one more time

“I must confess, I still believe,

That when I’m not with you I lose my mind,

Give me a sign,

Hit me baby one more time”

A popular hit song by the former pop princess Britney Spears that put her on the map. 15 years later I’ll be using her lyrical ingenuity to explain why reboots are necessary.

This is a two-part series on reboots. Hit Me Baby One More Time sees the positives and the necessities of reboots. The follow up, entitled Oops.. I Did It Again, looks at why the movie industry would do this to us —  discussing the negatives of reboots.

Reboot, ‘to discard all continuity in an established series in order to recreate its characters, timeline, and back story from the beginning‘ (Wikipedia)

“I must confess, I still believe“. Hollywood has a mission statement, and that is to entertain you. For a reboot to entertain you, Hollywood must believe that it can entertain you. To be honest, Hollywood believes it can.

How? We love to be entertained, in one form or another, for various reasons. Hollywood has been doing it for years and have they failed you yet? Probably, but you have had more ups than downs. What’s in it for Hollywood? Money. Obviously. But let’s push that to the side and think of it this way:  Some stories just need to be told… Again!

“Give me a sign“. We love a good story. We adore a good movie. But time is continuously moving. Graphics are upgrading by the day, people are getting smarter, and the need for quality becomes more and more important in our lives. The industry wants to blow you away and you want to be entertained. You Tweet about it, you update your Facebook status about it, you blog about it. The signs are there. You want more and you cannot get enough. So why not give you what you want?

So the industry gets at it. They look at previous projects and they see if they can give them back to you, with the aim of making a better version than the original; a potential sequel, telling a story that was not of your generation. Godzilla; some say that it was a classic that should not have been touched. Actually, this was THE PERFECT TIME to bring the prehistoric creature to the big screen.

Generations. The bracket that separates us from the work of legends. Tim Burton’s Batman, Francis Coppola’s Godfather. Movies in those times can be considered classic and must not be touched. Totally agree. The Mona Lisa can only be painted once. But reboots of previous works are possible. Star Trek and 21 Jump Street (both running sequels) are reboots of what was considered popular in their time. Those stories have been retold and have become popular again. With TVs in every household, cinemas more accessible, and the internet being mobile, our generation is willing to hear and see these stories. Imagine, 20 years from now, you telling your children about James Cameron’s Avatar.

Some movies need a new look and feel to them. This has been seen in Marvel Studios as they have gone through two versions of the Hulk, Spiderman, X-men and now Fantastic Four is pending. At the Box Office, Spiderman and X-men have shown to be nothing but successes for Marvel and for us, as fans and religious movie-goers. Changing the concept of the original movie, but keeping the core story and characters has its benefits.

Money is not the only measure, but the popularity of the movies on social media has been taken into consideration, as well as reviews and awards. Batman, Superman, comic book movies that have seen a face lift whilst some movies have needed Botox. But they have been a success, showing that their resurrection was necessary.

Reboots have their pros and with the above examples, reboots should not stop being made. We cannot get enough of a good story and change is good, especially when they cater to our generation and our time.

About the Author: Tendai is a kid just trying to get by. A massive fan of movies, and the cinema experience is what he looks forward to everyday. Oddly enough, he does not want to direct a movie, be in one or be part of the production, but enjoys being on this side of the lens, the side that tells you this movie is worth watching #ThePlatinumApproval.

Click here to Read all of Tendai’s work on BTG Lifestyle.

If you enjoyed this post, head over to Tendai’s personal blog where he chronicles his journeys and daily life. Follow Tendai on Twitter @TendaiSibindi

Follow BTG Lifestyle on Twitter @btglifestyle and LIKE us on Facebook. Subscribe to the BTG Lifestyle movie blog for updates, and email us at info [at] btglifestyle.com if you have feedback, or would like to collaborate with us.