Elliot Kessler

Many of the movies coming from Hollywood and many of the mainstream books I read are unoriginal. They don’t offer any new story ideas, and they bring minimum twists to already existing stories. It feels like most writers these days take the easy way out. They write the same things repeatedly, expecting them to work every time.

The complaint that stories aren’t original anymore has lasted for many years. It seems that anytime I talk with anyone about stories, someone brings up the topic of originality.

But the truth is these people would also rather pay to watch a sequel to something they enjoyed than go to an original movie they don’t know they’ll like.

During the marketing campaign for The Creator, an original science fiction film by Gareth Edwards, my family saw an advertisement on TV for it during a sports broadcast. My dad’s first reaction was, “That looks weird.”

My brother and I were the only ones in my family who wanted to watch the film.

See, there’s a reason that most mainstream stories released today are sequels, reboots, or remakes. It might be because they’re easier to make, but I don’t believe that’s the whole reason. I think it’s because those are the movies that make the most money.

Think about it. Would you rather watch a new science fiction movie about a war between humans and robots or the next Star Wars film? Would you rather watch a movie about a brilliant detective solving a strange case or another Sherlock Holmes movie? Would you rather read a new book about a sprawling fantasy world and a long, arduous journey with heroic characters or reread Lord of the Rings?

Everyone says they want original stories, but the numbers show otherwise. The Creator didn’t make enough money, while the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and Barbie made plenty. The truth is that original stories are seen as odd, strange, and weird.

But that’s the point.

An original story should be something we’ve never seen before. It should explore new concepts, ideas, and characters, none of which the audience is familiar with. Of course, they aren’t going to sell as well, and of course, they will be seen as strange.

Audiences would rather find comfort in something familiar than try watching something new. New stories are weird, but that’s because they’ve never been done before. They’re supposed to be odd. But it’s that strangeness that pushes audiences away. They would rather watch a terrible remake of an old classic than a brilliant new work of art.

I’m not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing. If the point of this article were to say that all sequels and reboots were terrible, then that would be a bit hypocritical. Some of my favorite films are sequels or adaptations. Some of my favorite books I only read because they’re so popular. Ready Player One is a book filled with references to nerd culture, and I enjoyed it because of that.

But the lack of originality in modern storytelling is suffocating. Some of the most popular books these days are retellings of old myths or generic fairy tale/romance novels. Those aren’t the stories I find interesting. I like the weird. I enjoy exploring the unknown. You never know what you might stumble upon.

On Instagram, I found an advertisement for an indie author who writes science fiction and fantasy. He didn’t have a lot of followers, and his books didn’t have a lot of reviews. I thought I would check him out anyway. I bought one of his books called The Gunner Chronicles. It’s a cross between a Western and a post-apocalyptic science fiction story, and I have enjoyed every second of it.

I also recently stumbled across a book in Barnes and Noble called The Day of the Triffids. I thought it looked fun and weird, so I picked it up. If I hadn’t seen the author’s name before reading the first page, I would have thought it was an H. G. Wells novel. It’s a bizarre and fun story about a meteor shower that turns humanity blind and seven-foot-tall carnivorous plants. It’s a strange one, and that’s why it’s so fun. I’ve never read anything like it, and I’m only a couple of chapters in.

There are so many other hidden gems out there waiting to be found. With everyone having easy access to self-publishing these days, authors around the globe are getting their stories out there. I understand that most of them are terrible, but that’s okay.

So, if you’re tired of watching the same stories repeatedly, look through Amazon and find something weird that piques your interest. If you only have a select few books you enjoy but don’t like the popular ones everyone else is talking about, take a look online and find something less popular that speaks to you. You never know what you’ll find. Plenty of adventures are to be had, and they all await you.

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.