The Problem with Movies Today: Creative Fatigue

by Logan Taylor

If you have gone to the movies in the past 5 years, you probably feel pretty drained. There have been pretty good films here and there; Dune, Barbie, and Oppenheimer come to mind, but the act of being a regular moviegoer has largely become a chore in and of itself. And it’s only getting worse. Think of the last time you were excited to go see a movie (other than the ones I just mentioned). Maybe you can do that, but how often does this realistically happen? Now, think of the last time you were excited to see a movie that wasn’t pushed back, rescheduled, or canceled altogether. A little harder, right? Finally, think about a recent movie that isn’t part of an already established franchise. Can you name more than three that weren’t poorly reviewed?

Movies just haven’t been the same in recent years. With streaming services, even the act of actually going to the movie theater is something I fear will become nonexistent in the near future. Everything these days is either a reboots live-action remake, or just plain bad sequel to preexisting franchises. You’re probably thinking of movies that fit these descriptions right now without me even prompting you. It’s the sad truth that most of what we’re subjected to today fits these descriptions. Nothing feels new anymore. We’re in a creative famine; the culprit? Creative fatigue.

What is “creative fatigue?”

“Creative fatigue” is the term for the feeling we get after seeing the same creative work for too long. The term was coined by Meta when referring to the engagement of ads, but I’ll be using the term here in a more generalized way. A similar term is “franchise fatigue.” This term is more focused on the feeling we get after seeing a specific movie franchise for too long. However, I think these two terms are very similar, similar enough to the point where one directly causes the other.

Let’s start by considering other causes of these fatigues. A lot has happened in the past few years. Obviously, the COVID pandemic had blindsided the world enough for a full shutdown. This had huge implications for the film industry. For starters, whether or not there were movies to be seen, no one was even allowed to leave their homes to see them. Of course, this influenced the onslaught of different streaming services being created, but before them, there was no way to see new movies. In addition to that, the number of movies released dropped drastically, as did their ratings and revenue.

Now let’s fast-forward a bit to 2023. At this point, COVID is basically a thing of the past. While it’s still technically around, it’s much less of a threat and is generally perceived no differently than any other sickness. However, the entertainment business is about to face another couple of threats: the writers’ strike and the actors’ strike. Both of which successfully put a pause on the entertainment industry and suspended the filming and release of countless television shows and films.

These strikes were very well deserved and fought for many good aspects argued over within the industry. One aspect was the use of artificial intelligence. AI has been absolutely everywhere, and it’s getting “smarter” every day and more accessible. The big fear over AI was that studios would replace writers and actors for movies and TV. Thankfully, after 148 days of the writers’ strike and 118 days of the actors’ strike, both strikes came to an end with many promises made to the writers and actors who were threatened.

Even now, after these issues have been resolved, they will have a lasting impact on the film industry moving forward. The industry needs to bounce back from these problems, and the best way (it seems) they know how to do that is to rely on the successful series they’ve built throughout the previous years. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been working. Namely, I think it goes without saying that I’m referring to Disney, and it’s the best example of this. What once was a powerhouse in the industry is now a fraction of its former self, with very few of its recent movies holding up to its standard. Marvel, on one hand, is continuing its series through films and shows with many underwhelming releases. On the other hand, normal Disney movies are also suffering and depending on live-action remakes, and the occasional original movie also receives poor reviews. Audience reactions alone to the recent movies are enough to show that most releases have been disappointing. The quality of these movies has diminished, and with them, the interest. Not to mention, some of these franchises have been continuing for years, further affecting interest.

This franchise fatigue that we all feel is only getting more severe, and as it does, we also get a growing sense of creative fatigue. Franchise fatigue is limiting creativity. As I said before, film industries are sticking to what they know-the successful IPs (intellectual properties) they already established. In doing this, they’re taking fewer risks with new IPs and indie ideas. This also has cultural implications for diversity. By sticking to industry standards, we don’t experiment with new ideas, formats, or stories, and in doing so we neglect making new, more diverse entertainment. Admittedly, the relationship between creative fatigue and diversity is a touchy subject. There have been plenty of efforts made to diversify entertainment in recent years, but few have been taken positively for one reason or another. At the end of the day, franchise fatigue leads to creative fatigue, and vice versa.

How can we fix creative fatigue?

So, how do we fix this? The easy answer is to focus more on creativity. We need to focus more on new ideas and give them a chance. More than that, a good chance. The film industry needs to put more effort and funding into establishing new ideas and franchises. Less reliance on old franchises is a good thing. No one wants to see a franchise they love dragged out further than needed; there’s real meaning behind the phrase “ending on a high note.”

Spending time establishing new franchises will also provide the opportunity to diversify the entertainment we consume. Without getting too deep into the subject, another reason for the creative and franchise fatigue towards Disney is diversifying preexisting characters and stories. Even when not directly changing characters for the purpose of diversifying, making other aspects of prebuilt franchises more diverse can often feel forced and ingenuous. This can all be avoided by taking the time to create something really fresh and new.

I think creative fatigue can also be defined as how the creators feel about these decisions. Especially before the strikes, writers and actors in the film industry already had it bad with certain work conditions, in addition to the threat of AI looming overhead. Now, they’re subjected to working on films and entertainment that more regularly receive backlash. There’s probably an aspect of literal creative fatigue they feel when working on projects that end up either going nowhere or getting negative feedback. Solving creative fatigue wouldn’t just be a benefit to the film industry or the audience, but also a breath of fresh air to those spending their lives on the craft.

Now, maybe I’m being too critical here. There have been some very good releases recently. Again, Dune is slowly becoming its own film franchise with two extremely successful movies. The one-two punch of Barbie and Oppenheimer was also a good stretch for movies