Remakes

I am of two minds regarding remakes.  There are stories that are so compelling, we return to them again and again, revealing in new ways the universal truths they share.  The themes are so meaningful to us in our human experience that each new generation hears them and retells them in their own way.  These stories offer us an experience of new discovery each time we pass them forward.  I appreciate the role these stories play in our arts and in our lives.

Then there are stories that are retold because of personal connections with the material.  This can also be a meaningful reason for a remake...as long as the storyteller takes the time to make sure there is something meaningful being shared.  This type of remake could illuminate the experiences of a subculture, for example, or educate about a certain philosophy.  Far too often, what I see is a story being retold because someone liked it when they were young.  Nostalgia is powerful stuff, potent emotion.  I don't, however, think it is a strong enough reason alone to remake an already-told story, rather than creating an original story of one's own.