With the re-release of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, Movies.ie asks the difficult question, “Can films become too popular?
With the re-release of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” just around the corner, movies.ie decided to ask a difficult question, “Can films become too popular for their own good?” . Now don’t take that the wrong way… we think its fantastic when a film that we love is embraced by as many people as possible but we were just wondering are we the only paranoid minds that think that an increase in popularity can be bad for any sense of personal connection you once had. It’s fantastic to know that a film you love is also being similarly embraced by other people but it’s hard to deny the appeal of having a film that is like a little hidden gem that only you and a few people know about.
It’s like when you hear a great band or song that no one else has heard of but then one day everyone just jumps on the bandwagon and says they have been fans for so long. Just look at Kings of Leon after the released “Fans” and the amount of people that said they were “like you know…so amazing!” Anyway back to movies because that’s what we do best here! Or another case in point was with the release of Joss Whedon’s sci-fi/western masterpiece Serenity. The film was a great watch and gathered new admirers to the show it was based on the much under appreciated and missed “Firefly”. Id argue though that those people who watched it from the start will always feel more attached to Mal Reynolds and co. I guess some fans like me will always be protective of films they like and be skeptical to all these “newbies”….am I paranoid or what!!
The Nightmare before Christmas is a masterpiece of animation and anyone who hasn’t seen it yet movies.ie advises you to go and see it on its re-release. It’s annoying though that the film has become hijacked and commercialised by annoying emo kids who “are such non-conformists”. The original impact when I saw the film for the first time will never diminish but the fact that Jack Skellington is now part of an axis of evil that includes My Chemical Romance, skinny jeans and long fringes just makes me depressed! I suppose nobody likes to see their own favourite cult film become popularised…because then I guess it looses part of its unique charm.
I suppose I have nothing to complain about after all I also have a variety of movie t shirts and I’m sure some person out there is thinking when they see me “What a clown”. In the long run it will always be inevitable that really popular films characters or quotes will enter the cultural zeitgeist. I mean for example just look at the amount of people wearing Big Lebowski, Mc Lovin and Joker T shirts! I guess that in the end we the audience are the winners because there continues to be films released that we are passionate about…and who wants to live in a world where you’re the only person that liked the Dark Knight!
Words : Ian Finnerty
So what do you think readers? What does you movie t shirt say about you? Do you hate/like when a small gem of yours goes global?