Remaking Movies. Good or Bad.

So to comment on the discussion that we had at the bar about rehashing and remaking movies, I believe to continually remake older movies is not only an insult to those who originally made and acted in the movies, but it also serves as a detriment to our youth. True there are some people that aren't film buffs as my friend Myron David said but why make a half-assed version of a film instead of having the people just watch the original.

As it is, many people don't read books and newspapers preferring to get their education and knowledge from the TV and other video mediums. This in turn is creating a semi-illiterate population who not only can't read as well as they should, they can't talk as they should. But I digress and that's a rant for another day.

So, instead of their making an effort to look and learn about the past, we prefer to just modernize, rehash and repackage. In the long run, many of the actors, directors and movie roles will only be remembered by film students and film buffs. The movie industry should take its cue from both the books and sports industry in honoring the past works. Instead of rehashing a old movie, just re-release it for a newer generation, as book companies do by putting older books in print. Reprint them as they were so that nothing gets lost. Also, as with sports, the breaking of a record doesn't just celebrate the person who broke the record, but it also celebrates those who came before the today's athlete to make his accomplishment something to be broken.

True there are many negative aspects that are present in many of these old films such as racial, gender and societal issues that would disturb some today. But to just gloss over them and act as if we didn't live in a past where those issues existed will only doom us to not only repeat the mistakes of the past but to also make our future generations ignorant to the struggles of those who fought against the injustices. The re-releasing of films in theaters will help to not only educate but to also celebrate the past instead of denigrating it as is being done with the remakes today.