One of the most common types of content being produced today are reboots, remakes, and reimaginings. These three terms sound awfully the same, doesn’t it? Well, to the average consumer, yes, but these terms in actuality they do not mean the same thing. Below are their distinct definitions:

Reboot: Take an existing series and start again keeping the same central theme, but ignoring the previous timeline (i.e. Men in Black International (2019), She-Ra & The Princesses of Power (2018), etc.)

Reimagining: Recreate an existing property but with one (or more) major changes (i.e. Maleficent (2014), etc.)

Remake: Recreate an older property with minor tweaks (Aladdin (2019), A Star is Born (2018), Halloween (2018), Pete’s Dragon (2016), etc.)

Now that these terms have been clarified (as seen above), we, the consumers, can dive deeper into detail. As described in the previous post using the magical girl anime sub genre as an example, we, the consumers, surprisingly remain mostly okay with the content that lies within our comfort zones. If one is a Sailor Moon fan, then he/she will most likely fall in love with Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Pretty Cure, Kill La Kill, or Card Captor Sakura. If one liked CSI, then that person will more than likely get hooked on Law & Order (and their spinoffs),  NCIS, True Detective, Mindhunters, Blue Bloods, or Dexter. Streaming giants like Netflix and Hulu will make these guesses by using their recommendations feature. When you watch a movie or complete your binging journey for a particular show, the streaming empires will do their best to keep streaming by recommending shows and movies similar to what the viewer just saw. A new menu will be customized to there viewer’s tastes “Because you watched (title of film/show)”. How do they do this? by using big data and an AI algorithm. Big Data is the ever-growing collection of your internet history, from every Google search to the likes you give on Instagram and Facebook. Even if you clear your browser history, it is never truly gone because the data of your searches have already been collected by the time you are finished with that search and delete it. Social media and some streaming sites use that data they collected from you to entice you into either purchasing an eye-catching product relating to the content you like or watch a show/movie that is similar in genre. With this information, streaming services are able to profit off of consumers by catering to their tastes.

Remember that deja vu feeling previously mentioned in the introduction? Reboots and remakes are responsible for that. When Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man first displayed the web-slinging hero on the silver screen in 2002, true believers (a term coined by Stan Lee meaning another name for Marvel Comics fans) were thrilled with this new experience. Because of the film’s massive success, a trilogy blossomed. Years later, Peter Parker and his alter ego got rebooted under an altered name: The Amazing Spider-Man (2014). Rather than the goofy, geeky quirks of Tobey Maguire under the mask, Andrew Garfield was next to take it. Fans had mixed feelings about this, since the Raimi trilogy had already set the bar of expectations incredibly high. In the end, things weren’t looking up or down for Garfield’s run. Overall, fans and general audiences can come to this same conclusion (or argue against it): Andrew Garfield was a better Peter Parker, but not the best Spider-Man. Shortly, in 2016, the wall crawler got rebooted once more. Now that Disney has made a deal with Sony to share the character (since Sony owns the entertainment rights to the character), the young hero is officially part of the mouse’s universe called the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and walking a different path compared to his predecessors who donned the suit. Today, with Tom Holland’s youth and charisma, he puts a unique twist on the interpretation of the web-slinger.

In the videos below, one can get further understanding as to why reboots, remakes, and reimaginings are so common today (aside from profits).