shield
the
shield
Remake. Release. Repeat.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECENTLY ADOPTED A NEW, FOOLPROOF INTERROGATION STRATEGY.
Movie studios need to learn that remaking a cartoon as a live-action film doesn’t exactly scream originality Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book made close to $291 million globally on its opening weekend in April, and though it wasn’t a bad film, this trend isn’t necessarily a good one. From 101 Dalmatians, to Alice in Wonderland, to Maleficent, to Cinderella, Disney has been churning out live-action remakes with a fiery passion. And they’re not even close to being done; a live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon is expected from Disney this August, along with Beauty and the Beast in 2017. The recent obsession that movie studios, like Disney, have shown for remaking old films into new ones has left audiences with a burning desire for originality, and the apparent lack of such creativity shown in these remakes is more detrimental to the art of filmmaking than anything else. As the need for fresh and innovative stories rapidly increases among the general public, the overall quality of any original movies released by the big-budget movie studios to answer that
call diminishes significantly. Think about The Good Dinosaur, a rather boring Pixar film with great animation and a hackneyed storyline that not many people went to see, or Jupiter Ascending, a horribly written and poorly thought out science fiction film, that’s considered so bad it’s almost laughable. These films were some of the few original ones released in 2015, but were so hastily made to fit audience demand and patience that they failed to provide any quality stories. But even among the waves of prequels, sequels, and remakes being made, the quality of film stories is running very low. I can’t think of anyone who enjoyed watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, or Terminator Genisys. If there really are some people left in Hollywood who care about the art of filmmaking instead of the profits, they should encourage the business to shift its focus back to developing and making sense out of new ideas instead of on remaking old classics.
A.N. McCallum High School 5600 Sunshine Dr. Austin, TX 78756 (512) 414-7539 fax (512) 453-2599 [email protected]
the
shieldstaff
assistant editors MARA VANDEGRIFT RACHEL WOLLEBEN
sports editor BEN BROWN
Cartoon by Charlie Holden
editors-in-chief HALEY HEGEFELD AND NATALIE MURPHY design editor HANNAH ILAN
reporters
photo editors
MAYA COPLIN JULIA ROBERTSON
adviser
DAVID WINTER
SYDNEY AMELL, MEENA ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE CLARKE, LAUREN CROSBY, MADDIE DORAN, PAUL GOLD, MILES HANSEN, ZOE HOCKER, CHARLIE HOLDEN, MYA NAJOMO, SOPHIE RYLAND The Shield is published by journalism students in the Newspaper production class. Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimitely determines the content. Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous, or that which
22 opinion
will cause a “substantial disruption to the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated debate is not included in this definition. The Shield operates as an open forum for exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in editorials are the ideas of the staff. Opinions expressed in the columns are that of the writer’s alone.
Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed. Positive identification may be required when a letter is submitted. Letters may be edited. Letters that are critical of the newspaper staff’s coverage of events or that present information that may stimulate heated debate will be published. Letters that contain malicious attacks
on individual reporters, the adviser, or the principal will be rejected. Anyone interested in purchasing an ad should contact adviser Rhonda Moore at (512) 414-7539. The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
22 april 2016
shield
Remake. Release. Repeat.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECENTLY ADOPTED A NEW, FOOLPROOF INTERROGATION STRATEGY.
Movie studios need to learn that remaking a cartoon as a live-action film doesn’t exactly scream originality Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book made close to $291 million globally on its opening weekend in April, and though it wasn’t a bad film, this trend isn’t necessarily a good one. From 101 Dalmatians, to Alice in Wonderland, to Maleficent, to Cinderella, Disney has been churning out live-action remakes with a fiery passion. And they’re not even close to being done; a live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon is expected from Disney this August, along with Beauty and the Beast in 2017. The recent obsession that movie studios, like Disney, have shown for remaking old films into new ones has left audiences with a burning desire for originality, and the apparent lack of such creativity shown in these remakes is more detrimental to the art of filmmaking than anything else. As the need for fresh and innovative stories rapidly increases among the general public, the overall quality of any original movies released by the big-budget movie studios to answer that
call diminishes significantly. Think about The Good Dinosaur, a rather boring Pixar film with great animation and a hackneyed storyline that not many people went to see, or Jupiter Ascending, a horribly written and poorly thought out science fiction film, that’s considered so bad it’s almost laughable. These films were some of the few original ones released in 2015, but were so hastily made to fit audience demand and patience that they failed to provide any quality stories. But even among the waves of prequels, sequels, and remakes being made, the quality of film stories is running very low. I can’t think of anyone who enjoyed watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, or Terminator Genisys. If there really are some people left in Hollywood who care about the art of filmmaking instead of the profits, they should encourage the business to shift its focus back to developing and making sense out of new ideas instead of on remaking old classics.
A.N. McCallum High School 5600 Sunshine Dr. Austin, TX 78756 (512) 414-7539 fax (512) 453-2599 [email protected]
the
shieldstaff
assistant editors MARA VANDEGRIFT RACHEL WOLLEBEN
sports editor BEN BROWN
Cartoon by Charlie Holden
editors-in-chief HALEY HEGEFELD AND NATALIE MURPHY design editor HANNAH ILAN
reporters
photo editors
MAYA COPLIN JULIA ROBERTSON
adviser
DAVID WINTER
SYDNEY AMELL, MEENA ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE CLARKE, LAUREN CROSBY, MADDIE DORAN, PAUL GOLD, MILES HANSEN, ZOE HOCKER, CHARLIE HOLDEN, MYA NAJOMO, SOPHIE RYLAND The Shield is published by journalism students in the Newspaper production class. Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimitely determines the content. Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous, or that which
22 opinion
will cause a “substantial disruption to the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated debate is not included in this definition. The Shield operates as an open forum for exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in editorials are the ideas of the staff. Opinions expressed in the columns are that of the writer’s alone.
Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed. Positive identification may be required when a letter is submitted. Letters may be edited. Letters that are critical of the newspaper staff’s coverage of events or that present information that may stimulate heated debate will be published. Letters that contain malicious attacks
on individual reporters, the adviser, or the principal will be rejected. Anyone interested in purchasing an ad should contact adviser Rhonda Moore at (512) 414-7539. The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
22 april 2016
