2024: The year of the demon baby
(Spoilers for “Immaculate” follow in the article.)
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(Spoilers for “Immaculate” follow in the article.)
When talking about the highly respectable, never-mocked, distinguished artform of comic books, typically the artform is separated into multiple time periods: the Golden Age (1930s to mid ‘50s), the Silver Age (Ending around 1975), the Bronze Age (1975 to 1985) and the vague “Modern Age,” which is anything after 1985. Realistically, this “Modern Age” can also be broken into segments. I would divide this age into the “Deconstruction Era,” comprising of stories such as “Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight Rises;” the “Extreme Era,” which focuses on the rise of anti-heroes (Deadpool, Spawn, the Punisher) and independent publishers such as Image Comics; the “Throwback Era,” where every publisher rebooted or rewrote their heroes to resemble younger versions of themselves and lastly the “True Modern Age,” which is anything from around 2016 onwards, where the trends are harder to see. This is simply my opinion, though. And this only covers comic BOOKS, and if the last two decades have demonstrated anything, there’s far more to the industry than the publications.
If you think about it, there is a long history of American sitcoms about aliens. “My Favorite Martian,” “ALF,” “Mork & Mindy” and maybe most notably “3rd Rock from the Sun” all focus on the ways space aliens adjust to American society and the humans they endear themselves to. The sub-genre has a surprisingly long history, and what might have been the best of them ended ten years ago this week.
What’s the most famous piece of British media? The answer seems obvious, but I’m not talking about “The Beatles.” Or “James Bond.” Or “Harry Potter.” Or “Sherlock Holmes.” Perhaps there are many clear answers to this question, but the one I’m discussing today is “Doctor Who.”
There are countless works of art inspired by the Bible. From paintings to operas to statues and books and films, the Bible has influenced many artists to create new pieces, with some of these being considered the greatest works of art in human history. Sometimes, it feels like this phenomenon was limited to the Renaissance or a pre-modern era. But, even in contemporary media, television shows such as “The Chosen” and films like “Journey to Bethlehem” are still created, demonstrating that many creatives still draw upon holy texts when crafting new works. Creatives don’t even have to be of any denomination of Christianity to create a piece inspired by the Bible; case in point, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
In 1990, The New Yorker published an essay titled “Coyote v. Acme,” stylized as a court report covering a trial in which the villainous Wile E. Coyote sued the fictional Acme corporation over the failure of the company's products in Coyote's various schemes to catch the elusive Road Runner. The essay was a satire of court proceedings, while managing to adapt the classic “Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote” cartoon format into a lawsuit. Twenty-eight years later, Warner Bros. announced a feature adaptation of this essay. Promised to be a courtroom drama, the film was to star John Cena as Acme’s defense attorney, former "Saturday Night Live" star Will Forte as Coyote’s representative, and “To All the Boy’s” franchise star Lana Condor in an undisclosed role. The film was meant to come out in the summer of 2023, but Warner Bros. pushed the release date back to allow “Barbie” to dominate the summer releases.
“Young Sheldon” is perhaps the funniest name for a television show I’ve ever seen, with only “Young Rock” as its competition. This title contains multitudes of levels, yet on the surface there is nothing but truth in it. The main character is named Sheldon, the same Sheldon from the CBS sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” and he is, in fact, young. But there is more to “Young Sheldon” than the titular young Sheldon.
Hollywood has a long history with movie musicals. Films such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Sound of Music,” “All That Jazz” and “Singing in the Rain” are still considered classic films to this day, not only as musicals but as representations of the American film industry. Broadway musicals have been adapted for the stage as long as there has been a film industry. At the second Academy Awards ceremony ever in 1929, a film called “The Broadway Melody,” adapted from popular Broadway shows at the time, won Best Picture. In fact, many Best Picture winners have been musicals. Most recently, 2002’s “Chicago” was the last musical to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, with others such as “Les Misérables,” “La La Land” and Spielberg’s remake of “West Side Story” having been nominated for the same award since.
As a genre, horror movies can be gimmicky, schlocky and cheap — all reasons why I love them. But the gimmicks are my favorite part. Every holiday under the sun has a horror movie. “Black Christmas” has been remade multiple times, “Leprechaun” is not only an insane movie, but the reason Jennifer Aniston is famous. There’s also the “ThanksKilling” franchise, but the less said about that the better. Even President’s Day has representation in films like “The Tripper” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” But President’s Day, with all due respect, is a second-tier February holiday. Horror films have definitely embraced the big day itself, Valentine’s Day. But did they do this well?
Elmo is possibly the oldest three-and-a-half year-old out there. Debuting in 1980 unofficially, and in a full capacity five years later, Elmo is not just a staple of television but the American cultural zeitgeist. For decades, Elmo has guided young children into slightly older childhood, teaching them colors, letters and important life lessons. As a figure, Elmo represents all of us: a curious, playful and loving child. Elmo cares about all of us, and more than anything, Elmo is a friend to everyone. And like any good friend, sometimes Elmo checks on our mental wellbeing on social media.
The band Green Day has been around for a while and are still going strong. Even after multiple albums, a Broadway musical and a cameo in “The Simpsons Movie,” Green Day is still making new music. Their newest album “Saviors” was released Jan. 19, showing that the band is still capable of making hits. But this article isn’t about their newer work. Let’s talk about the album that got the world to notice Green Day: “Dookie.”
As a late-night host, James Corden was an anomaly. For one, he was British, which most others are not (I do not know if John Oliver of “Last Week Tonight” counts). Additionally, he was the only late night host to accost drivers at stop lights while dressed like a mouse. Corden’s stint on “The Late Late Show” ran for nine seasons over eight years and had what I’d best describe as mixed reception. Corden’s “Late Late” ran after “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and ended its run in April of 2023. “The Late Late Show” had been a staple of late night television since David Letterman’s time on CBS, where he picked the first host Tom Snyder when the show premiered in 1995. With the cancellation of Corden’s show, the program ended after 28 years.
Adaptations and remakes are not a foreign concept to television. “M*A*S*H” is one of the most successful TV series of all time, and it’s based off of a movie. In the ‘90s, nearly every Disney animated feature received a television cartoon to air in syndication. Sequels and remakes are not just delegated to the medium of film, and Disney television is making a point to demonstrate that.