Film franchise exhaustion and the Criterion Collection sale

Cliff_Forster

I thought it would happen much sooner, but after seeing the cute and mildly entertaining but mind numbing and insulting Thor Love and Thunder, and being mostly underwhelmed by the Obi-Wan limited series which was all fan service a no real substance... I think I need a break from franchise entertainment (Although Stranger Things 4 was rad AF)

Comic Con came and went, a hundred announcements to continue to milk the cash cow of fandom with reasonably low expectations and not one thing that came out of it really interests me anymore. I have seen it, I have paid for it, I'm done financing it for now.

My favorite mainstream retail outlet is probably the trusty Barnes and Noble. I get into one about once a month and come out with a book or two, a Blu Ray, a Vinyl record, something. For years I have walked by the swanky art house Criterion Blu Rays and passed them up because they were just too expensive and why the heck would I buy something without a caped hero or Jedi in it?? Well, the past month they have been on sale and I've gotten deeply invested into older films that are frankly... Better... Way better than before the time Hollywood figured out all the money was in nerd fandom. In a way, I feel like it's opened my eyes, in the last fifteen or so years we have all been exploited by an industry that doesn't really respect our fandom beyond the cash we are willing to spend and the quality of film has suffered drastically for it.

I hate to say it, but I think nerd fandom is destroying the art of cinema. Marvel / DC / Star Wars... It's time to give it a break.