summer of the backstory

Do you remember a few years ago when every blockbuster movie was a sequel, and Hollywood was playing it safe with franchises they thought couldn't lose by giving us yet another Spiderman? I seem to remember someone calling it "the summer of the sequel."

Well, this summer seems to be going in the same and yet in the completely opposite direction. The same because, for the most part, the majority of the big blockbusters have belonged to existing franchises. Yet opposite, because rather than just moving a story forward, the movies delve into the history of the characters or their world.

First, there was Wolverine. Obviously, this one is a pretty standard prequel, going back to before the trilogy of existing movies and exploring the colorful past of everyone's favorite adamantium-clawed mutant. In spite of some big changes from the existing Wolverine backstory and a terrible misrepresentation of Gambit, the movie was awesome. Not only do we get to see Logan before and after getting his adamantium, we're given a plausible reason for his memory loss (albeit, not the reason anyone was expecting). In the process, we also see how other major characters, like Cyclops, took on their roles.

The next big movie to fit the pattern was Star Trek. All the action takes place before the start of the original series, giving us a look at our favorite characters before they became who they would be. Granted, they did mess with the space-time continuum, thereby creating a new universe for the characters to move forward in (does anyone else think this could jump start a new tv series?), but the original history was discussed between Kirk and the old Spock at one point. And the backstory that is the alternate history the Romulans came from is essential for the main action.

After that came Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As bad as this movie was, it supports my position, so it has to be mentioned. The only way the writers could conceive any new action was to explain about the transformers having been to Earth centuries before. Backstory. History.

Even the newest Harry Potter movie can fit. The whole point of book 6 was to set up book 7 by introducing us to Voldemort's past and explaining the horcruxes that Harry would need to destroy. That's why there was so much talking and so much less action in this than in other Potter films. It's purpose is to share vital pieces of history so that things that have already happened (like the episode with Tom Riddle's diary) and things yet to come will be understood more completely in the context of the whole story.

I know there are plenty of other movies coming out this summer that don't fit any definition of prequel or backstory, but all the major ones seem to. What does this say about us? I think the viewing public is expressing a desire for stories grounded in history, even fictional history. Our own lives are increasingly disconnected from our past, as we forget previous generations in our constant struggle to move forward as quickly as possible. We can't be bothered to find our own pasts, but we hunger for the solid foundation that history presents. With the future more uncertain than ever, we want the security of at least knowing where we've been, to have an idea where we might be going.

Or maybe I'm the crazy one. It's possible, after all. But I think it's no coincidence that the theme of history is growing in popular culture.

Just chew on that for a while.

-Kim