A lot of things are better now or have the potential to be better. We also mostly remember the good stuff while at the same time as children, we had no frame of reference. So everything was new, exciting, fresh and impressive. Today, we have so much more “baggage” that interferes with us enjoying art. The new Alien Romulus for example is an awesome movie, but I just can’t shake the feeling that I have seen it before, that it borrowed too much from the originals. Does this make it a bad movie? No, my feelings are just interfering with my enjoyment.
Same with music. We get used to a certain sound while we are young and impressionable. Then, the sound of the music changes with the next generation of listeners and all of a sudden it’s not something that sounds “right” to us. Did all artist suddenly lose their talent and creativity? I don’t think so.
Lastly however, I have to admit that with the constant creep of the capitalist growth mindset, risk aversion has increased in creative mediums as budgets have skyrocketed. Something has definitely been lost as more and more movie has been poured into the creative industries. These higher budgets mean more focus testing, less creative freedom and less diverse movies.
The problem is that I don’t know where to draw the line. When was the time where stuff was “good” and when did it shift? It’s impossible to say.
At the end of the day, they are still making awesome movies, music and games. So I try to look at the bright side. After all, [Current Year] has given us Dune and Endgame.