There another thing that limits imagination though, and that is the hypermodern environment most of us live in. It’s an environment that is sapped of the conditions that are needed to cultivate imagination.

We don't create the economic and social conditions that allow imagination to thrive. Imaginative media takes risk. Corporatization is allergic to risk. I think it’s a mistake to blame consumers, because in traditional media so much of what's produced and how it's distributed is owned by a few corporate entities, and in new media the algorithms... See more

Trying to stay competitive with streaming, executives are trying to make larger profits and screenwriting is one way they can cut corners and (temporarily) hide that they cut corners. When an audience looks at a trailer they see the flashy costumes, set design, actors they love, crisp cinematography, or an IP they recognize, but you can't really... See more

I think even if we’re drawn towards sequels and remakes, fundamentally we go to the cinema to see and feel new images. So much of mainstream cinema has become a retreading of tired ground.

Hollywood is in crisis. Streaming has created heavy competition. COVID really hurt theatrical box office. There's been a lot of corporate take-over in the last 20 years. Appeasing shareholders is a fast track to destroying creativity.

An artist has many tools at their disposal, and imagination is one of them. Imagination is what takes art beyond being mere remix of the world or other works and into completely new territory. Deeply imaginative work is the work that takes us so far into new territory that it's almost unrecognizable. Imaginative work is what helps us discover new... See more

People crave imagination, but imaginative, risky media is not what succeeds commercially or algorithmically. The imaginative stuff is out there if you look but most people don't have the time and space to go looking outside the mainstream channels for the art that will resonate with them and take them to new places because they have busy lives.... See more

Mainstream blockbuster cinema lost a lot of its imagination when it became all about Intellectual Property. Things get made primarily on the basis of how they fit into a marketing scheme: how they fit into a "cinematic universe," relate to the previous film in the series, or the material the film is remaking. All of that literally a lack of... See more

It's also rare. It's rare because it requires the artist to do the actual work of imagining, something few set aside the time it takes to do these days. Imaginative work also takes a real commitment to the product of your own imagination. When you're in deeply imaginative territory with a work, you can't look to others for confirmation that you're... See more