Modernizing classics and mythology

[Illusion of Terra]

This might be slightly at the more controversial end of the spectrum, but I have been wondering something recently, and thought that this community is level-headed enough so that it doesn't end up in a flame war.
I happened to watch a live action version of Snow White the other day and saw that they changed quite a bit from the classic, making Snow White the heroine and not the prince (who was supposed to save everyone). I also heard that they want to make a female James Bond and Thor?

I think it's great that new movies portray female characters in a better light nowadays, and move away from the simple damsel-in-distress idea, but I don't know if changing mythology or classics, such as Snow White, to modern standards is the way to go. I have seen some of the argumentation of why and how they want to tie it all up (e.g. saying that Thor in the comics is only loosely based on Norse mythology which leaves enough room for a female Thor), but to me this looks more of a way to get the ideas through, than an honest argument.

There are many racist, sexist and quite inhuman pieces of mythology or classics, but I do think that they are a product of their era and reflect the values (at least the reigning) people had at the respective time. If a new movie is made with an original plot then I do think directors should pay attention to some of the current issues, but in my opinion classics and especially mythology should not be modernized to fit current societal views.

What do you think?

[Seshi]

I think that it can be done tastefully, like changing Ariel from a white mermaid girl to a black mermaid girl. But if done distasteful, such as to promote an agenda, and not because the casting roll suits the character, then the show suffers rather than achieving anything great.

Like the Avatar: Legend of Korra that you guys mentioned.

[efaardvark]

Hollyweird only green-lights what makes the bean-counters and banksters happy.  Art is what resonates with a culture.  Unless your culture is that of an accountant then there will be relatively little overlap.  Unless the story resonates, unless it has some reason to be remembered, it will be forgotten.  Especially given the flood of content in the modern era.  How many different (per)versions of the "classics" can people tolerate?  How many twists can a plot take before a story loses coherency and simply baffles the consumer?  A lot of it is simply silly in the first place.. the result of trying every possible combination of permutations on plot/character/etc with mechanical thoroughness just to see if some of it will make a buck.  Again, only the stuff that remains relevant in the broader sense will stick around.

Besides which, a lot of it is gated behind paywalls and "protected" by DRM anyway, which means it doesn't get broad distribution in the first place.  Certainly I as a consumer can't personally own a cherished copy of my favorite stories in digital form like I used to pre-DMCA.  If I can't own it and protect it and promote it then it will tend to lose mind-share and disappear, one way or another.  There's already been numerous cases of early content that's simply been lost forever because it was locked in the vault somewhere and the copyright owner didn't think it was worth it to protect.  Hopefully digital content will have a longer shelf life than early celluloid or other analog media, but even if it technically survives forever on some obscure bit-storage system somewhere, if it never gets popular enough to make money then it will still fade into obscurity.

My own suspicion is that 100 years or so from now quite a lot of recent "blockbusters" and other oddities will have long since served their original purpose and be unknown and forgotten.

[Beocat]

I think that's what you call a "story". You know, a Cinderella "story", for example. I enjoyed a Sleeping Beauty Story (Passengers) enough to buy it. I don't think modernization is bad. Most everyone is capable of distinguishing a classic from a "story inspired by the classic" and there's nothing wrong with dreaming up a different way to tell the story. I consider it a sort of homage to the classics. 

[Illusion of Terra]

@Beocat I don't know. It kinda bugs me. people have been creating new versions of older stories since forever, and much of what is now in the classic literary canon is based on some older story.

Still, I think there can be something wrong with making a new version of something, namely if it is done for the wrong reasons. I think there is a difference between a story that is inspired by a classic, and one that acts as if it were the classic (only adapted or even censored).
What seems to me is happening nowadays is that stories are adapted not to make them more interesting necessarily, but to fit them to our current societal values. It is similar to what @Seshi mentioned with trying to promote an agenda. Taking the Thor example, you could say that there is nothing wrong with a female Thor (after all, Thor is also often portrayed as blonde which goes against the original mythology). However, I think it is quite obvious that a female Thor is now created, not because it would somehow enrich the story, but to promote the idea of gender equality in a way. Trying to promote equality is something I think is great, but I don't think doing it through the means of changing mythologies or classics is the way to go. I think at some point you are changing so much of a mythology/classic that you'll start to lose much of coherence in the general mythology/classic frame. Maybe I am too much of a traditionalists when it comes to mythology though 

Censoring 'classics' seems even more controversial. I remember that there were some things in Yu Yu Hakusho against gay people for example (just remembered the fight against the transgender person as well). Should a remastered version of it cut these out?

Edited September 1, 2019 by Illusion of Terra

[Beocat]

@Illusion of Terra Well...liberals will always do that...it's called propaganda  you just have to be intelligent enough to know the difference. Hollywood changes the endings of stories all the time to promote the current liberal agenda of the day. Just look at Mortal Engines for example.  It was blatant and made me regret buying a ticket to go see it (note, I will never buy it on DVD now). Sadly, people are too dumb these days to know much of a difference...or intentionally ignorant rather. I don't trust Hollywood as far as I can throw them...still waiting for all those celebrities to move to Canada, you know? (Funny how none of them pledged to move to Mexico...food for thought )

[Illusion of Terra]

@Beocat I don't think too much in the liberal/conservative thing, probably because I don't fit on either side (and it might be more strongly tied to the US?). Generally, I'd say I'm more interested in the specific argument, independent of liberal/left/right/conservative/democrat etc.
Back to topic though, I haven't seen Mortal Engines, but the overall reviews seem to agree with you  Now that I think about it I haven't seen a Hollywood movie in years. The last one I saw was Wonderwoman I think? Although the Snow White movie might have been Hollywood as well. Anyway, after seeing Snow White someone told me about how they are changing many of the classics nowadays, which got me reading up on this a bit and thinking. And it also reminded me of some of the stuff they are changing in the remastered versions of anime. I'm not sure myself where exactly I stand on the changing stuff. Generally though, I think old anime for example should be left the way it is, even if has racist, sexist or other things with which current society might not agree. New stuff however is a different thing (but it always depends what time period is being portrayed).