Review: The immortality of cult classics The Scribe – The Scribe

Ellie Myers

emyers2@uccs.edu

Name that movie:On Wednesdays, we wear pink;I see dead people;You like jazz?

Thequotes comefrom the moviesMean Girls,The 6th SenseandThe Bee Movie,three very different filmsthat all havesomething in common:They are well on their way to becoming cult classics.

According to Filmsite.org, a cult classic is an often offbeat, quirky movie that farespoorly at the box office during initial sales, but eventually gains a large following of specific fans who would ride-or-die for the film. This categoryincludesfilms such as 10 Things I Hate About You,CluelessandNapoleon Dynamite, to name a few.

These are not movies that have made their way onto the American Film Institutes top 100,nor did they begin and grow into huge franchises like Star Wars or Marvel.They would have slipped between the cracks of the Hollywood Walk if their fan bases hadnt grown steadily over time.So, what is it about these films that makeus revisit them?

PremiumBeatclaims that the popularity of cult films is all about the audience. Many of these films find specific and fairly large audiences due to their campiness, sense of nostalgia, exploitive approach, and subcultural appeal.

Cult classics become the movies that our parents show us because they remember watching The Breakfast Club or Beetlejuice for the first time, and they want us to experience the same shocked laughter they did.

Now even people who havent seen the movies know who Beetlejuice is, understand that a group of misfit students is meant to represent the Breakfast Club or have at least heard of the Time Warp. We have even seen sparks of unique appeal in modern moviesas theybecome iconic over time, from the witty and slangy dialogue of Mean Girlsto Cher Horowitzs yellow plaid outfit, which was referenced in Iggy Azaleas Fancy music video.

PremiumBeatalsosaidthat some cult classics are just so bad theyre good, meaning that watching them is a treat just for the sake of making fun or nostalgia.

This concept applies to movies like Twilight, which many remember fondly due to its inception at the beginning oftheYA romance wave. We also reference filmslikeThe Bee Movie because we grew up watching it andonlynow realize just how bizarre it was.

Its important to note that several of the movies mentioned here are also adaptations of what are widely considered classic stories,reimaginingauthors such as Jane Austen and William Shakespeare.

10 Things I Hate About You is based on The Taming of the Shrew,Shakespearescreationdetailing the fiery relationship between an angry, outspoken woman and the man determined to tame her into romance.

Clueless is a 1990s Californian reimagining of Jane AustensEmma,the account of a flawed but charming young woman who spends too much of her time matchmaking.

These stories teach us lessons about love, youth and the nature of imperfect humans that resonate with any audience. When seen through a relatable modern lens, the timeless nature of our stories onlybecomesstronger.

Manypeoplehavealsobeen in situationstheysee on the screen, from being bothered by a persistent lover to being betrayed by someonetheythought was a friend.Slap some lockers in the background, fling a period-appropriate outfit on your protagonist, serve with a generous helping of clever one-liners and youve got yourself acultclassic.

Even as fashions change and times shift our perception, will stories of who we are as people ever die away?

Asif!

See original here:

Review: The immortality of cult classics The Scribe - The Scribe