Fatigue or Greed?

I went to see A Minecraft Movie (2025) at the drive-in. It was the second time I’d ever been to the drive-in, and the sheer absurdity of the situation almost staved off the dread that came with realising I’d spent far too much money to see a rushed, bastardisation of my childhood, topped with offensive CGI, terribly written women, and an already moulding meme culture. I enjoyed the movie, but I knew it was meant to be something you watch-partied online with your friends while doing something else – an environment where you could pause and eventually abandon the film altogether.

           Not much later though, I saw Dogman (2025) and was brought to tears, so grateful to see that they were still making good cinema.

           I oscillate wildly between unbridled hope and utter despair, and film trends are just one avenue on which I’ve projected this tendency of mine. I think about A Minecraft Movie and the amount of money it managed to make, and I get this sinking feeling in my stomach – aided by the fact that I actually contributed to telling producers that this level of quality was not only acceptable, but the recipe for a roaring success. I am definitely crazy to think that whether or not I personally see a movie is some kind of advocacy or message to producers who don’t even know I exist. I've managed a parasocial relationship with faceless people I could not even name; however, I cannot help but look inward before I see a movie these days – who am I supporting, what messages am I supporting, and should I save my money by simply waiting for it to leave the theatres?

           Superman (2025) gave me hope, not just for the future of cinema and the DCCU, but for my fellow man. With the current state of the world, seeing a symbol of goodness stand up against genocide, put other people before himself – put people before money – and advocate for immigrant rights was refreshing to say the least. It didn’t show me anything revolutionary, nor anything I didn’t already believe, but it reminded me that I wasn’t the only one who believed it. It broke down goodness to its most fundamental aspects and showed them on the big screen, making me feel a way that a lot of superhero movies had stopped making me feel.

           As a teenager, I loved Marvel movies – the first I saw in cinemas was Avengers: Infinity War and it did something I never expected it to do: the good guys did not win. I had an aversion to the superhero genre because it was so formulaic. I became naive and thought that there was nothing that could surprise me. Infinity War had proven me wrong and hooked me. I was excited for new Marvel movies to come out – first three in one year, then four, then six, then five and three TV shows, and more TV shows, and more movies, and press, and advertisements, and theory YouTube videos, and predictions, and easter eggs, and post-credit scenes, and more, and more, and more, and more– I had bitten off more than I could chew.

           The more I consumed, the more the content lost its flavour – the more there was, the more apparent it became: it was impossible to care this much all the time – to constantly be looking forward to the next thing. It was impossible for anyone to care about all these things wholeheartedly – they didn’t even have the time to make them good anymore– to give them the heart, the variety, the very thing that first hooked me. Not only did I not have the time to enjoy the things that did come out, but they didn’t do anything different anymore. It was the same repackaged blandness disguised as something new. My love fizzled out fairly naturally and I no longer felt anything when I saw Spiderman or Captain America. I wasn’t even sentimental enough to feel sad about that. They’d taken something wonderful, unique, and meaningful, and milked it to dust. There was no more love in it, and I had no more love left to give it.

           James Gunn said that people don't have “superhero fatigue,” they have “mediocre movie fatigue,” (Gunn & GQ, 2025) and I am absolutely inclined to agree. I was not sick of superheroes when I let Marvel fade out of my life. I was sick of the onslaught of mediocrity that defiled my superheroes.

           Superman did something different. It was not entirely new. The bad guys did not win. But it was good. And not just in quality – it had a heart, and its heart was inherently so good.

           I am still basking in the high of it – even now, I read my comics again, and I think about superheroes, and I know I’m doing it because the Superman movie spoke to me. I sit in this atmosphere of hope, and I am so grateful it has lasted as long as it has.

           Then I go online and all I see is speculation, set photos, interviews, press, and announcements for movie release dates that haven’t even begun filming yet. That Marvel culture I was stuck in hasn’t gone away. I’m sure, in some ways, it has gotten even worse – overconsumption has only, and will only continue to get easier and easier to fall into.

           I look at Superman and I wonder... will his hope – his flavour – survive the hungry, hungry masses that, just over a month out from Superman’s release, are salivating for the next movie – the next interview – the next crumb from James Gunn that indicates something more is coming...? What if this greed of ours burns through all the good? How many more Supermans – how many more Dogmans – does the industry even have left to give? It is hard to decipher the difference between enjoying something and wanting more. And when it is so easy to get more these days, it becomes that much harder. To love is to consume. But to over-consume is to inevitably destroy.

           I am afraid that all I can do is close Instagram. Read my comics. And hope that no one touches Superman with money-hungry hands. I’ll curse what I can, and invoke hope, wondering whether people just grew tired, or if their hunger consumed them. Audience and creative alike.

Works Cited:

Gunn, James. “James Gunn Breaks Down His Most Iconic Films.” YouTube, uploaded by GQ, 10 July 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TM9UTbOjTY