So, instead of a young woman working a steel mill with big dreams of becoming a dancer, the idea is to take a young woman working in a strip club that wants to be…a dancer? In essence, it feels as though the CBS Flashdance series that’s currently in development is giving up the Jennifer Beals character for a Cardi B wannabe, controversial as some might think that sounds. So long as it doesn’t mention anything that Cardi B has openly admitted to it might be okay, and putting in a POC isn’t an issue either, but it does make a person wonder why going by the source material is such an issue since one thing about the original Flashdance is that it did manage to show that a woman was every bit as capable as her male counterparts. One should remember that Beals’ character did a bit of sensual dancing to supplement her income as well, but as far as anyone can remember the steel mill was what a lot of people wanted to focus on when it came to her life and how hard it was to step out of it. Maybe this new character will have another job apart from whatever else it is she does. Working in a strip club isn’t the worst thing in the world, but considering that it’s CBS the effect would likely be kind of diluted in a big way, even if this isn’t meant to be a big part of the series.
Right now the idea of bringing back so many old movies and TV shows and trying to adapt them to the current era is becoming a little tiresome simply because it indicates that Hollywood really needs the crutch and will gladly lean on ideas of the past in order to create ‘new’ content that will entertain the people. It’s easy to think that this has happened more than once, since it has, with remakes, reboots, and the like, and that we’ve seen this kind of thing occur over and over throughout the history of cinema and TV. But is anyone else getting tired? Or are people simply numb to it by now and don’t care? Flashdance was easily one of the more recognized movies of its time and it did tell a compelling story, but at the same time, it’s a story that should have been emulated earlier if at all, since by now, any old idea that’s being brought back is another idea that probably should have been left alone. Learning from the old ideas, taking inspiration and cues from them, is all well and good, but coming up with something different is vital to keep the stories going and to keep them from being dished out again and again until they go stale and people are reminded that they’ve seen this story over and over.
Some people would no doubt argue about this, but as successful as Flashdance was back in its day, it was panned by critics that felt that its narrative was flatter than a diet soda left open for days on end and that Jennifer Beals and her dance routines were the best part of the movie. There’s a reason why she’s the only part of the movie that’s been remembered for all this time since she did a great deal of work and turned in a fabulous performance. It’s just kind of a shame that the rest of the movie didn’t really turn out as well. Maybe the TV series will end up a little better, but at this point, what’s been revealed feels as though it might need to feature a great plot, even better dialogue, and an overall story that might need to wow the audience in order to take on the same feel that Flashdance gave a lot of people back in the day. While listening to the critics isn’t always a wise decision, there are times when they might have a point. This time around though it does feel as though people might need to give the show a chance and see what it has to offer. It’s easy to sit and think that old movies and shows being brought back this often is bound to keep rehashing the same ideas over and over, largely because this does happen, but if the series is given a fresh look based on old ideas it’s possible that it could be worthwhile.
A lot of the details are still up in the air since the fact that the show is still in development, but there’s no doubt that we’ll get to learn more as the days go by and things continue to progress. Whether the show will do what it can to pull as much from the source material is hard to say, but it’s likely that we’ll get to see a very familiar story.
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