SO MANY GENRES – From Mainstream To Niche And Back: Which Two Film Topics Are Poised To Make A Hollywood Comeback?

When studying film, one of the first things you learn is how often they reflect the interests and sensibilities of the environment in which they are made. One of the best ways we can see this is in the topics chosen by big-budget blockbusters and major Hollywood efforts. In the '80s and early '90s we saw this in how action films tended to center on what we considered the masculine wiles of the Schwarzeneggers and Stallones, but over time this level of jingoistic military appreciation began to dim. Slowly this was replaced by superhero films as the biggest action bases, with a more direct focus on black and white evil rather than enemies of the current or feared future political climate.

While not always the case, this does illustrate how intertwined the biggest films tend to become with our cultural attitudes, but what of the other topics which have fallen by the wayside? What are the most relevant formerly popular focuses of film which have dropped below their former glory only to rise again with renewed vigor?

Casino Heists
Casinos and gambling in general, are seen as an undeniably influential aspect of our collective past. As the age of Hollywood came into full swing, so too did the land of Las Vegas, a development which would push elegant gambling to a new level of mainstream appreciation and adoration. We loved to gamble, and we loved to see others beat the bank – in any way possible.

"Bright night lights, Las Vegas (NV, USA)" (CC BY 2.0) by pestoverde
While casino-based gambling had a long period of dwindling presence in the public eye, developments in the world of online casinos have brought this world again to the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. New operators and new ways to play, such as LeoVegas Mobile Casino are rapidly gaining steam, which has contributed a great deal to repopularizing casinos as a film topic. 

The Westerns
It makes sense in a lot of ways that films set in the Old West were incredibly popular in the early and mid-ages of film. At the time America was already well established as a nation, sure, but we lacked the level of communication and cooperation which modern technology makes so simple today. Because of this, the idea of the loneliness of Westerns and their ambience of the isolation of small communities were incredibly popular. These were seen as still remarkably relevant even though they arguably lacked realism and relevancy to the real world at the time.

"For A Few Dollars More ( 1965 )" (CC BY 2.0) by Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view
Today, with films like Django Unchained and Hell and High Water, Westerns are again making waves. While there are certainly those who appreciate them as we used to, still feeling isolation even in the interconnected modern world, a greater focus seems to be on what the past can teach us about today and how we should not take our societal progress for granted.

What’s Next?
As Westerns and Casino films again make their way into the mainstream, we have to wonder which other topics or genres are similarly poised to make a comeback? Is hand-drawn animation coming back, or perhaps we might see a return to mystery and film noir? Whatever the case, we can’t help but appreciate new takes on old classics, as the endless stream of remakes has begun to wear out their collective welcome. What topics and genres do you want to see again in the limelight?