Society relies on media for everyday things, such as entertainment or to gather information. Without it, modern culture would cease to function.

Media has been a massive source of entertainment ever since it first appeared. Families can get together and enjoy a movie, people can find something they’re passionate about, and they can relate to the characters they see on TV.

Spider-Man: No Way Home shows how Spider-Man deals with loss and hard decisions that completely change his life, which are struggles a lot of people deal with.

In modern-day society, there are multiple types of media, such as movies and television, news, writing, and social media, which many people use daily. With platforms like YouTube and TikTok, everyone is free to make whatever they desire.

Creativity, specifically in movies and shows, has been in decline, however. According to Patrick Henry, Film and TV teacher, the ‘70s treated media as an art form where people could find different ways to express themselves, but now companies focus on what will bring in the most money.

In recent years, movies have been making less money as fewer people have watched them in theaters. For example, Captain America: Civil War, released in 2016, grossed $379 million, while Captain America: Brave New World, released in 2025, grossed $152 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

The media has lost its creativity due to a lack of original ideas, yet it’s necessary for major studios like Disney to continue to produce new content in order to keep money flowing in. This leads to movies recycling plots and ideas, where they eventually feel like a recreation of every other story.

According to James Gunn, director for DC, “People are fatigued with repetition.” Gunn implies that spectacle films have become boring and lost emotion. When studios focus on repeating plots that already exist, they lose originality.

Studios need to create new and original stories instead of recycling what’s already been done. If creativity and originality can become a leading focus again, then entertainment can once again thrive as it had before. “Studios go with films that aren’t overly challenging content-wise, that follow a certain path that’s predictable.” Says Henry, implying that studios reproduce stories that they know will make a certain amount of money on release.

In a world that prioritizes media, it’s important for people to feel inspired and engaged with the content they watch. If society shifts away from the media, our everyday lives would be greatly altered.