If you grew up in the 80s, you’re familiar with the term Hair Bands. These were the pop metal bands like Poison, White Lion, Stryper and Twisted Sister. Cinderella. Ratt. Quiet Riot. Winger. Motley Crue. Bon Jovi. Warrant. Ozzy.

I could go on and on.

The point is that, when big hair and power ballads became a thing, the market was flooded with them. Some of these bands were originators, like Van Halen, Yes and Aerosmith, who were just trying to take advantage of a new trend. But most of them were copies of copies of copies, with less substance and more hair spray. Authentic talent turned into planned duplication and the record companies inundated the market to take advantage.

Eventually, they all started sounding alike. It was hard to separate one band from another, one power ballad from another. One of those songs, by Firehouse, even became my wife and my’s wedding song. LOL

So, what does this have to do with storytelling?

You’re seeing the same thing happening with superhero movies. I’ll explain why, but first, we need to dive quickly into some of the psychological challenges facing today’s youth.

Happiness and success come from achieving defined goals. The best parents have very defined rules for their children. It doesn’t mean their kids will always follow them, but they will know if they do, they will make their parents happy. 

Children who grow up with no rules are often depressed. Angelina Jolie grew up in such a home and, as a teen, began cutting herself to feel emotions.

No rules = no success and no happiness.

The rules we grew up with have been obliterated. In a post-modern world eternal truths and scientific facts have been replaced by “personal truths” (i.e., opinions) and corrupted science at the whim of social fads. Nearly all institutions have shown themselves to be unreliable.

I have a buddy of mine who works in the film industry in Hollywood. He told me last night that all the scripts he’s getting from this generation are either superhero movies or depressing suicide/self-mutilation teen angst tales. 

Why? Because this generation has no way to be successful. Simple ideas, like what it means to be a man or a woman, is up for debate. What it means to be masculine and feminine is being redefined. What it means to be black or white is causing segregation instead of unity.  What it means to be an American is greatly divided.

So, it’s not surprising that superhero movies are popular right now. For a generation of self loathing and inconsistent personal identity, they long to live in a world where good and evil are clearly defined, where how to succeed is easily understood, and being greater than themselves is something achievable and lauded.

And yet, even that will run out of steam.  Just look at the upcoming crop of films. Suicide Squad. Another reboot of Batman. The Marvels. The Eternals. And so on.

And it only gets worse from there. Why? Because many of the comic book characters that these stories are based on are copies of other comic book characters that were popular first. Flash and Reverse Flash. Superman and Shazam. Deadpool and Dead Shot.

More hair spray. More power ballads. 

They’ll all start to sound the same.

So, what will happen? Well, I think the same thing that happened to pop metal will happen to films. 

Grunge.

What I mean is that pop metal was rejected because it was no longer authentic and fans wanted songs that existed in the real world with the angst they felt, not the popcorn power ballads that were dominating the airwaves.

I believe this will happen with film as well.

Superhero films are becoming redundant, clones of themselves, checking boxes with similar origin stories, providing another escape you’ve forgotten by the time you get a snack from your refrigerator.

What I call Films for Adults will make a comeback. Stories that take place in the real world, dealing with real problems and personal struggles. Some will push social agendas, others, corruption in corporations or politics. Some will focus on injustice, while others will show stories of light in a world of darkness. Some will play off our fears, while others will inspire joy.

But, none of the heroes will wear masks or have capes. 

They’ll be like you and me. Flawed. Broken. Struggling. Hopeful. Loving. Inspired.

It may take two years or ten, but I can see the film version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” being a surprise breakout film that changes the game and DCEUs and MCEUs will fade into the distance like Warrant’s “Cherry Pie.”

Hollywood will jump at the change. Superhero movies are expensive. Films for adults are not.

What do you think? How long before we put away our toy heroes and join the real world of storytelling again?