Movie Series: Why We Love Them

Every child has a favorite picture book. The story that they want to hear over and over again. Every night before they go to bed. Something like the song "I love you, you love me" sang by Barney. Played repeatedly by the kids until the parents make the source disappear or learn to become numb to its purple melody.

We as adults also love repetitions. We love to feel secure in our childhood memories, to eat the same cookies with milk when we feel needy. To go back once in a while and check those little old childhood treasures, hidden inside some cardboard box in the attic. The notebook we draw our first robots and monsters or dolls clothes' designs. The ugly rock that we thought was so special and worthy of convincing our moms (and later our spouses) that such memory was worthy keeping forever. And then there are the movies, the ones we watched as kids or teenagers. We also want them back.

It seems that Hollywood knows about our needs. They also know that after being surrounded by such advanced technologies, our senses have changed. And even though in our memories to watch Rambo on a rainy Saturday afternoon was a great childhood experience, we don't want to rent those old movies tapes that now look like dinosaurs in our flat screen TVs. But still, we want to have Rambo back. And here he is, back and modern, with surround sound, special effects and a lot of blood and sweet splashing against our faces. And we become children again.

So many Hollywood successes are being repeated in series that can go beyond number five or six. And somehow the Movie Theater's seats still attract enough people and popcorn to make the producers keep their steam up and bring back over and over again our childhood heroes, and some more dollars to their pockets. Spiderman, Superman, Batman, Rambo, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Pink Panther, the list can go forever and they will always be big screen hits.

There is nothing wrong with movie series, but there is nothing like our first childhood memories. Even brought back in style, the next movie will never be like the first one, even though we still long for the new ones. Because our mommies' cookies will never be replaced by Starbucks' and the best chef in the world will never be able to repeat our grandma's apple pie recipe. Childhood memories are a gift to adulthood.