The point of this article is that the writer likes to learn about movie history by tracking down homages from modern movies, possibly expanding his horizons or being exposed to films he might never have chosen in the first place.
Here’s what I think:
In general, I hate homages. At best, a homage is nostalgic. At worst, it’s a poor imitation; laziness masking as innovation.
If I have never seen the film the homage comes from, and I do track it down, I love it when the original film is better than the later imitation. The example I always point to is the double decker bus stunt from Tango and Cash, which was “homaged” from Jackie Chan’s brilliant Police Story I, while Jackie Chan himself will often copy stunts from Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd.
Homages are especially onerous if a bad film contains a homage from a worse film, such as the recent spate of “XXX Movies,” like Date Movie, Epic Movie, etc.
So which point of view do you subscribe to? Are homages better forwards (nostalgic), backwards (learning opportunity,) or complete wastes of time?
Does remake = homage (example Mutiny on the Bounty) or is it something else, such as The Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven (which is still a remake, I suppose)?
Usually homages are smaller bits. You borrow a famous scene, or even just a joke or line.
And since I’m practically illiterate when it comes to older films, I always watch them backwards. I’m thinking of trying to find the homages in the latest episodes of Community. Although I’m aware of a lot of the scenes via cultural osmosis, I never saw a single film referenced (except maybe the Matrix).
How can you control it? For years I LMAO at Carol Burnett’s “Madam” sketch, while having zero idea that it was a spoof of Sunset Boulevard. When I stumbled across SB on cable, I had a :smack: moment. And was unable to take SB seriously. But that might have happened anyway. Point is, I didn’t choose which one I saw first. I didn’t know “Madam” was based on anything, so I couldn’t pursue a source I didn’t know was there.
Usually I understand the reference. When I don’t, I may or may not seek out the original, depending on what I know about it. But the fact that I saw an homage to it has nothing to do with whether I see the film.
Had to go with “Other” since there’s really no single answer here.
The first example I thought of was Christopher Lloyd’s clock-dangling bit, ala Harold Lloyd, in Back to the Future. I was aware of Harold Lloyd when I first saw BttF, and had seen clips of that iconic scene, so I recognized the reference. But it also inspired me to seek out and watch some more of Harold Lloyd’s work.
So if I understand your question correctly, that sort of fits into both of your categories. Plus, homages can be cleverly subtle or ham-fistedly obvious; creative in their own right or blantant rip-offs. Thus, my reactions to them can run the gamut.
Also, I dont think “spoof” = “homage”. Stuff like Epic Movie and Date Movie are essentially void of any point of view of their own, aside from “Here’s something familiar, therefore you should laugh at it.”