The Conundrum of Remaking Originals

This world is full of remakes, remixes or adaptations of original songs or films. Every person has seen at least one remake and possibly enjoyed that remake more then the original. So the question is:

Can these remakes enhance the originals?

People recreate films or songs because they find it easier to use an already made film or song and remix it to put more of a unique and interesting spin on it. This saves them from coming up with an idea that might not necessarily be a success. However, does this mean that their new spin on it is more interesting and better than the original in everyone's eyes?

An argument that could be used to say that a remake enhances the original is the cover of 'Gotye's' Somebody That I Used To Know by 'Walk Off The Earth'. They shocked everyone by recreating this popular song which in the end had quite a lot of success itself. People enjoyed the new spin on the song, especially since they were only seen to be using one guitar and of course, their voices, and this is what gave it its popularity. The new style of the song enhanced the original by giving a more unique take of the song and giving it more of an energetic feel. These changes enhanced the original dramatically and some would say it was even better than Gotye's original. This gives the idea that putting a unique spin on something already popular can strengthen the original and make it more suited to a newer audience.

However, it can be seen in the world of film that new adaptations of old films do not enhance the originals and that it can in fact ruin an already great movie. An example of this is the 2010 adaptation of the Karate Kid. This original movie was a classic and was loved by many, including a younger audience, but they decided they needed to recreate it to cater for a newer audience. This didn't end up well and damaged not only original film but also the whole plot behind it. This gave the sense that some remakes do not enhance the original movies but in fact they can ruin them.

To conclude, remaking either a song or film can either be successful in enhancing the original version or can be ruining. It is possible to make a song or film that enhances the original, however it does end up making the original worse, which causes people to watch the remake and makes people forget about the previous film it is based on. It does however give a new unique spin on the already interesting story and that is possibly what makes people more interested in it and ultimately what strengthens the initial idea.

What do you think about originals vs. remakes? Do they enhance previous ideas or do they just ruin an already developed idea?