The "So What?" Story

History tells us that people of olden times listened to the same stories over and over. Within the story told around the fireside, there would be lots of repetition of familiar events and names, so each person felt a connection to the story.
With television, movies, and print books teeming through society, we have a situation that is similar, although not the same. Readers seem to have a yen for the same characters, even the same character types. If this season's TV offering has a detective with a personality disorder and it gets good ratings, count on more such characters in the future. Successful published books tend to be repetitious, too: the same plotlines over and over. A seasoned reader/watcher knows from early on what will happen. "Here's where the protag becomes conflicted because his father was undemonstrative and he wants to protect the kid whose father is undemonstrative."
I guess it's all right. We need entertainment, and we don't mind it being run-of-the-mill, at least most of the time, because it's only entertainment. But sometimes I long for classic tales, ones that tell, if not a different story, at least the same story differently. So much of what I read and watch leaves me with a "so what?" feeling. Did anyone change? Nope. They'll be back next week, next book, next sequel with the same story. Of course they'll move the location to Tel Aviv or Rio. People like that.