It’s difficult to measure originality nowadays. Adaptations upon adaptations thorugh the years, of seemingly superior stories of old, have jaded us, leaving us with the hopeless feeling that originality is dead, that a truly original story is impossible because, “It’s been done before.” A womanizing, utterly seductive vampire, you say? That’s definitely been done before. Taking a bite of some kind of “forbidden fruit”? Done before. An epic adventure, exploring the depths of the unknown? Done and done again. It’s all been before, it seems.
Sure, it seems nothing now can be deemed original. But back when most works were created, their concepts and ideas were new, for both their creators and their audiences. When we read Dracula, for example, everything from the Count’s vampiric nature to the story’s melodrama seemed so familiar because so many writers and artists thereafter were so influenced by the story and included such aspects in their works. But when it was published, the story of Dracula was new for readers, and those first readers’ curiosity and fascination spread to future readers like wildfire.
(Like so.)
But even Dracula wasn’t completely Bram Stoker’s creation. Vampires arose from Transylvanian folklore. And Dracula wasn’t the first vampire story, either. Still, the novel featured unoriginal lore in an original way, with a cast of Stoker’s own brainchildren and probably his own plot as well.
Which leaves us where we started. Is anything truly original?
Again, it’s difficult to pick an absolute stance. I think there’s originality in the way people interpret things—history, religion, folklore, even everyday happenstances—life in general. Our own perceptions are unique and, yes, original, for there really is no one else exactly alike with another. We’ve seen many themes and symbols shared among the stories we’ve read. (Innocent blood saving others; the uncontrollable nature of time controlling us; the clash between two differing factions, whether it be science vs. superstition, mind vs. heart, fantasy vs. reality; etc, etc, etc….) We didn’t analyze one story all semester, but we’ve witnessed reoccuring themes in each of the stories we’ve encountered. These ideas and concepts, I believe, seem to be a part of our human nature. However, the way we express these very human notions is our own.
(Perhaps...)
And that’s where adaptations have their redeeming quality: the story and its concepts may have been done before, but another artist may have been so inspired by it that he adapted it, marrying his own personal vision and interpretation with such inspiring concepts.
There may be hope for originality after all.
I like how your opinion was not based in black or white. I agree that stories may not be completely "original" nor are they completely copied works. You explained that there is a grey area, a happy medium. Stories share concepts, but the individual that created it may have a unique inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree with you. It's true that stories reoccur throughout the times, but no two stories are the same.
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