Is anything original anymore?

[caltravos]

Hello to all!
Something I've been thinking about for a while, and figured I should get the opinion of other creators; Is anything really original anymore?
Not to say that anyone is ripping anyone else off, or copying from anyone, but I feel in this day and age, everything has been done at least to a small extent. Whenever someone creates something, it's likely that they were inspired by something that came before.
I've even been inspired by others, mainly creators such as Araki Hirohiko and Pittacus Lore.
What do you guys think? Are we inspired by others to create our own work?

[tayo_rafferty]

Sure. I think something original is something which is not based on or inspired by anything else. An artist will always be influenced by other people's work but if they're trying to make something original then they have to start from a figurative blank page.

[modrawmanga]

As far as I know, everything I've seen so far is a variation of something that has been done before, and I don't have any problem with that either, as long as I'm entertained, I'm good.
And yah, there's a few mangaka out there whose work stirred a good emotional response from me when I read their work, whether it's from the art style or story (usually combo of both), so that inspired me to create, and hopefully in a million years, I'll reach their level.

[natchevil]

Nothing is original
Nothing was ever original
All things are mixed thing that came before.
Everything's a remix.

[nobebocafe]

copyaste:

Original is not about doing something "fresh" or "new". It's about do something with enough personality to be recognized as "yours"

[joe_galindez]

Nothing is original

Original is not about doing something "fresh" or "new". It's about do something with enough personality to be recognized as "yours"

This is why I only write pastiche pieces. My creative process is just mashing stuff together until something clicks. ("A paladin, but for Cthulhu!") Also a lot of my fight scenes based on movie fight scenes. On that note, @RaptagonStudios, there's no shame in taking film stills and remixing them into something new. I do the literary equivalent all the time.

[Aspie_Gamer]

There's nothing new under the sun I'm afraid.

On the one hand, this helps to weed out all the lackluster unoriginal works out there (Sturgeon's Law) so that you won't waste your time reading/watching works that don't really speak to you.

On the other, finding the gems in your favorite genres requires some digging and sadly most people don't have the time nor the energy to do that.

Of course, Tropes are Not Bad and just because a character of yours has some easily identifiable tropes they follow or your style of writing can be listed on a certain scale doesn't mean its entirely unoriginial. Its what you do with said writing tropes along with how you personally perceive the world that makes the difference.

[punkarsenic]

hasnt it been agreed for a long time that all stories are just the same 6 stories, or something?

that said, 'remix culture' has taken a rise in recent decades - you got fanfic, you got DJs, you got parodies and remakes, just about everywhere. you got stuff like wicked (which is a musical based on a book inspired by a film based on a book) and the shadowhunters (the tv reboot of a movie series based on a book series which was an edited version of harry potter fanfiction and lifted from several other writers) - both are very good; popular, and enjoyable.

maybe too much weight is placed on originality. or maybe people are just misinterpreting originality - its not about fathoming an idea from the void that has no similarities to anything ever. i think its about bringing something new to the table. thats why things like community and homestuck do so well - they take everything that already exists, and flip it on its head one way or another.

i think, if anything, as storytelling becomes more accessible through the availability of technology and sites like tapas, were gonna see a lot more very original stuff, because were opening the gates to the narratives and perspectives previously ignored (see: why aboriginal australian art is the most exciting thing to hit contemporary art since picasso)

[Tes]

I'm always paranoid that any ideas I come up with have been subconsciously taken from something that I've read or watched but in the end I can't let that stop me, even if what you make does turn out to be a rehash of something it's still fine since you put your own spin and perspective on it. Now what can get on my nerves are clichés but that's a different discussion for another day.

[oOafterburnerOo]

I feel like there will always be someone with a similar style/idea/story.
Someone found an image on a Russian website once that was pretty much IDENTICAL to one of my characters and basically accused me of copying it. So even though I had never seen it I still got flak for not being original because someone in ANOTHER COUNTRY had the same idea I did.
Since then I realized there's no point in stressing about being original, there are a lot of other humans out there having similar thoughts, just believe in what you do.

[joe_galindez]

'remix culture' has taken a rise in recent decades

I think we must've hit some sort of critical mass when it comes to entertainment media. Like, fantasy writers used to come from different traditions (the Arthurian cycle, the pulp trade, etcetera) but nowadays people in the genre all have the same books and movies in common.

[punkarsenic]

im not sure if i know what you mean? dyou mean the same books and movies which inspired them, which are all modern?

i mean thats kiiiiiinda been the case for a longass time bc we have The Canon, and everyones gotta read and take notes on The Canon. we have an informal pop culture canon, fantasy canon, scifi canon, etc, and prolly a significantly more formal film canon.

so like how everyone since shakespeare was in some way responding to shakespeare - directly or not - everyone (in fantasy) these days is responding to lord of the rings, directly or not.

[joe_galindez]

im not sure if i know what you mean? dyou mean the same books and movies which inspired them, which are all modern?

That's what I mean. Not only do we have the canon, but we also have many, many contemporary works that are clearly riffing on the canon and then each other. If the previous pattern was of living writers responding to dead writers, now it's living writers having the conversation with each other and everybody else.

[punkarsenic]

now it's living writers having the conversation with each other and everybody else.

ngl that sure as hell sounds more exciting to me

[joe_galindez]

I feel the same way.

[bear1]

I think as long as you write and draw something your way, it's original.
There might be similar ideas already out there and you might be (aware or unaware) inspired by other's work. But as long as you come with your own idea or interpretation it's original and unique.
I mean your brain with your exact thoughts, feelings, interests, ideas and experiences does not exist a second time. Even with certain inspiration, your work and ideas can only executed by yourself and no one else

[ISNEKO]

Originality?

Pfft.

I'm sure multiple people have written everything I'm writing. I've just never seen it. And when I'll do I'll utter a brief "Oh, look at that," and keep writing.

[LoboSong_Hitaka5Ever]

There definitely isn't anything new anyone can really do that's considered original (not even "original" species) but I'll like any genre or subject matter that interests me, even if its done a million times

[Michelle]

Originality is honestly overrated.

You can make the most original, unheard of idea under the sun-- but will anyone enjoy it? At the end of the day, that's more important. If you go so far out of your way to tell a story literally no-one's thought of before, chances are high that you're probably removing most, if not all human elements from it. And at that point, I doubt anyone's going to connect with it.

But like others mentioned, everyone tells a story in their own unique way. You could give the same prompt to ten different people and get ten different stories, and most every story out there can be boiled down to a shared handful of ideas.

[natchevil]

This is frankly fascinating to see everyone's vision and definitions of "Original."