Is it really original if....?

[insertNameHere]

I love blatant copies of titles that are retold from the original but nowhere near the original, such "the fast and the furious" OH and how could I forget "The Karate Kid" which is now released or soon to be released.

Actually went to wiki for a list, saw "The Killers" Guess that throws out the thing about true lies depending on how close it follows the 1946 version, long before the govenator made it to the big screen for "True Lies"

[Racket_Man]

***** warning SPOILERS*****

















and I will give the PERFECT example

went to see the latest Shrek movie last weekend. almost a DIRECT telling of "It's A Wonderful Life" without any of George Bailey's youth or an angel thrown in. same basic storyline and dialogue and a happy ending

[Wingates_Hellsing]

As some random internet dude, I hereby announce that sequence of ____ meets _____ meets _____ long enough to be original!

[smileyeagle1021]

P.S. Smiley, what would be an example of a circumstance or character in your storyline? I find myself curious... perhaps it's the summer boredom...

I'm working on a sci-fi based in a future where there are two superpowers, I haven't really decided on the names yet, but I'm leaning towards Earth Alliance and Allied Planets. In this future history the Allied Planets have won their independence from the Earth Alliance in a bloody civil war nearly three centuries prior to the beginning of the story (so basically where the United States is now for comparison). The Allied Planets aren't the only ones to gain independence of course (similar to the British Empire... in fact the history of the British Empire is somewhat a basis for my future history). At the start of the story a religious fanatic comes into power in the Earth Alliance who believes he has received messages from God that he is to turn Earth back into the Garden of Eden, declares himself a prophet and begins his quest to cleanse the Earth of all the is unclean. The Allied Planets being the only power in the inhabited galaxy with the economic resourses to take in the waves of refugees fleeing Earth (and of course intigrate them into society thus boosting overall economy anyway) gladly takes in all who are able to make it off of Earth who are seeking refuge. The new leader on Earth views this meddling in his plan to cleanse the Earth and is able to call on a deep seated envy and hatred of the Allied Planets (for many generations people on Earth have watched their resources dwindle while the Allied Planets and other colonies that followed their lead grow in prosperity) to get the people of Earth to Crusade to retake the wealth owed to them that was "stolen" from their forefathers.
Of course war ensues, both sides cross lines they swore they would never cross. All characters will be based on either people I know or historical persons (with more being from people I know).
At least one specific circumstance I'm going to use is how the fanatic comes to power. His predecassor will be well loved and respected and trusted, people will give the office more power because they want to give this guy all the power needed to do good. Then rather suddenly the well loved leader will perish (natural causes, no suspicion must be cast upon the rising power). The people, in their grief will blur the lines between respect for the person and respect for the position and will follow this new leader without question assuming he has the same goodness as his predacessor. By the time that anyone would have asked the simple question "why" he already has them all hook, line, and sinker.

I'm still working on it, so eventually more details (and perhaps even a draft ) will come.
So basically, if we are using historic cliches, it is a very delayed war of 1812, meets the Crusades for the Holy Land, meets Adolph Hitler, meets (insert genocide of choosing here), meets... well, you get the idea

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Exactly! Germany's story of loss and revenge isn't the first of it's type either, at least, not boiled down so far. History is chock full of examples for any vague storyline or circumstance because their vague!. Do people really think there hasn't been a conflict before the world wars where one side lost before attempting to strike back?

Watch as I boil down every event and story down to the same exact synopsis:

Someone or something tries to do something and either succeeds or fails.

There, all stories fall into that description. Therefore: all stories are the same!!

I'm trying to write a story about a group of survivors seeking refuge in a zombie apocalypse. I can't count the number of times I've been told that it's been done, without even a thought spared for what the details and specifics are. It's as if people get a warm fuzzy feeling when they minimalize other people's ideas and will come up with any reason to do so, no matter how dumb.

Meanwhile zombie fiction is full to bursting with direct rip-offs of 28 days later, what with a group of survivors including or composed of young women ending up captured by a rogue military remnant intent on raping and eventually killing them. If a story incorporated this idea that would be one thing, but most of these consist entirely of what has become a zombie if not general apocalyptic cliche and nothing else.

grrr... and also, you're welcome.

P.S. Smiley, what would be an example of a circumstance or character in your storyline? I find myself curious... perhaps it's the summer boredom...

[smileyeagle1021]

Simply put, similar does not equal same. It's just not how the world works dammit!

Thank you. Just because something follows the same archeotype does not mean it is a rip-off.
I've got a storyline I'm working on, that I may eventually actually write that people have criticized because it follows the basic plotline of two great powers go to war, one power wins and a generation later the losing power tries to take revenge... a lot of people say "oh, that's the story of Germany... that's not original"
Umm, yes, I'm pretty sure I can make that original, it may be a common theme in history (germany being a recent example), that does not mean that you can't make something original out of it by introducing a different combination of characters or circumstances.

[muses_nightmare]

Aaarrggg! That made me physically cringe! I used to read LJ Smith back in junior high, way before Twilight came into existence. I actually hate how Twilight has spawned a renewal of sorts in vampires. All these "new" vampire movies/books are all rehashes of some of the best stories told.

Made me cringe too. Seriously.

I also hate how if you go into say Wal-mart their book tables are all "vampire" books, half of which are twilight or twilight related. I hate how they group all of them together all the time, as if they're all part of one big series, even the covers of good books are starting to look the same as twilight!

For example the Kelly Armstrong novel Dime Store Magic

Original Cover

New Cover

It's not even that I mind the new look so much, but it gives the impression that these books are on the same level of Twilight when they're way above in the quality of writing and the storyline, not to mention that they aren't about vampires!

*sigh* Maybe I should just be happy that they sell them in Wal-mart now, :P 30% off the cover price doesn't hurt at all.

[Cassandra]

"about "Vampire Diaries" (which the newer trilogy is a sequel to one she wrote years ago) "It's so cool that so many vampire books are being inspired by Twilight""

Aaarrggg! That made me physically cringe! I used to read LJ Smith back in junior high, way before Twilight came into existence. I actually hate how Twilight has spawned a renewal of sorts in vampires. All these "new" vampire movies/books are all rehashes of some of the best stories told. I understand that nothing is truly original, but there can always be a refreshing twist on how the story is told. I mean how many times has Dracula been retold? Some of the attempts are horrible while others kick ass. But for the love of all that is dark and mysterious, do not tell me that these things are inspired by Twilight!

[McDreidel09]

heck The Village sounds very similar to a movie from like 10 years ago called "The Island" where a few people supposedly survived a viriliant plague and are brought to an underground safe haven when they are "found". at what seems random intervals there is a "lottery" where one person gets choosen to got to another safe place called The Island. it turns out that these "people" are nothing more than clones of wealthy people. The clones "win the lottery and get to go to the Island" when the wealthy person needs a kidney or heart or some other body part.

the clones eventually "figure out" what is going on and revolt (finiding the real safe world above the complex) and two of them even take the place of their "originals"

I love that movie, but I don't think it came out 10 years ago. lol

Just checked. It was five years ago lol

The Village made me giggle. However, just because it is similar to something, doesn't mean it is ripped off from it.

[AdminAssistant]

Twilight=Romeo and Juliet

And Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was taken straight from an Italian novella. As were Othello, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and all of his other plays set in Italy. There isn't an 'original' story in his entire canon.

[Racket_Man]

heck The Village sounds very similar to a movie from like 10 years ago called "The Island" where a few people supposedly survived a viriliant plague and are brought to an underground safe haven when they are "found". at what seems random intervals there is a "lottery" where one person gets choosen to got to another safe place called The Island. it turns out that these "people" are nothing more than clones of wealthy people. The clones "win the lottery and get to go to the Island" when the wealthy person needs a kidney or heart or some other body part.

the clones eventually "figure out" what is going on and revolt (finiding the real safe world above the complex) and two of them even take the place of their "originals"

[Wingates_Hellsing]

I really get tired of the 'everything's already happened before' sentiment because it hasn't. This is only true if you strip the context of any situation away, chop it up into individual events considered separately and boil down the situation to it's vaguest and basest of components. Lives, wars, movies and books are so much more than the randomly considered individual components or basest of themes that they may have.

In order for two things to be the same their entirety must be considered, not just the background. While any one minute detail may be significant, any story probably contains hundreds if not thousands of such details, the amounts of which and interactions of which are just as important if not more so than the overarching theme.

While there are many self-contained characters, settings and plot-points that are overused these all fall into the realm of cliche and even then only the worst examples don't simply use the cliche as a part of or starting point for said character, setting, or plot point.

Simply put, similar does not equal same. It's just not how the world works dammit!

[Hobbs]

Basically a story is nothing more than Exposition-->Rising action-->Climax-->Falling action--> Denoument.

Therefore, you'd have to conclude that nothing is original.

Just because something flows a similar pattern, doesn't make it unoriginal.

The African Diaspora and the Jewish Diaspora have similarities, but the two are very different events.

[jackfaire]

A small village that is supposedly the 1800s in the middle of nowhere. Children are scared into never straying too far from the village. Never told of the outside world. An illness occurs medicine is needed a child is sent out into the outside world to retrieve it.

Those are the similarities.

These are the differences.


Movie: Girl is blind

Book: Truth is revealed to girl being sent for help

Movie: The outside world is not supposed to know about the village

Book: The village is a tourist attraction and the tourists are told that the villagers know what date it really is (the children who were too young to remember or were born in the village don't know) and that they have access to modern health care (they don't)

Movie: The girl returns the village is kept intact and continues on.

Book: The village ends some of the children died from their illnesses the rest lived and the owners of the company that ran the place are brought up on charges.

Other things are different of course minor details of the story. However no one ever really applauded him for originality of story so much as for originality of the concept since "no one had thought it up before"

[Fryk]

I have to agree. Scary Movie 4's version was better than The Village.

M Night just really disappoints me in general.

I wanted to oft myself watching The Happening, it was so bad. Thankfully, I played it safe and just fell asleep.

I didn't even bother with the Happening, after I heard this nugget in the trailer...

"There appears to be an event happening."

Wow, riveting dialogue.