Matt Tung: 1st Blog Post
After watching the documentary 'Everything is a Remix', my view on what originality was completely changed. I never realized how many things that were created were actually remakes of something that existed previously. I knew people made remixes of songs and remakes of movies. But, I never comprehended what being truly 'original' was. For example, I learned that most (if not all) movies made today were all created based on a similar formula that all movies in their respective categories adhere to. For instance, all superheroes in superhero movies go through some type of turmoil, battle some villain, and get the girl (or guy) in the end. Similarly to movies, songs can also be remade into different songs with a slightly different beat and lyrics. Sometimes, this can even lead to legal disputes. All of these disputes over what truly is original makes me wonder if any piece of work in this era truly can be considered original. Even if somebody creates something that they think is original, somebody else can just claim that they created it first if it has any passing resemblance.
The documentary actually reminded me of something that I learned in Greece in my Intro to Psych class. We learned about the debate between 'free will vs determinism'. The argument for free will states you are in charge of every choice that you make. In contrast, the argument for determinism states that every action you make is determined by some previous action that happened in your past. Determinists believe that there is no such thing as free will, and any action you think you are choosing is actually a result of events that occurred in your past. The reason this reminds me of the documentary is that determinism is very similar to the concept of remixing and originality. What you think may be original, might just be a collection of ideas and concepts you copied from others throughout your past.
As time progresses, and more and more things are being created and invented, it will be harder to be considered 'original'. However, I think this could be a good thing for our society. We as people tend to only watch, listen, buy, and listen to certain things that we like. We (most of the time) will not go out of our way to listen to a song we hate or buy a useless product. This will allow all creators, artists, and inventors to get a better idea of what people really want. For example, before Marvel Studios came out with Iron Man in 2008, superhero movies were generally unpopular and unheard of. Fast forward to today, there are new superhero movies coming out from all the comic industries, and they're all becoming more and more similar. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing because it allows more money, resources, and attention to be diverted into following a formula that people are comfortable with and enjoy.
The documentary actually reminded me of something that I learned in Greece in my Intro to Psych class. We learned about the debate between 'free will vs determinism'. The argument for free will states you are in charge of every choice that you make. In contrast, the argument for determinism states that every action you make is determined by some previous action that happened in your past. Determinists believe that there is no such thing as free will, and any action you think you are choosing is actually a result of events that occurred in your past. The reason this reminds me of the documentary is that determinism is very similar to the concept of remixing and originality. What you think may be original, might just be a collection of ideas and concepts you copied from others throughout your past.
As time progresses, and more and more things are being created and invented, it will be harder to be considered 'original'. However, I think this could be a good thing for our society. We as people tend to only watch, listen, buy, and listen to certain things that we like. We (most of the time) will not go out of our way to listen to a song we hate or buy a useless product. This will allow all creators, artists, and inventors to get a better idea of what people really want. For example, before Marvel Studios came out with Iron Man in 2008, superhero movies were generally unpopular and unheard of. Fast forward to today, there are new superhero movies coming out from all the comic industries, and they're all becoming more and more similar. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing because it allows more money, resources, and attention to be diverted into following a formula that people are comfortable with and enjoy.
Hey Matt! I found your connection to the debate about being original vs copying and free will vs determinism very interesting. It made me realize that maybe everything isn't as black and white as it seems. When we label that something is one thing or the other we might be simplifying it too much. Is it possible that something can be both unoriginal and original at the same time? That someone can be doing something by free will while also considering your past actions? I believe that is the case. The relationship between these two debates overlap a lot and are essentially the same thing. Is what you are doing truly original that is not being influenced by anything else, or are you taking from a past experience/something you have see before. Although it seems impossible to be truly original and to truly make a decision without and considerations of your past, why would you want to be? As you mentioned if you know what people are gonna like and what will make you money, why wouldn't someone utilize that? If you touched the hot thing before and it burned you why wouldn't you use that as a learning experience to not make the same action in the future? I also believe that even though you might be using something you've seen before or have learned from before, if you use it in a new way you are being original and still have free will.
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