I recently thought to myself, “You know, the Iliad is to the Odyssey what Batman is to Zorro.” Just take a moment to let the
geekiness of that statement kick in.
After half a heartbeat I doubted myself. Is this really a
true statement? Who could help me figure this out? And I realized there isn’t
anyone that I know of. Even in my small circle of friends with similar
interests, I am fairly sure there are none familiar enough with both ancient
Western literature and Detective Comics to carry an intelligent conversation
about this*. In fact, I am certain that in the entire world there is an
extremely small cross section of people that would even be willing to take such
a conversation seriously, let alone possess the knowledge to participate and
contribute. That makes me special.
I have a specific range and combination of experiences and
influences that make my perspective unlike any other person in the world,
before or after me. I can speak as a father, a veteran, an aquarium owner,
former Warcraft addict and Calvin and Hobbs
enthusiast, among thousands of other things. I can link any or all of these
together to come up with a story completely my own, a story that no one else
could possibly tell. If I don’t do it, that story will be lost forever.
Sounds cheesy, doesn’t it? And not a nice, creamy brie
either, this is a full on mass produced stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth American
cheese, the “inspirational” posts your sort of friend on Facebook assaults you
with cheese. Hang on, I’m not finished yet.
Just because I thought it doesn’t mean it is original. Sure,
there are stories only one person can tell, but most people just stick to
variations of the same old narrative. Speaking of Batman, how many versions of
him do we have? There’s the old “original” version by Bob Kane and Bill Finger that
borrowed from Zorro, The Scarlet
Pimpernel, Scottish history and Sherlock Holmes, among other things. Then
there’s everything from the campy TV version starring Adam West and Burt Ward
to Frank Miller’s menacing Dark Knight, and everything in between. Batman has
been reinterpreted at least a dozen times since 1939, just different iterations
of the same basic characters, plot and setting. This isn’t a new thing, either.
How many times has Cinderella been through the wash? Snow White? At least there
used to be original storytellers out there, real masters like William
Shakespeare, who totally didn’t rip off Ovid**.
Usually original stories are more like Batman’s beginnings,
a little of this and a little of that, pieced together to make a “new” story
that is really a monstrosity welded together from spare parts in the folklore
junkyard. Let’s do Genghis Kahn in a tragicomedy, kind of like Cyrano De
Bergerac, but in a futuristic dystopian sci-fi setting like in Bladerunner, with a wisecracking android
sidekick fashioned to look like a My Little Pony. You know, to keep it light,
for the kids.
Maybe originality is harder than I thought. Then again, maybe I’m
being too picky. Snowflakes have variations of identical structures, but every single
one is beautifully unique, right? My stories are beautifully unique?
Well... About that.
Look at a snowflake. It’s gorgeous. There will never be
another quite like it, and how do we show our appreciation for these individual awe
inspiring beauties? We mash them up together into crude figures that are
supposed to look like us, or make cold, wet missiles to lob at one another, and
that’s if we are enjoying it. The stuff on the road and sidewalks are deemed a
nuisance, so we melt it with salt or shovel it out of the way. Trillions of
little flakes, never gazed upon, never appreciated. Just because something is
original and even beautiful doesn’t mean that it has value.
The takeaway is clear. Originality is difficult to do, and
even if we can come up with something original-ish there is no guarantee people
will take notice. Then again, snowflakes are terrible at self promotion. In
order to share something the world has never seen, but the world deserves to
see, we have to work at making sure the product we put out is worthy, and then
we have to work at leading people to the product.
Back to work, then.
*There is perhaps one person I know who could. You know who you are.
**Shakespeare totally did rip off Ovid. Makes you wonder who Ovid was plagiarizing.
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