Every once in awhile you read something that makes you think "yeah. Exactly....Why didn't I write that?" This is one of those essays for me. Lethem has so many great points. No human creates in a vacume...I forget who said that, but I heard it somewhere before. I'm afraid it won't appear at the end of this blog on a "works cited" page fitting the enigmatic MLA format to ensure no laws are broken. I'm just saying within the body of this text that I know I didn't make it up.
So what is an original thought? How far back into the history of mankind do we need to go to ensure that the author actually came to the thought from his own musings; that he didn't steal it from some obscure-out-of-print book he has in his secret collection? Will there be DNA testing for art someday? If so, it will certainly be developed in America where we fear the pinching of intellectual "property" with the same vehemence that we used to fear the "Red Menace". I think Lethem gets at the heart of issue by pointing out what we are really afraid of is someone else capitalizing from our work at our expense. It's a valid argument and a legitimate complaint. The problem is where to draw the line. In the early 1970's, George Harrison was successfully sued by.....The Shirels...(?) or some other Motown group for copy write infringement. The argument was that the song "My Sweet Lord" was a copy of "He's so Fine". Harrison tried to argue that in listening to the 2 songs back-to-back, the melodies did sound similar, but he didn't consciously write "My Sweet Lord" with "He's So Fine" drumming through his head. I think that is an important distinction. It didn't, however, win him the case and it probably wouldn't save an OU student's hide from the plagiarism court.
So what is an artist, author, or student to do to protect himself in in the litigious world of modern America? I suspect by making a conscious effort to develop his own style. Even though we all have our influences, they are not all the same influences; so the chances are that if given enough effort, a personal style can come to form out of the soup of influences we have acquired throughout our lifetimes. I'm influenced by George Harrison, but my words don't sound like his, and I'm not a really good musician so I don't think I'll be writing any songs any time soon that would stand accused of ripping off Harrison or The Beatles. For that matter, nothing I ever write will likely be accused of being a rip-off of Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, or J.S. Bach, Gaspar Sanz, or Girolamo Kapsberger for that matter. From the world of literature, I am heavily influenced by Ambrose Bierce and Edgar Allen Poe, among many others, but I don't ever hope to be confused with them. As popular (or not) as some of these artists are and have been throughout history, not everyone who creates art is equally influenced by each one of them. A lot of people liked The Beatles, but how many of those same people also really like Sanz? I suspect most people don't even know who the hell I'm talking about. That's the point. Not everyone likes the same things equally well. So, as long as the thoughts you scribble are the thoughts from your own head, influenced as they may be by the work of others, and not blatantly lifted, you should be alright....I hope.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Awww, if only it were so simple to rely on the fruit of our heads. I appreciate how you addressed this issue of influence and how though we are all influenced we are not always influenced by the same people. I find that in this current day and age we feel as if our individuality makes us so different but truly it is our individuality that makes us the same. Generationally, we all general talk and write the same. We share similar events, while reacting to each differently. It is because we live this way that when a person steps out of this mold that we find them so remarkable, so talented and thus noteworthy. No thoughts are ever really original they just happen to break the grain of the masses.
But all in all love the blog. But could you use paragraph breaks, I am a lil dyslexic and I found myself getting lost.
Is anything original anymore? You think you come up with something great and then find out it was already said or done. If Harrison has this problem, I don't think anyone can escape. It must be truly frustrating as an artist to have to do endless searches to make sure someone will not sue you over your work; it almost makes you want to give up enjoying art.
Post a Comment