How much "inspiration" is acceptable?

One of the most obvious examples is Tolkien. He got a lot of his inspiration from Norse mythology, Beowulf, The Iliad, Odyssey, etc and created his own universe with a lot of inspiration from those classics. Then after The Hobbit & LotR came out, you have tons of titles and franchises (with more coming out all the time) built with many elements from his world. Look at Dungeons & Dragons as the prime example, followed by how many board/video games, books, movies, toys, etc? Everyone knows that at least in some way, those are all Tolkien-inspired. If, since LotR came out, the Tolkien estate wanted to pursue copyright issues on hobbits, talking trees and magic rings, they'd have a lawsuit every 3 seconds in every continent on earth

 

It happens to be true though, especially in the modern world. It's hard to imagine when the last time a human writer had a totally original idea. Certainly it hasn't been in our lifetimes. People really need to stop worrying about it and just get to work.

 

Not really; 2005 isn't that far off. Metro 2033 wasn't only unique in its concept/genre but spawned the metro universe which was the first of its kind; a sort-of framework maintained by the author to legitimize/encourage "fan fiction" in the sense.

Battle Royale, the "original" behind Hunger Games, was released in 1999.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2003) is also built on a unique premise wholly unexplored previously.

The Martian (2011) was such a unique take on the "castaway survival" genre that it became an immediate success / was adapted straight into a movie & inspired a Paradox videogame.

Then you've got the realm of movies where this just gets even more prominent. Inception is just one example, but current Oscar winner Parasite is also a wholly original and previously unexplored concept.

 

None of those are original concepts and that's what we're talking about. They all come from a long line of previous stories. They are just told in a unique way. The Martian, as well-executed as Andy Weir made it, is just Robinson Crusoe in space. It's been done before. They even made a movie in 1964. Weir just took it seriously, did a lot of research and told the story in an engaging way. The idea is not remotely new though. Absolutely none of the things that you mentioned are new. They just took pre-existing elements and combined them in interesting ways.

 

I see you didn't comment on battle royale, inception, The Time Traveler's Wife or metro 2033. A shame.

Now here's the question; is it truly right to support the "nothing is original" argument by calling an electric car already invented - pointing at a wheel? What pre-existing elements did Metro 2033 use other than the "post-apocalypse" premise? Or is the idea of a main character going from A to B on a lengthy quest interacting with various ideologies and characters already unoriginal for you as a core?

The other novella I mentioned - Das Fraulein von Scüderi - jump-started modern crime fiction. It directly influenced Poe who wrote his Rue Morgue - which was the first ever Whodunit?! fiction. Calling both of those "unoriginal" is a discussion-ender.

 

Let's keep this out of the Debate Room please.

 

None of which are new. You're not listening.

 

They are unique in their execution, but the ideas are archetypal.

In the same way that the Notre-Dame Cathedral is not unoriginal because it features towers, windows, cornices, and was made of limestone, features of architecture that have been around at least since the start of recorded history.

I think Cephus means that at a deeper, fundamental level, you're using what's been used before.

 

I could go through all of your examples and contest them, but this one in particular was very much inspired/influenced by the anime movie 'Paprika.' If even stole a few shots from it directly.

 

For those who haven't seen it, Paprika is a cool movie, and well worth watching.

 

I believe in originality.

 

It's amazing how, as soon as the cracks in the argument start to show, some people just run around the field with the goalposts, huh? I could have taken out all of the examples, but chose to do one and all of a sudden, got "but what about..." in response. Some people just don't like to be wrong.

 

Does not change the fact that your inherent logic is wrong. Showing a more obscure "original" behind a famous work only proves that someone came up with an original in the first place. As I had quoted "We" behind the surge of dystopias. There is a chain for every specific idea where you can trace it all to an original - and a point where tracing this becomes awkwardly incoherent.

The idea that "nothing is original" is not only logically false, but also disrespecting towards multiple artists and instils a false belief in aspiring writers to not seek something you claim doesn't exist, but clearly does.

Once again, you are here arguing for the "Everything has been invented" point, rephrased as "Every idea that could be written has already been."

Would you give an inventor or engineer the above advice?