Everything is a “copy of a copy of a COPY”
Do you ever think that you’re not creative like others or you’re not able to think and innovate something on your own or you may need a reference always before starting your work? If you feel like any of these, I just want to tell you that you’re not lacking any stuff, you’re also like all the other creative people (you think of them as creative).
Nothing in the world is truly original, everything is a copy of a copy of a copy of someone’s output. Those who hate the word copy will quote it in the word “inspiration”.
In a fun way to make this context understandable, I copied the title of this post “Copy of a Copy of a Copy” from the movie Fight Club. (Irony – when I googled, came to know that the Fight Club team copied this dialog from one of Chuck Palahniuk’s books)
Let’s dive in.
Are you afraid to copy?
If you look at most of Kamal Hassan’s works were remakes or the entire concept was adapted by any foreign language film, but no one complained about him as he copied. And still, he is an idol for most of the directors, though it’s a remake he remade the films in his own style. Below are a few
- Unnaipol Oruvan -A Wednesday
- Kuruthipunal – Dhro Kaal
- Sathya – Arjun
- Thoongavanam – Sleepless Night
- Avvai shanmugi – Mrs. Doubtfire
- Thenali – What about Bob?
- Vasool Raja MBBS – Munna Bhai MBBS … the list goes on, so I’ve mentioned a few – just google it to know more.
The best example is “Papanasam”’, Drishyam by Mohan Lal has already set a bar that no one can touch but Kamal took that and made it in his own style by adding Papanasam area dialect to the dialogs and in addition, the climax scene where he conveys that he did the killing to victims parents “he has to say it was him but not by actual words “which demands his decades of acting experience, this scene was not there in Drishyam. Like this, he has added his style to all his other movies.
Then why did Atlee alone get trolled on his work?
If people like your style of work no one gives a f*ck about where you copy from. No one opened their mouth for Raja Rani, but they did for Bigil (checkout the links to know why? and have fun). When your style is not justified in your output, people will comment on where you got it from. That’s what happened to Atlee.
With Kamal and Atlee’s example, we can say people are not worried about where you copy from, but they will if you fail in the “way you present your copied idea” (your style of making).
What about real creators?
There is no such thing called real creators. Even if you ask anyone who you think as a real creator, their ideas will be influenced/inspired/copied by things that they watched, read, or heard before. Suddenly no one can brainstorm into their work without any reference.
What do I have to do to be a real creator?
You must have consumed content vastly related to your area to make that brainstorming thinks to happen in your own style to get a “creative” outcome out of your work.
And keep on practicing until you excel in your style, and this is not only for people who are in content creation. It’s common for all the creators who want to shine in their own domain.
Am I copying?
Yes . of course, I am.
When coming to blog I steal from all my favorite writers. Copy does not mean ctrl+A & ctrl+C, it’s the “perspective“ I get from their contents, and I use it in my own style on the interests I have. Hope I make sense.
E.g. I am an ardent fan of the “freefincal” blog. My interest in blogging started because of Mr. Pattu Sir’s work on personal finance on freefincal.com. I am heavily influenced by his straightforward words and minimalistic approach to blogging. He was sure about his content, and he didn’t work on the other fancy things to make his blog colorful (not mentioning back-end stuff like SEOs).
I copied the same approach to my blog. But if you look at his site and mine it’ll be entirely different. Because I presented the work in my own style. And I not only talked about finance but I’m also sharing my interests in productivity, fitness, and books.
Closure
I’m not telling you to copy everything you do, but when you do, don’t forget to implement your style of making, you can at least make the process look more creative.
Take care,
Peranesh xx