What is original? Can I really call something I wrote original? This has been going through my head as of late after I read Stanley Fish's essay, "How to Recognize a Poem When You See One."
Why original? I always thought the determination to push new boundaries is what separated the greats from the mediocre. Artists use their imagination to present things in new and interesting ways. This is why I value originality; I would not want to be labeled as a cliche or shadow of what already existed before me - well at least as an artist (If I dare to call myself one yet).
The dilemma I face involves the use of the word, "original." In the essay, a point is made that our thoughts are not our own. Our thoughts, beliefs, ideas are influenced from our experience and interaction with other people, societies, communities, and other factors. Therefore, how can we label something we thought as original? There is a huge history behind us, with countless ideas and philosophies existing before we were born. Those ideas and philosophies of the past have shaped our society and ourselves. We have adapted those philosophies and ideas. Me thinking "I have my own thoughts is" not original, there are probably a number of people from the past and present who had that thought.
On to my main point. So if my band and I write a new song, can we really call it original? Let's say we write a love song. There have been countless numbers of love songs written in the past. Therefore, how can expressing these emotions in a song be anything new or even, interesting? I guess, one can argue that creating something original has become a lot more difficult.
These are just thoughts, and I have yet to come to a conclusion.
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Hmmm... part of the word "original" is the word
ReplyDelete"origin." And you seem to recognize that your own songs have several points of origin--not just your own head, but all the other songs of the same genre. Probably other points too, such as the world around you, your unconscious mind, the other members of your band, etc.
Does this mean your song is not original? Well, it's not exactly the same as the other, older songs, so that difference is important.
And that difference can mean a lot of things. Take, for instance, the Declaration of Independence in which Thomas Jefferson wrote "All men are created equal." About fifty years later, at the feminist Seneca Falls convention, Cady Stanton said, "All men AND WOMEN are created equal." The originality of her statement is its revision of someone else's statement. She made it just a little bit different, but OH WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!
I think the concept of originality is very interesting, and very complicated. So many people strive to be different, and original--but in doing so do they make themselves un-original and simply blend in with others who are also striving to be original?
ReplyDeleteStanley Fish's argument that we create meaning from the meaning we have already gathered leads one to think that it is difficult to be completely un-affected by various influences we encounter on a regular basis. I understand Fish's argument and agree that with all the messages, experiences and influences we encounter on a regular basis it is nearly impossible to be un-affected--and that this previously gathered meaning is what influences our own developed meaning.
But I also believe that works of art can still be original. Acknowledging how powerful context is in the shaping of meaning is possibly one of the first steps in achieving originality.
I think that understanding various influences and biases helps to make one more unique and original.