I come to this thought after seeing so many reboots and remakes and retellings and all those ‘re-‘s out there.
Out of them all , the one that led me down this path of thinking was the possible Harry Potter reboot (which I might probably watch if it happens – any excuse to return to Hogwarts.)
But I browsed through shows for something I could watch and found some titles I knew from a while back – Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl (even Gossip Girl), Bel-Air.
(and let’s not even talk about sequels or prequels that come a decade later – no, this is not about Avatar. I loved Avatar. I’ll most likely watch all the rest. Go watch Avatar if you haven’t. Or the adaptions that in my opinion do not do the original justice)
Now, honestly, I know there is nothing new under the sun.
I know there are tales old as time – boy meets girl, boy and girl like each other, boy and girl end up together – any romance anything is bound to be predictable.
I know there are plot lines you can see coming – gang kills protagonist’s dog, he goes on a revenge mission. It’s bloody!
I know there are comfort stories – terrible childhood but with a will made of steel. Even when the odds are against them, they make it. And they make it big.
There’s a reason we have tropes – they work. They really work.
But I got to thinking of this about my own work (yes, I also quit writing because the creative juices were not flowing as I wanted). I’m ghostwriting short stories and sometimes after I write something down, I read it through and I think this has all been done before.
Am I as creative as I like to tell people I am?!!!
Is it dying?
Did I quit stretching that muscle?
There’s not going to be something wholly new. It’s the nature of life. Somethings you pick up subconsciously. You can’t remember where you picked it from till someone shows you the reference.
Are our minds overly saturated and stimulated at all moments of the day – given all the gadgets and access we have – that we can’t sit still to get something out of the blue? I mean even this post is about my displeasure at what has been.
Are we scared of what we would come up with if we leave the well-worn paths?
Oh well, I’ll go think on this some more as I watch another redone something and try to strive for originality.
Written by Peace Nakiyemba