Today, I found the future is happening now.
Writers are recycling stories.
Yes, recycling is no longer reserved for last week's newspaper and empty Gatorade bottles. No. Authors are now reusing others' creativity.
We are all familiar with the original Star Wars trilogy. Farm boy Luke lives with his uncle, Owen, until the Empire throws his life out of balance because of two robots he finds. Luke then sets out on a quest to stop the Empire. Simple, straightforward, classic.
How many of us are familiar with the Inheritance trilogy? Farm boy Eragon lives with his uncle, Garrow, until the Empire throws his life out of balance because of a smooth blue stone he finds. Eragon then sets out on a quest to stop the Empire. Sound familiar?
The deeper I looked, the more familiar this #1 New York Times Bestseller became.
Eragon (Luke) sets out with an ancient mentor Brom (Obi-Wan) who was once part of a group of peace makers called the Dragon Riders (Jedi). Unfortunately, the Dragon Riders (Jedi) were killed off by a rebel within their own ranks named Galbatorix (Palpatine). Gallbatorix (Palpatine) enlists Morzan (Anakin) who helps him kill off the Dragon Riders (Jedi). Galbatorix (Palpatine) then makes his own tyrannical Empire. Then, in a totally and completely unforeseeable plot twist, Morzan (Anakin) is revealed to be Eragon's (Luke's) father.
How coincidental.
On his quest, Eragon (Luke) receives a distress call from a princess named Arya (Leia) who is deep inside an Empire fortress (Death Star). Sadly, as Eragon (Luke) goes to save Arya (Leia) he runs into trouble and Brom (Obi-Wan) must sacrifice himself to allow them to escape. Luckily, Eragon (Luke) and Arya (Leia) run into a mercenary like character named Murtagh (Han Solo). Together, they trek to the Varden (Rebel Alliance) and miraculously defeat a force much stronger than them in the Battle of Farthen Dur (Battle of Yavin). Eragon (Luke) then receives a message from a very old man named Orosmis (Yoda) who trains him in order to complete his Dragon Rider (Jedi) training.
...
Is this what "art" is coming to? Our stories ares just equations with names and settings as variables. Our music is restricted to power chords and our lyrics are stuck on being depressed. Our painters are homeless and high. Is our generation too unoriginal to create our own ideas? Or perhaps we're too scared to make an impact. Perhaps we're too comfortable with fitting in. Maybe we're trapped inside our own little "safety zone." Maybe we're too content with recycling.
By the way, who besides me is still confused about the whole blue, green, brown trash can color scheme?
4 comments:
Great observation. I never knew Eragon was such a carbon copy of Star Wars, and I can't believe it's so popular. I love new ideas, and retelling stories with different names has never worked for me.
The new trash cans are a pain.
Wow I always thought Eragon was extremely original... until now. When you put it that way it makes so much sense and seems like an exact copy of the Star Wars Trilogy.
Wow, Alex, never thought of it that way. Gues it takes a thinker to figure that out. I guess in a way, everyone copies everyone. The only original people are those who come up with something completely and utterly different
Ouch
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