As I look at the story landscape, I see lots of old stories
simply being either rebooted or retold in a slightly different way. Whether it’s a movie reboot of It, or a
biblical allegory like The Chronicles of Narnia, or even a resetting of the
Arthurian landscape with Harry Potter, so much appears to be writers taking the
works of other and putting their own spin on it.
I’m not saying that’s always a bad thing. The Chronicles of Narnia is an engaging way
to retell the story of Jesus and the redemption of man through the eyes of the
Pevensie children and Azlan. King Arthur
was a great legend, but he needed a modern update to stay relevant, thus Harry
Potter(Arthur) and Dumbledore(Merlin) were born. And so many Space Opera novels help us engage
in a different way to tell Star Wars that it lets people stay interested.
However, I’ve found myself wondering if there are any truly
original stories out there any longer, or if we’re stuck with studying branches
off of those original stories. After all,
there are only so many ways to tell the tale of handsome knight rescues
beautiful princess from the forces of evil.
Does that mean we’re stuck?
Some may see this as just nitpicking, but I yearn to find
stories no one has ever thought of, and that’s difficult. I may love Guns of the South, but it’s
basically a rejiggered version of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,
just like The War Against The Chtorr is a variation of War of the Worlds. What’s out there that hasn’t yet been
explored at all? Do those stories exist? And if they do, would there be an audience
for them, or would they just be able to entertain the originator until they
somehow took root in the public’s psyche?
I don’t know, but it might be like discovering the Holy Grail to find
out. And yes, I know the irony of using
that analogy to discuss originality…
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