Can we please stop complaining about Originality

[Roganzar]

The one complaint that I can't stand when someone says they don't like something and feel that they just have to back it up with an arguement is that "Its not original." Okay real quick there are no "original" plots out there. There are 7 plots and that is it.
They are as follows:
1 - man vs. nature
2 - man vs. man
3 - man vs. the environment
4 - man vs. machines/technology
5 - man vs. the supernatural
6 - man vs. self
7 - man vs. god/religion
Thats all there is. Now as a quick side note, someday somewhere a new plot may be developed, probably when mankind develops the use of more of its brain, but until then you get 7.
Back on topic, whe have those plots, all stories can be filtered down to that. What I think, strickly opinion, that people are trying to say when they ***** about originality is that what they watched/listened to/read was not presented in a good way. You know how everyone says "that there is no originality in Hollywood." Well no there isn't, see above as to why. The real complaint is the lack of creativity that gets shoveled out in the easy cash in drek they put out.
However, if you present a familiar tale with some twists in setting, like Avatar, which is inspired by the likes of Lawrence of Arabia or Dances with Wolves. You get a pretty and pretty damn good movie. Its not "original" but its presented rather well.
Or you could take Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Tried and true tales the vast majority of the people on this forum should be familiar with, right? Its not "original" but they were presented brilliantly by Christopher Nolan and Co.
So, if you feel the need to argue your point as to why you didn't like a movie or tv show or book or game or whatever could we please stop bitching about "originality."

Last thing, if a topic like this exists on this forum or another then my point is further proven.

 

[jcallen]

Spyro has you playing as a dragon. So its Dragon vs

I agree it doesn't always have to be man strictly speaking.

 

[TeeBs]

Spyro has you playing as a dragon. So its Dragon vs

I agree it doesn't always have to be man strictly speaking.

Hell I think this thread is rather sexist.

 

[Catalyst6]

Yes, stories follow that formula. Some even go farther; games like God of War follow a *very* strict plot progression. And yes, I'll agree that it depends on how you tell it.

However, I think that viewing it in this way simply replaces the term "original" with "well-told", with the meaning in this context being almost the same.

For example, the Dark Knight was a classic superhero flick, but Nolan presented it in an way that made it feel fresh and exciting. Compare that to Avatar, which took the classic "invaders versus natives" story and did almost nothing with it, leaving it trite and heavyhanded.

In all, yes, plots get reused. But that doesn't mean that producers get to use the exact same plot over and over again. If we stop demanding "originality" then we're going to end up with utter crap, like the era of the terrible sitcom.

 

[jcallen]

Spyro has you playing as a dragon. So its Dragon vs

I agree it doesn't always have to be man strictly speaking.

Hell I think this thread is rather sexist.

I agree.

 

[Urgh76]

Let's see, there can be:

Pony Vs

other random animal VS

umm... you get the idea, we can EXPAND

 

[Roxor]

Number 7 seems to be rather underused. I'd like to see more games and movies which paint religion in a bad light.

Although, come to think of it, the fundamentalists seem to be doing a pretty good job at making themselves look bad.

 

[TeeBs]

what about cowboys vs. aliens?

Monsters vs. Aliens?

 

[Vampire cat]

Maybe the number of plot variations is not THAT great, but where does it say it must be "US vs Russia", "US vs Nazi Germany" or "US vs Middleeasterncountrygenerica"? There is (literally) a whole world of countries out there to pick from, imagine all the fun that could be had pitting some other adversaries against each other in the next FPS! The majority of FPSs can be placed in the above categories, and those that can't involve aliens or PMCs/terrorists.

Is it true that no gamer in the US would buy a game if the good guys (or at least one of the factions in the game) were actually US? I find that hard to believe, I really do. Why would it be less fun to (just for my own pleasure this) have an FPS feature Norway and Sweden at war? There are hundreds of years of bad and semi-bad history between our two countries, it's only roughly 100 years ago that Norway actually became independent after having been under Denmark or Sweden for hundreds of years. I'm sure the people at the game-cookery could mix up a batch of awesome revolving around this history, don't you?

And hey: "Trainload of British tanks and infantry arrive at the French side of the tunnel. Surprise war!" Damn it, if Capt. Price was in that I'd pay for it...

 

[BonsaiK]

The one complaint that I can't stand when someone says they don't like something and feel that they just have to back it up with an arguement is that "Its not original." Okay real quick there are no "original" plots out there. There are 7 plots and that is it.
They are as follows:
1 - man vs. nature
2 - man vs. man
3 - man vs. the environment
4 - man vs. machines/technology
5 - man vs. the supernatural
6 - man vs. self
7 - man vs. god/religion
Thats all there is. Now as a quick side note, someday somewhere a new plot may be developed, probably when mankind develops the use of more of its brain, but until then you get 7.
Back on topic, whe have those plots, all stories can be filtered down to that. What I think, strickly opinion, that people are trying to say when they ***** about originality is that what they watched/listened to/read was not presented in a good way. You know how everyone says "that there is no originality in Hollywood." Well no there isn't, see above as to why. The real complaint is the lack of creativity that gets shoveled out in the easy cash in drek they put out.
However, if you present a familiar tale with some twists in setting, like Avatar, which is inspired by the likes of Lawrence of Arabia or Dances with Wolves. You get a pretty and pretty damn good movie. Its not "original" but its presented rather well.
Or you could take Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Tried and true tales the vast majority of the people on this forum should be familiar with, right? Its not "original" but they were presented brilliantly by Christopher Nolan and Co.
So, if you feel the need to argue your point as to why you didn't like a movie or tv show or book or game or whatever could we please stop bitching about "originality."

Last thing, if a topic like this exists on this forum or another then my point is further proven.

I've never actually seen a thread like this on The Escapist before. Therefore, you've just disproven your own argument.

Also, women.

 

[Tilted_Logic]

Ninja'd by everyone replacing the man in 'man vs.'

Joking aside, I think the point the OP is trying to make is that regardless of which two archetypes you choose to face off, the dilemmas are generally the same. Of course replacing man with wolf or alien will change the views and opinions presented, but it's still akin to man vs. ____

So it's not the scenarios that change, but the opinions, views and methods used explore the situation.

Although OP, saying that nothing original can come of those 7 plots seems quite narrow minded; there are plenty of oppourtunities for people to make an alien species vs. alien species (for example) plot that has minimal basis on human life or other plots that have been popularized in the past.

Originality at the core is lacking, yes. But creativity is about taking an idea and expanding on it, you can't just focus on point A and point B.

 

[Valanthe]

Number 7 seems to be rather underused. I'd like to see more games and movies which paint religion in a bad light.

Although, come to think of it, the fundamentalists seem to be doing a pretty good job at making themselves look bad.

If you want a good book along those lines, try Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy. It's a beautifully written series that's currently in the process of being rehashed into a movie that's so afraid of creating controversy that it -completely- misses the point.

 

[Lilani]

Nothing may be original if you're looking at things on a global scale, but there are plenty of things individual people haven't seen. And if that's the case, what does it matter? Why should I care if a story has been told a million times over, if it's the first time I've heard it?

 

[Cain_Zeros]

Now as a quick side note, someday somewhere a new plot may be developed, probably when mankind develops the use of more of its brain, but until then you get 7.

A little nitpicking here, but you do know the whole "we only use ten percent of out brain" thing is bullshit, right? We use all of it.

Anyway, more on topic, yes, there are only seven basic plots. However, the details surrounding those basic plots can, in fact, be original. I'm pretty sure that's what people are asking for when they ask for more originality.

 

[Roxor]

Number 7 seems to be rather underused. I'd like to see more games and movies which paint religion in a bad light.

Although, come to think of it, the fundamentalists seem to be doing a pretty good job at making themselves look bad.

If you want a good book along those lines, try Phillip Pullman's Dark Materials Trilogy. It's a beautifully written series that's currently in the process of being rehashed into a movie that's so afraid of creating controversy that it -completely- misses the point.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.

 

[manaman]

Yeah, that argument about originality has been so overdone. it's just not original anymore.

Closer to the topic: The number of basic plots all depends on how you look at it. I have seen lists anywhere from three to 100. You could probably even argue there are only two basic plots if you wanted too. If you distill anything enough then of course there is nothing new. It is possible to have a unique, or fresh, execution of those basic elements, which is all people are asking for when they speak of originality.