I enjoyed both articles regarding plagiarism, and I think they both comment well on one of the drawbacks of our technological age. While the internet has made it remarkably easy to publish anything and make it available to the world, it has also made the process of finding a truly unique voice very difficult. Anyone choosing a band name first has to check Myspace, and chances are their first choice will be taken (forcing a noticeable increase in ludicrous band names). Likewise, any author of a screenplay can probably find an almost-identical one somewhere on the Web. The trend will only grow, forcing creative talents as well as regular students to become more and more fearful of accidental plagiarism.
The good side of the situation is that he truly creative voices will find ways to express original ideas just as before, though it may be more difficult to do. I can certainly understand the feeling of futility that mounts as more and more people post similar work on the internet, and seemingly fewer and fewer original ideas come to the forefront. However, just like in any other category, the competition will result in people finding new ways to advance their art and the medium.
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I had not thought about band names. I suppose the same could be said for lyrical content being similar to another bands songs and lyrics. I like how you brought that up as another example of creativity being held back for fear of plagiarism. Are there any other ways to check for band names besides MySpace or is that the only real option at this point?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how many people broadcast themselves as musicians on Myspace, all it takes is signing up for an account. There are people from my highschool, and our university that have these pages. I agree when you say that because ideas about lyrics, or band names are so accessible to anyone, it makes it harder to be original or creative.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked how you brought up the idea of band names. Honestly, now that I think about it, that really does explain why some band names are so strange. When everything that defines you as a band is taken, what else do you do?
ReplyDeleteI have had this naming problem recently. I built a personal blog and wanted to name it something that I was sure was going to be completely unused. Well, nope. That's not how it works anymore.
ReplyDeleteI like your discussion of accidental plagiarism. I think that people to sometimes plagiarize without harmful intentions or even without the knowledge that they are doing so. I agree that this trend tends to limit creativity, but will also hopefully inspire people to discover new means of achieving individuality.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned searching myspace to double check the availability of band names. It seems a lot like screen names. We are already asked to condense our self-identity into a word, a couple words, or a brief phrase and you can't even get that. Is "coolkat34" really different from "coolkat"? Is originality really a first-come, first-serve system?
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