Another epic reach coming from yours truly, but does this not qualify?
Creatives learn from each other, all of us are standing on the shoulders of giants. Good artists borrow, great artists steal. And most of us echo what we loved another writer or artist did, so much so that we take it and make it out own.
You see homages and shout outs all the time. "Inception" took from "Paprika." "Black Swan" from "Perfect Blue." Lots of people took from Titanic. The list goes on.
I'd argue this is because the things that stick with people most are kind of like snippets from a larger story all of us are trying to tell; so in a way the homages are us taking the puzzle pieces and trying to tell it ourselves. And in the process, you make something only you can make.
I think that's lovely.
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So if AI steals a lot of stuff, it’s just a great artist? Humans borrowing bits is fine, homages are great, out and out stealing is breach of trust amongst creatives - unless credit is given - and stealing is a civil offence as music artists have found to their benefit/cost when it goes to court.
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I wasn’t even thinking about AI David Taylor, and in the context of “good artists borrow, great artists steal” it means great artists take something that’s been done and make it theirs. I wasn’t talking about actual stealing.
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Universal themes, (at least some,) are relative to all. Geographic boundaries, social, political & economic situations may vary considerably, but the emotions triggered by the passages of life are a constant to all. Core themes like Addiction, First Love, Jealousy, Betrayal etc; often meet common character tropes which adds to the familiarity you mention. Some films too, are based on fables & the archetypes within. With over a hundred years of films, in many genres, very random films can feel the same story, due to a universal element being rehashed in a different way. Not complaining though, & think hybrid genres are popular, cos the elements mix and match in new ways.