The pursuit of originality is in vain. Current media reserves a negligible space for innovation, pandering to the industry-wide craving for sequels and remixes. 2024 brought the return of many cinema franchises including “Beetlejuice”, “Kung Fu Panda”, and “Gladiator”. The music industry has seen a surge in remix albums, such as Charli XCX’s new take on Brat, and even games such as “The Last of Us” and “Super Mario” have television and film adaptations.
Literature is no exception; online reading recommendations are over-saturated with recycled plots, generic character archetypes, and formulaic world-building. TikTok user, @_booktique2_, mourns the lack of creativity in current fantasy novels, stating that she is “getting bored” with the “same plot as the one before. Nothing new. All predictable.” Having seemingly discovered a formula ensuring steady sales, publishers and authors alike plan to bleed it dry.
Further than voluntary imitation, the possible subjects for fiction itself have largely been explored. The uncanny similarities between the Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead and Death in Her Hands led TikTok user @gracecanned to ask, “How is it possible that two women on opposite sides of the world wrote the same book?” The harsh truth is that originality in literature is few and far between. But does one have to be a pioneer to be successful?
With acknowledged similarities, the later book, Death in Her Hands, continues to be praised for Moshfegh’s ability to “awe with her originality” according to Goodreads user Roman Clodia. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Some of the most revered works in Western literature centre around the same premise. Take the Iliad and the Aeneid, despite their similarities, they are recognised as individual works. So what distinguishes a story? Is it the plot itself, the characters, the setting, or something less categorical?
What matters most is the distinct voice of an individual writer that introduces a new perspective on an established concept. The resurgence of familiar media punctuates society’s craving for nostalgia. Modern retellings of classic tales establish themselves in their own form—take ‘She’s the Man’ or ‘10 Things I Hate About You’. Neither of these films strictly adhere Shakespeare’s scripts, yet depend entirely on their source material. Sally Rooney often explores the mundane, as evidenced by Normal People. This resonates with many readers because they feel that Rooney’s intimate exploration of her characters’ relationships, friendships and inextricably linked loneliness portrays a universal experience. If readers are consumed by works that represent them and revisit books that provide familiarity, maybe shock factor and originality are not an essential pillar of successful literature.
To allow media to evolve and adapt in a time where it will only become more saturated, the concept of creativity must change with the times. We must embrace repurposing and reframing existing ideas. Nostalgia and recognition are two concepts that people undeniably rely upon in media consumption. With so many things in a state of uncertainty, perhaps leaning into familiarity in literature is not such a bad thing.