Spring Break
Oscar nominations: 'Bloody' shame
Jordan Kerfeld
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Culture
I'm not fully satisfied by this excuse, partially because I truly believe there is no such thing as original music. I'm also fairly sure that many an "Original Score" winner was not completely original.
It's hard to see what the big deal is considering the state of popular music today. One can easily think of the endless samples, melodies and strict, genre-identifying markers (i.e. the blues song structure) that influence and define modern music.
I can't help but think about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
King is almost never talked about in a negative fashion, but there is one element of his life that is controversial to many.
It has been proven that his writings and works have lifted phrases word-for-word from other sources (sometimes also the grammatical/spelling errors inherent in the original pieces). He also frequently referenced quotes from the Bible in speeches and writing, though there is obviously less copyright concern in this respect.
This revelation floored me, but upon further contemplation I realized it didn't matter much to me, and did not really change my opinion of the man himself. His sampling of other works was not emblematic of a cheap and lazy attempt at personal gain, but a true attempt to re-contextualize and expand on a particular idea.
A great society functions on the precept that we are always trying to revise things and ideas so they may be more beneficial and of use to others. A few copied lines of ideas were enhanced and renewed by the many incredible thoughts and strategies King already had swimming around in his head.
Should we revoke the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday because of his plagiarism? Of course not. His life and work did nothing but harmonize our America society, and it was a mere scrape in a powerful, substantial body of work that was predominantly his own.
Jonny Greenwood had a similar idea to introduce new ideas into a very stale film music climate. Unfortunately, because he briefly riffed off a composer who has been dead for several hundred years, he will not be honored with the prestigious award. Greenwood is likely not worried, considering he is in one of the best rock bands of the past 25 years. But once again, the Academy is sending a discouraging and mixed message to the media-makers of tomorrow.
jkerfeld@unews.com
It's hard to see what the big deal is considering the state of popular music today. One can easily think of the endless samples, melodies and strict, genre-identifying markers (i.e. the blues song structure) that influence and define modern music.
I can't help but think about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
King is almost never talked about in a negative fashion, but there is one element of his life that is controversial to many.
It has been proven that his writings and works have lifted phrases word-for-word from other sources (sometimes also the grammatical/spelling errors inherent in the original pieces). He also frequently referenced quotes from the Bible in speeches and writing, though there is obviously less copyright concern in this respect.
This revelation floored me, but upon further contemplation I realized it didn't matter much to me, and did not really change my opinion of the man himself. His sampling of other works was not emblematic of a cheap and lazy attempt at personal gain, but a true attempt to re-contextualize and expand on a particular idea.
A great society functions on the precept that we are always trying to revise things and ideas so they may be more beneficial and of use to others. A few copied lines of ideas were enhanced and renewed by the many incredible thoughts and strategies King already had swimming around in his head.
Should we revoke the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday because of his plagiarism? Of course not. His life and work did nothing but harmonize our America society, and it was a mere scrape in a powerful, substantial body of work that was predominantly his own.
Jonny Greenwood had a similar idea to introduce new ideas into a very stale film music climate. Unfortunately, because he briefly riffed off a composer who has been dead for several hundred years, he will not be honored with the prestigious award. Greenwood is likely not worried, considering he is in one of the best rock bands of the past 25 years. But once again, the Academy is sending a discouraging and mixed message to the media-makers of tomorrow.
jkerfeld@unews.com
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