Nothing is Original: Everything is a Remix, and That’s OK 👍🏽
Let's face it: humans are the Earth's most sophisticated copy-paste machines. From your toddler self stumbling around like a tiny drunk person trying to walk like your parents, to that phase where you continuously butchered Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water on your guitar, our brains are wired to copy first, ask questions later. This superpower to absorb and reimagine has been our species' unique edge for survival, helping us evolve from cave paintings to cleverly captioned memes that somehow explain the entire human condition in screengrabs layered with Impact font.
But utter the word "originality" in a room full of creatives, and watch chaos ensue. People get twitchy, defensive, and start throwing around words like "intellectual property" and "artistic integrity" faster than a drum & bass beat. Here's the thing though – what if I told you that this whole originality thing isn't quite what it seems?
Introducing the Formula for Creativity and the Brilliant Documentary Series That Unpacks It
Enter Kirby Ferguson, the filmmaker who dropped the mic on the entire concept of originality with his groundbreaking documentary series Everything is a Remix. Ferguson didn't just challenge our notions of creativity; he gave us the recipe needed to decipher it: Copy, Transform, and Combine. Think of it as the creative world's version of "Wash, Rinse, Repeat," but way cooler. From Elvis's transformation of blues and gospel into early rock 'n' roll to Quentin Tarantino's mashup of old-school kung fu flicks, spaghetti westerns, and grindhouse cinema, this triple-threat formula has been the secret sauce behind some of humanity's greatest hits. Thankfully, you can watch the whole series for free on YouTube.
Copying: Embrace Your Inner Cover Band
Here's a truth bomb: nobody pops out of the womb doing original backflips. We all start as copycats, and that's not just OK – it's essential. Fashion guru Yohji Yamamoto shares this wisdom: "Start copying what you love. Copy, copy, copy, copy. At the end of the copy, you will find yourself." It's like creative metabolism – you digest what you admire until it becomes part of your own creative microbiome.
Take memes, those digital DNA strands of culture that Richard Dawkins first identified (way before it was cool). They're not just your daily dose of social media giggles – they're ideas that want to spread faster than Taylor Swift ticket sales. Cultural phrases like "Rizz," "The Ick," and "Big Dick Energy" spread through society like wildfire because they capture something we all recognise but couldn't quite express before. The same goes for entertainment franchises like Marvel movies – they're memes because they replicate and evolve through endless sequels, prequels, and crossovers. Even traditions like wearing a white wedding dress (thanks, Queen Victoria!) or the concept of "hustle culture" are memes that spread by tapping into our collective desires and aspirations, copying themselves from person to person, generation to generation.
Even Apple, todays beacon of innovation, is basically running a high-tech cover band. Every product they've launched – from the iPod to the Apple Watch – is a greatest hits remix of existing technology. They're just really, really good at making those covers sound better than the original. They even borrowed their minimalist aesthetic from design legend Dieter Rams' "less but better" philosophy. Spoiler alert: Sometimes the cover is better than the original, and that's OK too.
Transform: Where Ideas Evolve and Creativity Builds
If copying is your creative warmup, transformation is where you start flexing your artistic muscles. It’s like adapting a classic novel into a film – you stay true to the core story but reimagine the characters, settings, and themes to fit a new medium (and hopefully don’t piss off any fans in the process).
Take early hip-hop DJs, the original transformation artists. These sonic scientists took existing funk and soul records, isolated the juiciest drum breaks, and turned them into something that made people move their feet like they couldn’t help themselves. That's transformation in its purest form – taking something familiar and making it feel fresh enough to give you goosebumps.
This transformation alchemy happens everywhere. Look at Stranger Things – it blends 80s nostalgia with Spielbergian vibes, mixing adventure, coming-of-age drama, and supernatural mystery in a way that makes the familiar feel new again. Or consider the video game The Last of Us, which takes the typical zombie apocalypse narrative and transforms it into an emotionally rich, character-driven story about survival, love, and loss. And let's not forget Hamilton, which basically said, "What if the Founding Fathers could spit bars?"
Even TikTok, which started as a lip-syncing app for teens, transformed into a cultural force that has everyone from your little sister to your grandma creating and absorbing content about everything from cooking hacks to financial advice (some of it more questionable than others).
Combine: Where the Real Creative Synergy Flourishes
Now we're getting to the good stuff – combination, where the real innovative mashups happen. Think of it like being the conductor of the world’s most dynamic orchestra, blending sounds from every instrument until you create a symphony that makes people go, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
History’s greatest inventions are basically just legendary mashups. Gutenberg looked at a wine press, some ink, and movable type and thought, “I bet these would make a killer collaboration” – and boom, the printing press was born, revolutionising how information spreads. Similarly, Henry Ford didn’t invent cars or assembly lines, but he mixed them together like a master producer, and suddenly, the world moved at a whole new tempo.
Modern innovation follows the same remix formula. Netflix blended DVD rentals (remember those?), streaming technology, and original content to create the ultimate binge-watching machine. Tesla combined electric motors, high-capacity batteries, autopilot, and sleek design to make EVs cool enough for both tech bros and environmentalists. Fortnite mashed up battle royale gameplay, building mechanics, free-to-play economics, and live events, creating a cultural phenomenon that has parents begging their kids to play "just one more" instead of the other way around.
The best ideas aren’t always brand new – they’re just the right elements remixed in a way no one saw coming.
The Fine Line: When Copying Gets… Awkward
Let's address the elephant in the room: sometimes copying goes from "inspired by" to "ctrl+C ctrl+V." Take Led Zeppelin, those rock gods who occasionally borrowed a bit too liberally from their musical brethren. Their masterpiece "Stairway to Heaven" ended up in a legal mosh pit because of its similarity to another song's guitar riff. Although Greta Van Fleet and many others have been slammed in the press for imitating Led Zepplin, so the cycle continues.
The key is finding the sweet spot between inspiration and imitation. It's like cooking – you can follow the recipe, but maybe add your own spices to make it uniquely yours. Nobody wants to be served a reheated version of someone else's creation.
Your Next Big Idea is Already Out There
So here’s the liberating truth: everything is a remix, and that’s not just OK – it’s brilliant. Whether you’re a musician, designer, entrepreneur, or just someone trying to create something cool, remember that your next breakthrough might be hiding in plain sight, waiting for you to copy, transform, or combine it into something extraordinary.
Creativity isn’t a lightning bolt of pure originality – it’s more like freestyling with LEGO® where all the pieces already exist. Your job isn’t just to throw them together, but to see the world differently and add your own unique twist. It’s about remixing the familiar in a way that makes people go, “Shut up and take my money!”
So go forth and remix. Your next masterpiece might be just one creative mashup away from changing the world – or at least getting a tonne of likes on your socials.