Everything is Derivative

The last Harry Potter film just came out. I saw it. It made me want to re-read the book, so I did. That made me want to learn more about the Harry Potter phenomenon, so I read the Wikipedia entry. That led me to the Literary Criticism section of the wiki, which pointed out that Harry Potter is considered by many critics to be derivative. While I'm sure that's true, I could not personally think of anything that the Harry Potter story seemed to be directly copying, other than a traditional hero quest, which is, let's face it, all over the damn place.

When I think of "derivative", I think of Eragon, a story that seems to be the result of a three-way between Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Dragonriders of Pern. When I think of "derivative", I think of City of Bones, which is like an alterna-version of Harry Potter. As I read City of Bones, I found so many similarities between it and Harry Potter that I actually started keeping a list. Here is that list:

Main Character Name

HP: Harry (male)

CoB: Clary (female)

Book Summary

HP:  Harry comes of age as he discovers that he is part of a magical hidden world, and that he himself has powers.

CoB:  Clary comes of age as she discovers that she is part of a magical hidden world, and that she herself has powers.

Main Character Has a Special Mark

HP:  Harry's scar on his forehead

CoB:  Clary's rune that Jace draws on her forearm

Main Character's Parents/Guardians

HP:  Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, who knew about the magical world but kept it a secret (as did family friend Mrs. Figg)

CoB: Clary's mom Jocelyn, who knew about the magical world but kept it a secret (as did family friend Luke)

Non-magical People Are Called

HP:  Muggles

CoB: Mundanes

Early Introduction to the Magical World Involves

HP:  Traveling to a magical educational location (Hogwarts), which is hidden from Muggles with spells. 

CoB: Traveling to a magical educational location (The Institute), which is hidden from Mundanes with spells.

Authority Figure at Educational Location

HP:  Elderly Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts, who has an intelligent pet Phoenix

CoB: Elderly Hodge, Tutor at The Institute, who has an intelligent pet Blackbird

Main Character Discovers Parent's Fame

HP:  Harry discovers that his parents (Lily and James, both dead) are famous in the magical world

CoB: Clary discovers that her parents (Jocelyn and Valentine, presumed dead) are famous in the magical world

Evil Figure in Power 12-15 Years Ago

HP:  Voldemort, presumed to be dead but now there are signs that may indicate otherwise

CoB: Valentine, presumed to be dead but now there are signs that may indicate otherwise

Goals of Evil Figure

HP:  Voldemort: Wants Wizard bloodlines kept pure and for Wizards to rule over Muggles and other magic beings

CoB: Valentine: Believes that Downworlders are inferior and should be exterminated

Evil Figure Seeks This Object to Secure Power

HP:  The Philosopher's Stone

CoB: The Cup

And I'm sure there are more similarities that I haven't thought of yet. 

Early Sign of the Inevitable Robot Uprising

Ancient Greeks Are The New Vampire

Because they are just soooo cool!
So yesterday I was looking at this website or whatever. It has trailers for upcoming movies. One of them was entitled Immortals. Hmmm, I thought to myself. Better check it out, just in case Hollywood accidentally churned out something good.



Why, it seems to be a version of the story of Theseus. Now, if I remember correctly, Theseus was involved in some shady biz with minotaurs and labyrinths n' stuff, but I guess in this movie he's fighting Titans. Ok. I mean, it's all fictional anyway. But what's this? The film's title is tagged by the line "from the Producers of 300".  Lest we forget the scantily-clad extravaganza that was 300:


(still one of my all-time favorite trailers)

And only last year was America gifted with Liam Neeson bellowing "Release the Kraken!!!" in Clash of the Titans:



But then I started remembering other Ancient Greek films,  Troy and Alexander being two recent additions:





Even Ancient Romans and Norse are getting some significant screentime, like in The Eagle, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and Thor:







I even have the feeling that there's been so many Ancient-Greek/Roman-themed productions lately that I'm forgetting some. Hmmm. Well, there's one last one that I'm not forgetting. Twilight played its part in the Vampire craze, and I'm sure that The Lightning Thief has played its part for the Ancient Greek trend (although it's focused on Greek Gods, not Ancient Greece, but still). I read the book, and I wasn't impressed, but clearly tons of kids are, because the books are selling very well, and I've noted these same kids going nuts for nonfiction books on Ancient Greece.



Last but not least: there's always more on the way.