When making art we draw on past experiences and subconsciously take elements of other works of art. Just as musicians make music based on other songs they have heard before. An example of this can be seen with Avril Lavigne’s recent hit “Girlfriend” which has a strong resemblance to The Rubinoos’ 1979 single “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”. The Rubinoos’ single repeats the chorus in “Hey hey, you you, I wanna be your boyfriend” similar to Avril’s “Hey hey, you you, I want to be your girlfriend” in “Girlfriend”. Could this be an act of plagiarism? Could this be some sort of appropriation? Perhaps this could be an act of the subconscious. There have been numerous cases like this one over the years. I will admit I am even guilty of this just as I am sure most people are. Someone tells you an idea and as time passes you remember this idea and truly believe belongs to you. Everyday we are stimulated by visual culture, music, news, television, books, lectures at school, and shifts at work. We are exposed to so much information that it sometimes affects the things we create. The art world tends to ignore conscious and unconscious plagiarism. Do you believe this is a possibility to the many cases of “similarity” in songs and works of art that have been discovered? Do you believe people should be punished for this? There seems to be a fine line between appropriation and plagiarism these days. A line that has possibly become a little too fine. And if this line is crossed you could end up with a pretty hefty lawsuit on your hands just like Avril did.
Check out these links and see what you think:
-Allison
No comments yet
Comments feed for this article