This week in the word of post-modernism, a person is accused of plagiarizing...their own life.
Okay, it's a bit trickier than that.
Tony Blair is being accused of taking lines from the movie "The Queen" written by Peter Morgan, and using them in his book "A Journey."
The lines in question come from a scene in "The Queen" when Blair meets Queen Elizabeth for the first time.
Morgan claims that he made up the entire scene, so there's no way there could be similarities between what Blair wrote and what Morgan created.
Now, it's possible that Morgan just has an eerily accurate imagination.
The other possibility is that Blair saw "The Queen" and replaced his memory of meeting Queen Elizabeth with what happened in the movie.
This may seem odd unless you consider that other celebrities have admitted that film versions of their lives have influenced their memories.
Frank McCourt said that after "Angela's Ashes" came out, he started remembering scenes from the movie rather than what actually happened.
But here's the really sticky question:
If Blair did steal a line from "The Queen," would the normal plagiarism rules not apply because the character he's stealing words from is supposed to be Tony Blair himself?
Quite the paradox, isn't it?
Morgan has made quite a living off writing about Blair. He's written multiple films using the former Prime Minister as a character. Wouldn't it be the best revenge if Blair ended up profiting off of Morgan's work?
Not to mention that it's going to be nearly impossible for the screenwriter to prove that Blair didn't actually utter those words, unless Queen Elizabeth decides to get involved--the words "highly doubtful" would seem an understatement in that case.
Can't you just imagine that argument?
MORGAN: You never said that!
BLAIR: But you said I said that!
MORGAN: I was making it up!
BLAIR: Turns out you weren't!
MORGAN: You filthy--
And then fisticuffs would ensue, or something like that.
If there's a message, theme, or moral here, it's this--
In a world where it's considered acceptable for celebrities and politicians to tweet their feelings and appear on their own reality shows, don't bet on the subject of your movie not turning the tables on you.
In other words, it's safer to write about dead people.
Okay, it's a bit trickier than that.
Tony Blair is being accused of taking lines from the movie "The Queen" written by Peter Morgan, and using them in his book "A Journey."
The lines in question come from a scene in "The Queen" when Blair meets Queen Elizabeth for the first time.
Morgan claims that he made up the entire scene, so there's no way there could be similarities between what Blair wrote and what Morgan created.
Now, it's possible that Morgan just has an eerily accurate imagination.
The other possibility is that Blair saw "The Queen" and replaced his memory of meeting Queen Elizabeth with what happened in the movie.
This may seem odd unless you consider that other celebrities have admitted that film versions of their lives have influenced their memories.
Frank McCourt said that after "Angela's Ashes" came out, he started remembering scenes from the movie rather than what actually happened.
But here's the really sticky question:
If Blair did steal a line from "The Queen," would the normal plagiarism rules not apply because the character he's stealing words from is supposed to be Tony Blair himself?
Quite the paradox, isn't it?
Morgan has made quite a living off writing about Blair. He's written multiple films using the former Prime Minister as a character. Wouldn't it be the best revenge if Blair ended up profiting off of Morgan's work?
Not to mention that it's going to be nearly impossible for the screenwriter to prove that Blair didn't actually utter those words, unless Queen Elizabeth decides to get involved--the words "highly doubtful" would seem an understatement in that case.
Can't you just imagine that argument?
MORGAN: You never said that!
BLAIR: But you said I said that!
MORGAN: I was making it up!
BLAIR: Turns out you weren't!
MORGAN: You filthy--
And then fisticuffs would ensue, or something like that.
If there's a message, theme, or moral here, it's this--
In a world where it's considered acceptable for celebrities and politicians to tweet their feelings and appear on their own reality shows, don't bet on the subject of your movie not turning the tables on you.
In other words, it's safer to write about dead people.
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