Skip to main content

Can You Plagiarize Your Own Life?

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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A List of People Who Can Go to Hell Now That I Can't Have Elizabeth Warren

So today was a rough day for everybody who isn't a @#$%-ing #$%hole. Let's just start there. If that upsets you, by all means, go straight to hell. This entire rant is going to be exactly what it sounds like. I am mad and I am going to exercise my right to BLOG ABOUT IT LIKE IT'S 1995, SO BUCKLE UP, BUTTERCUP. I really don't even know where to start, so let's just jump right in with the first person who comes to mind. Bloomberg, go to hell.  You really didn't have anything specific to do with today, but you can just go to hell for spending an ungodly amount of money on literally nothing.  I mean, you could have lit millions of dollars on fire and at least warmed the hands of the homeless, but instead, you made tv stations across the country that are already owned by Conservatives rich, so kudos to you and go to hell. Amy Klobuchar, I STUCK UP FOR YOU AMY.  I got into FIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA while DEFENDING your sorry, self-interested ass.  You know ...

Theater and the Outbreak

After last week's interview, a representative from a theater that recently experienced the results of opening too soon reached out to speak with me. I want to thank this person for coming forward in the hopes that it'll change some minds about what's safe and what isn't when it comes to the performing arts. Here's the interview: ME:  So this wasn't a full production or-- THEM:  No. It was us trying to do a little something for friends and donors. ME:  Who is 'us?' THEM:  The board of _____. ME:  And how long have you been on the board? THEM:  Three years. ME:  What was this going to be? THEM:  There's a, uh, beautiful park here in town, and we wanted to do an outdoor performance of a Shakespeare as a benefit, because, as you know, theaters are having a hard time right now paying the bills. We checked with the local government and the health department for the state to make sure we were doing everything the way we needed to in order to keep everyon...

Theater and The Big Bad Wolf

My conversation today is unique in that it's with someone I had never spoken to until the time came to do this interview.  If you read last week's conversation, you know that this person was referred to me.  They are a theater artist with a long career and impressive resume who has since decided to leave their respective theater community. Here's the interview: ME:  I feel so liberated talking to you already because you're from so far away. THEM:  Canada's not that far away. ME:  You're my first international conversation. THEM:  I feel like I have to represent all of my country right now. ME:  You do.  You really do. THEM:  I've been preparing for this my whole life. ME:  You were--I don't know if the word should be 'referred,' but someone said--You need to talk to so-and-so, and here we are. THEM:  Here we are. ME:  Now, your story is one I think we've heard a lot, but what was interesting to me in the con...