"Copycats" versus Originality (Primitive Technology)
"There's nothing new under the sun," often understood as there's no new things, every story's already been told. Though that's another topic, the thing I wanted to talk about today is about iterative creators, sometimes referred to as "copycats."
A Youtuber that I have long enjoyed watching, "Primitive Technology" documents one guy's hobby of living life with "primitive tech." He went out into some land he owned and just started making things, no outside tools and has gradually gotten more advanced, making clay tiles and all sorts of fantastic things. It's both entertaining and calming which is why I've always enjoyed his videos. He has a very distinct style, instead of bombarding you with words or talking, he stays silent, almost emotionless through the entire video, it's a distinct choice and really lends itself to what he's doing. He's the "original" to this genre of youtube channel.
There are however a couple of "copycats," and I hazard to call them that because they ARE doing original stuff, they are just doing the exact same thing as the original PT. One of my favourites, Primitive Skills, is the reason for this post. Most of these "knockoffs" have constant streams of comments like "Such a copycat!" "Not bad for a knockoff" which it's quite fair. However, the thing that does get me riled up is the defensiveness of these channel's responses. A resounding "No we don't copy" is essentially the response, they act as if they were in a creative bubble and created these channels all on their own with no influences at all. This just seems rather disingenuous to me. It's not fair to the original/inspiration, nor is it fair to the audience to have them assume they're some sort of "artistic genius." If they had taken the stance "Yes, I saw this guy's videos and thought, 'hmm, I could do that so much better'" I would welcome them with open arms. The acknowledgement of roots and influence is key. Knowing and acknowledging where you draw your inspiration is an important part to how genuine an artist seems. "I'm just that good," cuts off any connection with art as a whole and falsely inflates the artists importance to the medium.
These channels are creating some rather entertaining new content, Survival Skills Primitive, has some fantastic brick/clay work that no one matches, Primitive Life, creates some truly interesting and unique creations. But it's hard for them to distance themselves from the concept of copycats because it's plainly obvious they wanted to catch the wave of the OG Primitive Technology's success. The names are the biggest tell. These channel names are so very similar, often within the videos they use the phrase "Primitive Technology" as part of their branding, it's an obvious way to cash in on that branding success of the original PT. I've got nothing wrong with them doing this, it's well within their right to do so, where my complaints lie is in their attitude.
Copying isn't inherently bad, in fact it's necessary. Doing what someone else does, but better, is the very key to global economics. These "knockoff" channels are creating great, entertaining content, some might argue better than the original. (at least in terms of frequency I'd definitely agree) But for them to pretend that they created them in a vacuum, and are not trying to ride the wave of the genre's popularity is just so disingenuous. I could understand that if the sheer volume of rude comments lead them to such a simplified response of "No," but that's not a good enough reason to me. Everyone is entitled to create what they want, but if you're going to conform to the trends of the genre, be ready to face the consequences of being "called out."
In the end, I don't mind, more great content is being made, they genre moves on beyond it's original creator and might even go places that it never would have gone without these "copycats." I just wanted to post a little something about the importance of acknowledging your influences and keeping perceptive of where you came from and what caused you to be you (or what you created).
A Youtuber that I have long enjoyed watching, "Primitive Technology" documents one guy's hobby of living life with "primitive tech." He went out into some land he owned and just started making things, no outside tools and has gradually gotten more advanced, making clay tiles and all sorts of fantastic things. It's both entertaining and calming which is why I've always enjoyed his videos. He has a very distinct style, instead of bombarding you with words or talking, he stays silent, almost emotionless through the entire video, it's a distinct choice and really lends itself to what he's doing. He's the "original" to this genre of youtube channel.
There are however a couple of "copycats," and I hazard to call them that because they ARE doing original stuff, they are just doing the exact same thing as the original PT. One of my favourites, Primitive Skills, is the reason for this post. Most of these "knockoffs" have constant streams of comments like "Such a copycat!" "Not bad for a knockoff" which it's quite fair. However, the thing that does get me riled up is the defensiveness of these channel's responses. A resounding "No we don't copy" is essentially the response, they act as if they were in a creative bubble and created these channels all on their own with no influences at all. This just seems rather disingenuous to me. It's not fair to the original/inspiration, nor is it fair to the audience to have them assume they're some sort of "artistic genius." If they had taken the stance "Yes, I saw this guy's videos and thought, 'hmm, I could do that so much better'" I would welcome them with open arms. The acknowledgement of roots and influence is key. Knowing and acknowledging where you draw your inspiration is an important part to how genuine an artist seems. "I'm just that good," cuts off any connection with art as a whole and falsely inflates the artists importance to the medium.
These channels are creating some rather entertaining new content, Survival Skills Primitive, has some fantastic brick/clay work that no one matches, Primitive Life, creates some truly interesting and unique creations. But it's hard for them to distance themselves from the concept of copycats because it's plainly obvious they wanted to catch the wave of the OG Primitive Technology's success. The names are the biggest tell. These channel names are so very similar, often within the videos they use the phrase "Primitive Technology" as part of their branding, it's an obvious way to cash in on that branding success of the original PT. I've got nothing wrong with them doing this, it's well within their right to do so, where my complaints lie is in their attitude.
Copying isn't inherently bad, in fact it's necessary. Doing what someone else does, but better, is the very key to global economics. These "knockoff" channels are creating great, entertaining content, some might argue better than the original. (at least in terms of frequency I'd definitely agree) But for them to pretend that they created them in a vacuum, and are not trying to ride the wave of the genre's popularity is just so disingenuous. I could understand that if the sheer volume of rude comments lead them to such a simplified response of "No," but that's not a good enough reason to me. Everyone is entitled to create what they want, but if you're going to conform to the trends of the genre, be ready to face the consequences of being "called out."
In the end, I don't mind, more great content is being made, they genre moves on beyond it's original creator and might even go places that it never would have gone without these "copycats." I just wanted to post a little something about the importance of acknowledging your influences and keeping perceptive of where you came from and what caused you to be you (or what you created).
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