Saturday, July 27, 2013

Is Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind a Writer's Dream Come True?

The other night I watched one of my favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind.  It's probably the tenth time I've seen it, but it was the first time I've sen since I started getting serious as a writer.

What struck me was the moment in the movie when they make reference to the poetic verse from which the movie is titled.  The first thought I had at that moment was  wouldn't it be cool to inspire an entire movie based on just a few passages of my writing?

To be clear I'm not seeking ego/fame/fortune, it's simply fascination.  I view it as a sort of personal challenge to figure what sort of tinder could ignite an explosion of creativity.  When I researched the poem, I learned things went even deeper.

Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind gets its name from a line in a poem called Eloisa to Abelard by Alexander Pope.  His poem is inspired by a brutal love story from the 12th century.

To recap - a story inspired a poem that inspired a movie...that inspired a blog post that inspired....?

There have been many other movies that draw the either adapt a book to film, or were inspired by a book/short story/poem/graphic novel. Other artistic media has gained inspiration from ink on paper: painting, sculpture.  There is a strong connection between verse and song.  What are some of your favorite art pieces inspired by prose or poetry?

It's an interesting goal, one that I don't think many writers think about.  I think many of us define success much more mundanely.  If one other being on this planet picks up our story and reads it, we find relief.  How would it change your approach if you knew that in a hundred years, someone would read your work and use it as the basis of inspiration for their art? 


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