Writer and essayist about culture, media and technology Kirby Ferguson uses a term from the music industry to describe all contemporary culture. He gives examples and explains that all works borrow something from previous ones in one way or another. Ferguson also ponders how such an abstract thing as an idea can be owned at all.

This film clearly shows us that any great idea or cultural artifact created by modern man is nothing but a recycled copy of the existing one.

The first part gives examples of borrowings in the music industry. From recording some sort of covers and interpretations of old songs by younger musicians to the heyday of hip-hop, when sampling literally blew up the music industry. Don’t miss some extras after the credits.

The second part is about borrowing from movies. For example, of all the major Hollywood movie hits, the vast majority are versions of existing works, meaning they are either sequels, prequels, or adaptations. After the credits, don’t miss a little extra material.

The third part formulates the basic principle of creativity and creation of new values: we take already ready, existing components, transform them and build some interesting combination. History knows many examples of ingenious inventions, but none of them was from beginning to end the idea of the nominal author. As a rule, they were combinations of ideas already known at the time, or improved versions of them. After the credits, don’t miss the extras.

The final fourth part is about the modern perception of ideas. About a situation where an idea can be considered someone else’s property, while being a thing quite abstract. The historical background tells us that the laws passed in the United States in the late 18th century to protect inventions and works of authorship involved only temporary protection against copying.