issue 09 / volume 41 Don't be a passenger your whole life » Why driving is a life-long skill worth having Elliot Chan Opinions Editor © opinions @theotherpress.ca \ / ounger generations are no longer putting car ownership as a top priority, and because of that the attitude towards learning to drive or earning a driver’s licence is left idling. Many have even accepted that they will never own a vehicle and that public transit is just something that will be a part of their lives forever. It’s true that owning a car isa big responsibility and learning to drive is a hassle, but while the economy may place a roadblock in our plans, we cannot be ignorant towards a fundamental skill of urban society. Being able to drive is more than simply having an alternative to walking or taking : the bus, being able to drive is : being fluent in the rules of the : road and having a lifeline for : travelling. If you don’t know : how to drive you will always : bea passenger—always. It : doesn’t matter if you are taking : a taxi, bus, or if your friends : are chauffeuring you around, : you are always governed by : someone’s driving habits and : navigation skills. In a way, you : are someone's luggage. Having the skills to drive gives you the freedom to travel. : If you decide you want to—in : a split second—rent a car and : visit another city, province, or : country, you can. The ability : to drive will take you further : in life. You become a more valuable, respectable, and : dependable person when you : know how to drive. Pedestrians : who don’t know the difference : between a turn signal lever and : a windshield wiper controller : have little sympathy toward : drivers and behave as though : they own the roads. They are : blind to what drivers have to : deal with ona busy street and : seldom give them a benefit of : the doubt. People who have never driven also have weaker : navigational skills and : direction-giving abilities. : Often they will tell the driver : totakeaturntoolateorhave : : no idea where they are because : : they are not travelling along : a bus route. Driving enables : people to understand the : layout of a city better. Getting : lost is not a big deal when you : are ina car, unlike if you take : the wrong bus. : : Not everybody needs a car. : : In fact, if you have spent time : pondering life in rush hour : traffic, you would believe that : fewer people should actually : drive. But that does not change : : the fact that cars are one of the : pulse of a city and we need to : help it beat. Knowing how to most valuable technologies of : the past century. Traffic is the opinions // 19 Image from Thinkstock : drive is the ability to see howa : city functions. It’s a language : we should all understand. The ‘Blurred Lines’ of artistic plagiarism » We are reaching the end of artistic originality Elliot Chan x. Opinions Editor © opinions @theotherpress.ca here is an old saying by Pablo Picasso that I take to heart every time I work ona creative project: “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” While it might sound like Picasso is supporting the notion of plagiarism, | actually believe he is condoning something different; he is saying that great artists are able to take ownership of their creation, which is inspired by a pre- existing work. But isn’t that what Robin Thicke did with the hit single “Blurred Lines”? After listening to Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” from 1977, | am disappointed that the quote I have lived by— that Picasso probably stole from someone he overheard at a bar—had no support in the court of law. It might have seemed like millionaires arguing fora slice of a pie baked from a familiar recipe, but the event that took place will now open the door for many more lawsuits to come. It’s clear “Got to Give it Up’ and “Blurred Lines” share : similar beats, but the two songs : : are not the same. The two songs : : do not have the same lyrics, : the same theme, or the same : audience. How many dance : clubs are playing Gaye? With : each passing generation, artists : draw inspiration from works : from the past. That is how : creativity functions. Creativity : does not exist in a vacuum. : Artists take pieces from : here and there and combine : them. Can a cinematographer : copyright a camera move? Can : a painter copyright the scenery : they painted? Can a musician : copyright a series of musical : notes? More recently, Sam Smith : was on the radar for his song : “Stay With Me,” which to many : sounding suspiciously similar : to a slower version of Tom : Petty’s “I Won't Back Down.” : In this case, Smith accepted a : settlement and credited Petty : as a co-writer. The not-so-petty : Petty will now receive a portion : of the money for “Stay With : Me” and this may be a common : trend for the future. Artists will : be credited for works which : merely influenced, or that : coincidence caused the two to : clash. There is more music than there is time to enjoy it. : Because of this, notes, rhythm, : and melody will be replicated : insome form. We call it : plagiarism and perhaps it is. But : : the same way we don’t copy and : : paste words from Wikipedia, : musicians don’t crop and paste : music from iTunes. You take the : content and you make it your : own. I still believe in the idea : that great artists steal, because : the artists today will always be standing on the shoulders of giants that preceded them. : What's different now is the : system protecting those giants. : Weas artists need to craft our : creative work better so that it : doesn’t resemble that from the Image from Zenfs.com : past. More than ever, we need to : make our work our own. If that : means adding a banjo, so be it. : If that means a sitar, well damn : it, play that sitar. If that means : more cowbells, well, it’s about : time we cure that insatiable : thirst for cowbells already. Then : we wait for someone else to : COpy us.