The Suppression of Creativity and Its Ties to Lost Media

Adaptations and reiterations of past works can help the progression of creativity, but by ignoring these interpretations, it can lead to a halt for artistry.

Photo via IMDb: Aiden Monohagan

It's been over a month since I watched Robert Eggers' recent Christmas, gothic horror release Nosferatu (2024). With my general interest in the movie, while also following the increased attention the movie received online, I came across the knowledge that this movie would have not existed, as it was set on its way to being buried among lost media. 

To define lost media, it is media such as films, books, visuals, songs etc, that are nowhere to be found.  Lost media may be works hat did not latch onto audiences, leading to no traction, no attention. However, the reasons for lost media span; usually it being the distaste for a work from high production companies, resulting in banishing it from media or it can be copyright infringements, causing legal demand to shut down the existence of the work. 

The latter is the case for Nosferatu. A film that holds a lot of history, simply from just the title, was on track to being banished among other works that were refused permission for release. 

Nosferatu (2024) is an adaptation and a reiteration of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, titled Dracula. Now while the recent film garnered immense praise for its portrayal of the infamous plot, acting, cinematography, etc. it's interesting to also note that this modern version would not have existed, if it were not for the trial and error (but technically success) of Nosferatu (1922). 

Photo via IMDb.

There was a copyright infringement case with the original film, leading the release of it to quickly be shut down and copies destroyed following its initial premiere, due to direct court orders. However, audiences who already viewed Nosferatu from its brief release loved it (a surprise for back then, as audiences were being introduced to new genres and adjusting to the film world!) and soon the film became a cultural and historical success, praising its voice for the gothic horror genre, and the beginning evidence for the ongoing media fascination with vampires. 

The film was also in a way experimental, as audiences were not only horrified but fascinated, which was not a common reaction for films dated back in the 19th - early 20th century. With the increase of success washing over the destroyed copies of the film, it's a testament to how new creative approaches would always find its audience and stay relevant to this day (Nosferatu 2024). 

It is apparent that stealing other’s works and creating your own out of it without permission, is a question of moral ethics and is plagiarism, which Nosferatu (1922) was complicit in. However, the critique here is not the morality of the use of an adaption. The critique is the attempt to completely abolish a work of art that took inspiration from another work of art, in hopes that the creation/idea will go away. 

The direct acknowledgment should always be made, but the attempt to completely shut down new creative ideas because of  something already existent, does little to no help by denying it. 

Trends, cultural phenomenons, celebrity stanning are just some of the examples on how us, audiences, cling onto creative works and build a separate revelation out of it. We as a society, thrive and respond to an out of the box song, or an outlandishly beautiful outfit, maybe even craze over a film about a vampire holding a woman hostage for three days, just so he can get some blood and free his soul - very brief, vague and perhaps wrong Nosferatu synopsis by me?

Rather, the whole existence of fanfictions, is a big example for how previous art works can help mold that same art into something completely different, yet still linked. Other examples like retellings, renditions, or a nod to an existing art is used consistently in daily media. 

The act of trying to suppress creation simply because it's too “bold”, “controversial”, or not “marketable”, would be the direct cause of death to artistry. Therefore, when those who push to run artwork into “lost media”, in hopes of its existence to be wiped, it should be noted it will not always work. Most definitely we have missed out on trailblazing, historic and the most innovative artwork throughout history, victimized to succumbing to lost media. But there are always cracks whenever there is an attempt to suppress.

Always there is at least somebody, ready to love and consume the work, just like the audiences for the original Nosferatu film. So instead of turning away and dismissing creativity, we should accept it, even if we are not the particular audience for it.