being original

If you go back 100 years the possibility of coming up with an idea that nobody had ever thought of before. Now we have so many books, comics, games, tv shows, movies, and ideas that being original feels impossible. Every genre, trope, and concept has some sort of existing attempt at telling a similar story. I can't even describe a new movie to someone without hearing "oh so it's just x + y but different?" and they're usually sort of right. I guess as culture grows and ideas like AI and space travel change maybe our relationship to these concepts will as well. Maybe Terminator will feel totally different in 2077. I guess the only real way we can be unique or original today is to tell a story that is personal and put as much of our own spin on it as we can. Nobody can be you so by doing your own version of an idea you make it different. Maybe you won't be the first but you will be your version. Goku is just Superman + the monkey king but Dragon Ball absolutely rules. Dune is just Lawrence or Arabia + the actual conflict in the Middle East. We won't always be the first or the best but we can always strive to be unique. Maybe that's just as good as being original.