Copying The Man who Copied: intertextuality, fragments and authorship

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of copying in the context of the debate about notions such as authorship, originality, and loss of centrality of the figure of the author based on the discovery of the existence of an unauthorized adaptation involving the Indian film “Currency” (2009), directed by filmmaker Swathi Bhaskar, and the Brazilian feature film “O Homem que Copiava” (2003), scripted and directed by Jorge Furtado. From the resumption of intertextual issues contained in Furtado’s work and the director’s well-known relationship with the literary canon, we intend to discuss the fragment and montage contemplated in the Brazilian work. It also analyzes the mise en abyme that goes beyond the fictional circuit in the face of Jorge Furtado’s ironic and playful reaction when he learns that a copier has plagiarized his film about a copier.