The Infamous Age-Old Question: Does Life Imitate Art or Does Art Imitate Life?

I can go in circles about the question of whether or not life imitates art or vice versa, but I won't. Just for tonight, I decide to stop straddling the fence and actually pick a side. And perhaps I'll stick with it.

After pondering over this, I've come to the conclusion that art DEFINITELY imitates life. Why you ask? Think about it. Almost every book and movie script is derived from an idea, a thought. Where? In someone's mind. Therefore, these ideas (with some fiction work, perhaps some exaggerations) form into creative pieces of work (aka art).

Here's a perfect example. The movie Brown Sugar is one of my all-time favorite movies and love stories. I think it's fair to say it's on the list under "good movies" for several people. I mean, it's not an Oscar-winning film, but it's an age-old love story about how two best friends grow up together and fall in love with each other (if you haven't seen the movie, it's a great one!). How many people can identify with that? I know several who do and would dare say there are many more out there. Sanaa Lathan and Taye Diggs portrayed that unidentifying love between two people that transcended relationships/engagements (and even a marriage).

It's virtually the same scenario in My Best Friend's Wedding or Made of Honor, except there's a different ending. Who couldn't empathize with Julia Roberts' or Patrick Dempsey's characters, the desperate best friend who would stop at nothing to win back who they thought were their one true love?

You've gotta love a good, old-fashioned love story that gives you hope that it could happen to you. The point is these movies started out as ideas (and possible experiences) from someone. What's funny is that this topic is the subject of many more films, books and songs. So, it has to be something that many people identify with on some level (whether they've experienced it or know someone who did).

The same can go for an array of topics. I can see the validity in the other argument that life imitates art, but for now, I'll stick on this side of the debate.