Should you read The Count of Monte Cristo? Let's talk about this book.

The Count of Monte Cristo was written by Alexandre Dumas in collaboration with Auguste Marquel. It was first serialized before being published as a novel in 1845. That's 180 years ago.  Wow! That's really old. Can there possibly be anything in this story that a contemporary audience can relate to? Let's see, it's a tale about a young man with a glorious future ahead of him. He is about to be made a captain of a ship and is engaged to a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, envious and corrupt men frame him for a crime he didn't commit. He is imprisoned for life. Fortunately, he meets a fellow prisoner who is a priest and intellectual who educates him and reveals the location of a fabulous treasure. After 14 years, he manages to escape and find the treasure. Then, he disappears for 10 years, where he spends his time and energy perfecting his mind and body and devising an elaborate plan of revenge upon the men who wronged him. When he returns, he has assumed the secret identity as the fabulously rich and suave Count of Monte Cristo.

Sounds like a nineteenth-century Batman. Doesn't it? In fact, I don't believe there could be a Batman without The Count of Monte Cristo. Within all the classics, like The Count . . . are the themes and tropes that have been recycled for years and years. Everything we read. Everything we watch has been influenced by the centuries of literature that have come before. This is my advice for writers. By becoming familiar with these original sources, you might come up with your our interpretations of their themes and possibly produce fresher, more original work. Well, that's just my opinion.