Learning English

• Promises, promises
• Not see hide nor hair
• Curate's egg

Summary

Sometimes things feel unoriginal or have a lack of innovation. Rob and Jiaying use an informal phrase for this very situation.

Transcript

Jiaying
Hello, I’m Jiaying. This is The English We Speak.

Rob
And hello, I’m Rob. You know, I’m a little bit worried about Roy. Have you seen him today? Is he OK?

Jiaying
I saw him earlier. He was smiling as normal and in a good mood. Why were you worried about him? 

Rob
Well, I overheard him talking and he said he was bankrupt.  

Jiaying
No, Rob. Roy was talking about a film he watched, and he said it was creatively bankrupt. We use the expression ‘creatively bankrupt’ to describe something that is completely unoriginal or lacks creativity or innovation.

Rob
Ahhh that makes sense! So, I guess he really didn’t like that film, then? Mind you, films were better when I was younger!  

Jiaying
Well, Rob - we can talk about your nostalgia right after these examples.

Examples
Margaret’s third novel didn’t do anything new and it just felt creatively bankrupt.

The singer’s new album felt creatively bankrupt. All the songs sounded boring and unoriginal. 

The film is creatively bankrupt. It’s like the director repeated things he did in his last movie.

Jiaying
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. We’re talking about the expression ‘creatively bankrupt’. We use it to say there is a lack of creativity in something that should normally feel innovative, like the story of a film or a video game. We can also use it to describe someone who’s not original or out of good ideas. So you think films used to be more creative?

Rob
Yes! Everything seemed so fresh and new. These days, I feel like I’ve seen it all before... the same stories, characters, and conversations. It just feels so…

Jiaying
Creatively bankrupt! Rob, have you thought about writing your own films? You’re always full of great ideas.

Rob
But sometimes I also feel a bit creatively bankrupt, like I have no idea how to be original and innovative when I’m writing stories.

Jiaying
Have you tried speaking to Roy? He writes some really crazy stories that are always really original. Maybe you could write something together?

Rob
That’s a great idea! He’s always putting unicorns, flamingos and chimpanzees in his stories. I reckon it would be so good that it’ll win awards. I might even give up my job and work on a film with Roy, full time! 

Jiaying
Careful, Rob. If you give up your job, you might run out of money and then instead of being creatively bankrupt, you would be literally bankrupt! 

Rob
Good point, better to be out of ideas than out of money!

Jiaying
That’s right! Bye.

Rob
Bye bye.