`` The Ecstasy Of Influence `` By Jonathan Allen Lethem

New ideas come from everywhere whether they are from people, places, books, animals, or even come from something as meaningless as silence; however, we don’t just get new ideas out of the blue, we have to be inspired and influenced by those elements to create new art. Unlike Plato’s Ion, which states that God speaks through the artists, Lethem’s The Ecstasy of Influence: A plagiarism; projects that inspiration comes from the influence of our surroundings which is the key to creation. Jonathan Allen Lethem, a modern American essayists, writes the article in which he talks about how some artists see plagiarism as a wrong doing or stealing. Lethem disagrees with those artists’ point of view. He writes, â€Å"most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one’s voice isn’t just an emptying and purifying oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses† (Lethem 87). This means that there is an inspiration behind every artist’s work. The inspiration could come from something as simple as expanding another artists’ works. It is normal for an artist to be inspired by other artists, and then invents a work of art that is similar to his/her inspiration. For instance, Lethem gives an example of how South Park, the TV show, was inspired by Rankin/Bass and Charlie Brown Christmas specials. Most of the time, plagiarism could lead to a great work of creativity. Today, almost all work of art, whether they are movies, books,Show MoreRelatedThe Ecstasy Of Influence : Plagiarism1589 Words   |  7 Pagespractice when it comes to the preservation of an artist’s originality. Jonathan Lethem demonstrates the commonality and convenience of plagiarism by composing his article â€Å"The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism† of phrases and ideas of other writers; however, he also supports the claim that a person can rethink and reinterpret the understandings of other people and create an â€Å"original† idea based off of them. Is this what Lethem truly means when he says that appropriation is acceptable, or is he supportingRead MoreErving Goffman Stigma6568 Words   |  27 Pagesespecially tolerated when the activities at stake are non-zero-sum and when the importance of process is outweighed by the importance of outcome. The use of cognition-enhancing drugs does not unnaturally cheapen accomplishments achieved under their influe nce; instead, cognitive enhancement is in line with well-established conceptions of collaborative authorship, which shift the locus of praise and blame from individual creators to the ultimate products of their efforts. n an essay on performance-enhancing