Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence"

Jonathan Lethem in "The Ecstasy of Influence" does not advocate the direct act of plagiarism. He is in no instance trying to promote students to copy full passages of another person's work and hand it in as their own. Rather he sees using plagiarism in a indirect way. He writes in his essay, "We're surrounded by signs; our imperative is to ignore none of them." He is asking the reader why a person should be limited to their own thoughts. Lethem is encouraging writers to take ideas from all sources. These sources can range from art to music or to television. There are no boundaries. There is an infinite amount of brilliant works that one can be inspired from. Jonathan Lethem states, "Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos." It is imperative that writers look to previous works in order to create something new and better. The act of writing is impossible if a writer has nothing to originate from. Writing would be at a standstill. In Letham's eyes, there is nothing wrong with creating something new having read a similar work. This is writing to its fullest potential. "Literature has always been a crucible in which familiar themes are continually recast. " There is a continuous cycle of ideas being recycled and used. Jonathan Lethem gives examples of this not only in writing but in music, television and movies. The influence of one writer on another writer is a cause for ecstasy. There is no shame in the act. Lethem comments, "Rather, copyright is an ongoing social negotiation, tenuously forged, endlessly revised, and imperfect in its every incarnation." The act of copyright has almost become just a market. It is so strong in society that it is considered a law among artists and writers. In many instances a second writer does a better job than the originator. Knowing that this is true the act of plagiarism seems foolish.

AT&T Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psDA54IBYqw

In the AT&T commercial, a young boy and girl depicted as Hansel and Gretal from the fairytale are exploring New York City. The children are healthy and clean looking with plump faces and washed clothing. In order to find their way back home they drop breadcrumbs along the way. No one seems to care about the two children. As the stores start to close and it gets late the children look behind them to follow the breadcrumbs home. However, the breadcrumbs have been destroyed each time by pigeons eating them, people stepping on them and being thrown into the sewer. The watcher sees a look of panic in both Hansel and Gretel's faces. They then take out their AT&T phone and use the GPS on the phone to find their way back to their cottage. The commercial ends with Hansel and Gretel skipping home and the AT&T logo being shown in the buildings in the background. If one was watching this without the idea that it was a commercial one would tell of the many hidden meanings behind the commercial. I look at the commercial as if it was a commercial. A commercial's only purpose is to persuade the person watching to buy their product. AT&T wants the person to know that if they buy their phone they will never get lost. They use Hansel and Gretel as characters because everyone has heard or told the tale. People can relate and understand the situation taking place in the commercial. The commercial is nothing but a commercial. That is the only why I can look at it.

So here I am at Hofstra, and I am blogging. Writing online makes me feel ....

So here I am at Hofstra, and I am blogging. Writing online makes me feel vulnerable and exposed. I am not one to openly voice my opinions and thoughts. I am a very sheltered person when it comes to writing. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy writing...just without the consequences of having someone read and critique my writing. The consequences can be both good and bad. The reader may find my writing to be wonderful or pure trash. It is a risk all writers take. Hopefully, people will connect with my writing and understand my reasoning. That is what I plan to accomplish with this blog.