Reaction to Lethem's Influential Plagiarism

I have always known about the progression of social media/technology since you can physically see it…e.g. the effectiveness of the cell phone or records to CDs. It’s visible. However, you don’t necessarily think about the progression in literature or TV shows as frequent. This article, “The Ecstasy of Influence” by Jonathan Lethem was very interesting to read because it highlights eerie similarities and possible “plagiarism” of all previous/present works of ‘art.’

“The Ecstasy of Influence” discusses the progression of music, literature, and modern TV shows of today, which are nothing more than a reproduction of a past storylines (with a bit more creativity and updated affects).“Was the photographer stealing from the person or building whose photograph he shot, pirating something of private and certifiable value?” Lethem poses the argument that there are similarities between the Brothers Grimm fairytale stories, Shakespeare, and Walt Disney’s overall vision; however there are minor exceptions. Personally, I wouldn’t associate fairytale stories with Shakespeare but rather recognize them as “Disney characters.” It was Disney that took those stories and reinvented the personalities. To reiterate Lethem’s point, “If these are examples of plagiarism, then we want more plagiarism.” In a lighter tone, Disney took the photo that was already shot and built on it having his own spin on it.

Although plagiarism is not tolerated in social media or really any aspect of creative art…you can't reject it all that much since most creations had to happen from somewhere in order for a re-creation to happen. Overall, Lethem proves that although these works literature or film were published and printed before, if it was not for someone else’s stealing and manipulation of their creation, we would have a progression of the arts. Is it really fair to label this progression as plagiarism?