Jonathan Lethem’s essay, “The Ecstasy of Influence” shows how many artists’ creations haven’t been “original works” and is technically plagiarism. The reworking of a previously made text can be hindering to the author who was “influenced” by someone else’s ideas. This is because the second making of a work needs to have something to offer that the original didn’t have. For example, everyone I’ve asked about the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory remake, they dislike it simply because the first is a classic and we grew up with it. The copy of most works will almost always be critiqued more than the original.
In the end of his essay, Lethem is concluding that many times, what artists create are gifts in the way that we get something out of them. Even if it meant spending a little money, it doesn’t matter to us if we walked out with something to hold onto from the performance, museum, etc. Lethem is saying that the more the artist’s work is turned into something related to corporate, then meaning is devalued and we lose because we miss out on the connection between the artist and the audience.
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