The Ecstasy of Influence Summary

In this article, Jonathan Lethem explains that in the fields of art, music, tv and media, everything is influenced by a proceeding similar source. He goes on to describe that the author of the story Lolita, written in 1916 can be traced to a similar story written forty years before. He also shows examples in music and other famous stories such as Led Zeppelin songs were influenced by the Lord of the Rings, and the movie West Side Story was influenced by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Lethem states that if this type of influence was considered plagiarism then we wouldn't have the Simpsons, South Park or any Disney classics. As long as the source is cited, then it isn't plagiarism. It's only a problem if the artist that is influenced by old art claims it as their own.  This "open source" society is great for the betterment of the art world because without it, there wouldn't be any new opinions or material from old sources. And that, he thinks, would be a tragedy if it was considered plagiarism .