the ecstasy of influence

Out of all of the articles we have read for class so far, this one was by far my least favorite. Maybe it went right over my head or something, but I found a lot of what Lethem was saying to be jibberish. He made a few interesting points which I will note in a second, but overall, I felt he rambled on and on about things that were not transitioned and connected very well. I thought it was hard to read and focus in on because it was all over the place. I didn't like his writing style so therefore the article didn't really hit home with me. I didn't take a look at the date it was written before I started reading, so my initial thoughts were that it was written awhile back. But then he mentions something about Tex-Mex and YouTube and I was like...waiiit hold on a second. This is recent! But anyway...after I commented on him rambling, here I am rambling. So, on to the few things that caught my attention.

• I liked the section towards the beginning pages of the article where he talked about cartoons and The Simpsons producer said, "Animation is built on plagiarism!" It then goes on to point out that "If you take away the right to steal ideas, where are they going to come from!" It seems that cartoons could not survive without inspiration from previous works. I never really thought about it, but I guess he is right.
• The next thing that stuck out to me was the line "Most artists are converted to art by art itself." For me, that kind of goes along with the old saying "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery." or however that goes. People are inspired by things they enjoy and things that get their attention.
• The idea that "second comers might do a much better job than the originator with the original idea" also caught my attention. While I'm sure the majority of the original inventors/creators of something don't appreciate this thought, it is a very real possibility. Someone who is removed from the project can bring a new light/view to it. And that could make all the difference in the end product.
• I also really liked the Velveteen Rabbit tie-in. I thought it fit well with the point that some see things as vandalism while other see them as marks of loving use.

I feel that Lethem summed up his article best when he said "But the truth is that with artists pulling on one side and corporations pulling on the other, the loser is the collective public's imagination."