Jonathan Lethem's "The Ecstasy of Influence"

It is sad to me, that the world has such little originality left. As detailed in Jonathan Lethenm's "The Ecstacy of Influence", many of the brilliant minds which are highly regarded among today's public, borrow from other great minds. Are these people really so brilliant if they but plagiarize from greater minds who came before them? In Lethenm's words, nearly ever form of modern day art uses a "cut and paste" method to borrow from works in the past, sometimes, without granting credit. This realization leads me to question, why is it accepted that "professional" artists use plagiarism, when college students may lose their entire education for borrowing snippets of essays or other works. Is it acceptable for fully matured adults to steal, but not those who are still broadening their education? If these borrowers can find endless success from infusing other works into theirs it should be said that anyone can do so.

I do not believe that lethenm is advocating plagiarism, but is rather pointing out is existence in our society to those who were oblivious. While allusions are a generally accepted literary tool, it is expected that the alluded author will recieve credit for borrowed quotes, plots, or bits of music. However, in today's society it seems to be acceptable to take credit for things that have already been created by a greater, and more original mind. Before reading this work I was somewhat aware of this trend surfacing in our society today. As I walked through the movie theater I noticed that nearly every movie coming out or playing in the past years has either been based on a book of some sort, or a pre-existing plot. This is clearly unacceptable. Where has our culture's originality gone? What has happened to thinking independently?

After reading Lethenm's article I was greatly disturbed. This method of "cut and paste" should not be tolerated by the people of this society. Whether we're speaking of music, art, or literature, people should learn what it means to have originality and intelligence. They should take pride in creating something that is fully theirs and not ripped off from some one in the past. This belief that it is acceptable to steal another persons thoughts and hard work is unacceptable and completely dishonest. Plagiarism is alive and well, and no one is doing anything about it. What do you say now, college boards?

AT&T commercial

The at&t commercial featuring characters Hansel and Gretel is a thirty second long commercial loaded with advertising tricks and tiny details. There are many significant pieces of this commercial, that when looked at as a whole, make the commercial a bit more complex and advertising oriented. The first thing that I noticed was the camera angle chosen when the young children first exit the subway. The camera points upward from the point of view of the kids, gazing upward at the enormous buildings. This shows the audience the feeling of being such small children alone in such a big city. Immediately with that camera angle the audience begins to feel empathy for these lone exploreres and relates with their premature independence. As the children continue walking through the city, all along tracking their steps with breadcrumbs, the carelessness of the average city business person and their lack of concern for such small children wandering about on their own is shown as dozens of feet are shown trampling the children's breadcrumbs.
The day progresses as we follow the adventurers, and soon the stores around them begin closing, signalling the onset of night. This realization provides a moment of panic for the poor children as they notice their breadcrumbs are nowhere to be found. As the children drop their mouths in fear, the audience worries with them, hoping that such young innocent people wouldn't be stranded in a big city on their own. Suddenly an idea, the young girl pulls out her at&t phone and thinks to use the convenient built in gps to solve their dilema. The audience suddenly feels as though at&t is reliable and always there to protect our young ones, and instills a notion of trust in their company. The commercial ends to the two skipping home through empty city streets, and a flash of the at&t logo, 5 service bars. A clever insertion of subliminal messaging and a positive final note to leave their audience with. At&t will always be there to help you home.

So here I am at Hofstra, and I am blogging.

So here I am at Hofstra, and I am blogging. Writing online makes me feel safe, hidden, and free. I feel as though I am writing without consequences. Writing online makes me feel as though no one actually knows who I am. As though I can write anything I please without being judged or ridiculed. I feel as though writing online is a lot easier and less stressful than writing for a class or a specific audience because it is solely for you, and not for a particular audience. However, hiding behind your computer can be crippling if done too often. Technology has taken away our generation's ability to engage in face to face contact, and is crippling many talented artists by familiarizing them with the ease and lack of stress that is associated with blogging, or writing on the internet.