Jonathan Lethem’s “The Ecstasy of Influence” raises an interesting idea revolving around plagiarism. The many examples provided by Lethem all play a role in showing how much plagiarism affects today’s artworks. He continues to claim that taking an aspect from one artist’s work to include in your own is furthering the advancement of society. However, many see this as plagiarism and copyright infringement. The line between influence and plagiarism is not drawn too clearly. One question I want to raise is who determines what is plagiarism and what is not? Lethem continues to display the idea that art is a major part of our society and will continue to be manipulated and transformed into new pieces that will bring us further. It’s interesting to note these ideas when thinking about the Molotov Man and how one picture was transformed into a rioter painting that eventually led to a bigger movement. It does a good job of demonstrating the power of art and also highlights a possible issue of loss of true meaning through transformations.