Plagiarism and the Plagiosphere

When reading Edward Tenner’s, “The Rise of the Plagiosphere,” and Jonathan Lethem’s, “The Ecstasy of Influence,” I began to think not only about how plagiarism is defined, but also about how this definition has evolved and changed throughout time and across different sources of media. Prior to reading these excerpts, I viewed plagiarism as a forbidden and deceitful practice. However, as I continue to explore the topic, I have begun to question the validity of plagiarism as well as the difficulty of identifying these practices.

Throughout the past couple of decades, technology has advanced to the extent that writing and publishing are no longer limited to pen and paper. Instead, individuals can compose text and publish their work easily and quickly through internet sources including blogs and social networking websites. Furthermore, those who use text messaging and e-mails as means of communication are becoming authors in their own sense. As the practice of writing changes and evolves across new and more advanced mediums, one must question whether practices of plagiarism are also taking on new forms. Tehher states, “What NASA did to our conception of the planet, Web-based technologies are beginning to do to our understanding of our written thoughts. We look at our ideas with less wonder and with a greater sense that others have already noted what we’re seeing for the first time.” If we are writing with the sense that others have already taken note of our ideas, is it still wrong to use the thoughts of others in order to further develop our own?

In “The Ecstacy of Influence,” Lethem discusses Dariush Mehrjui, an Iranian filmmaker who creates a film adaption of J.D. Salinger’s novel Franny and Zoey. Lethem explains how a showing of the film is canceled because, “its announcement [brings] threat of a lawsuit down on the Film Society” who is willing to show it. In response to the film’s cancelation, Lethem questions, “why would [Salinger] care that some obscure Iranian filmmaker had paid him homage with a meditation on his heroine?” This dilemma elaborates on the topic of plagiarism and when it should be prohibited. Is it truly harmful to base a film or a piece of writing off of a previous work, even if the new creation brings light and draws new audiences to the original work? I agree with Lethem that this form of plagiarism would likely have been viewed as a form of flattery towards Salinger rather than an insult.

As forms of plagiarism change and evolve, so must our previously negative interpretation of these methods. Plagiarism is certainly a practice that can sometimes be considered thievery. However, I do not feel that building off of the writing of others should typically be classified as stealing. If writers, filmmakers, and artists can use works of the past to enhance their work today, they should be encouraged, not forbidden, to take into consideration the thoughts of others.