I watched an interesting documentary over the weekend: RIP: A Remix Manifesto. I had added it to my Zip list (Zip is kinda the Canadian version of NetFlix) ages ago, trying to add some variety and culture -- and it finally arrived over the holidays. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I found it very interesting and thought provoking.
Then, to my great surprise, I read an article about how there is an App for NFB shorts....and I remembered the film and that parts of it might be available online. And, it is ALL online here. The whole thing is about an hour and a half of material....so if you want to condense it, my favourite bits happen in Chapter 2 - Copyright vs. Copyleft (talking about intellectual property and corporations vs. public domain), Chapter 3 - Culture Always Builds on the Past (one of the key premises of the film), Chapter 8 - King of Remix (talking about Walt Disney's origins in modernizing works from the public domain), Chapter 12 - Which Road to the Future (discusses US progress from an economy of things (manufacturing) to an economy of ideas), and Chapter 11 - Back in the People's Hands (there's a gem towards the end, speculating about the impact of copyrights and patents on medicine).
We hear a lot about copyright in the rug hooking world....and this is another perspective, based more on the music industry, but certainly with some relevant points. I don't agree with everything it says, but it did make me think -- and thinking is always good! ;-)
