First Amendment, Copyright, and Freedom of Expression
As simple as this sounds, the one thing that really got me about the RIP! A Remix Manifesto, was that real people have been fined and prosecuted for piracy and downloading illegal music. Over the years, the warning label for copying movies and music has grown more and more common in everything we see. I really just expect to see it now before a movie starts, but I don't expect for anybody to ever get caught. That may come off as naive or closed minded, but really, how many people do you know got in trouble for downloading music off of Lime Wire?
If I really had to question the copyright process, I would want more information on how people are found. How do they find these 10 year olds pirating illegal movies and music on their families home computers? Is it a handful of people just randomly selected? Is it a certain server that gives it away? There are so many questions and concerns I was left with after this chapter, but the ones I easily stumble over are the ones that affect average people like you and I.
The best quick scene that really struck me was towards the middle of the film when we hit a point called 'Culture Jamming.' Negativland quotes, "Corporations are completely taking over our culture and saying that we can only consume it and we're saying "No". We're saying we want to create to it, respond to it, take it mutilate it, cut it up. We're saying you don't ask us if we want to have billboards everywhere in our town, you don't ask me if I want to see Nike everywhere I go, or if I want to hear U2 in every time I go shopping or when I eat in any restaurant I go, so why do I need to ask you if I can take some of it? And make fun of you, critique you, why do I need to ask?" That got me thinking about ownership and how interesting it really was that these big corporations in a sense, own us, control us, show us what they want us to see and consume, but we can't do much with it? Other than keep consuming for their own benefit?
The one time I specifically remember when freedom of speech went really wrong was when the Dixie Chicks publicly put down President Bush in 2003 and forfeited a large portion of their career. Considering the type of music they specialized in along with the very, VERY patriotic side of country music, I just don't think it was a smart move, even now 15 years later. Not only did lead singer Natalie Maines say she, 'Was ashamed the president of the United States was from Texas', but it was like she completely forgot the band she was in also originated from Texas. Making this statement along with questioning the presidents intentions with pushing war with Iran in an interview, really didn't do her band any favors in the long run. The backlash of these comments lead to radio stations quickly pulling the bands music off air along with outraged fans dropping the band equally as fast.
I didn't find it exactly wrong that Maines shared her opinion, because she did also enclose that they 'did not want war' for their country and she is entitled to her opinions and wants. Should she have shared them while performing one of the bands big hits, on stage, with thousands of viewers? Personally, for the sake of a career and her fellow band members, I don't think so. It's one thing to protest war in interviews or on your own time. but to publicly put down your president in front of your patriotic audience who paid to keep your tour and music afloat? Again, not the smartest move. I think fans, television, and radio stations were justified in their actions by dropping the band. I also can see why some people may have became fans after the incident. My biggest take on it all is just to remember who is consuming your music and who is founding you, as any celebrity should keep in mind when opinions are shared.
http://theboot.com/natalie-maines-dixie-chicks-controversy/
https://youtu.be/pojL_35QlSI
*The music video they made in response to the media*
If I really had to question the copyright process, I would want more information on how people are found. How do they find these 10 year olds pirating illegal movies and music on their families home computers? Is it a handful of people just randomly selected? Is it a certain server that gives it away? There are so many questions and concerns I was left with after this chapter, but the ones I easily stumble over are the ones that affect average people like you and I.
The best quick scene that really struck me was towards the middle of the film when we hit a point called 'Culture Jamming.' Negativland quotes, "Corporations are completely taking over our culture and saying that we can only consume it and we're saying "No". We're saying we want to create to it, respond to it, take it mutilate it, cut it up. We're saying you don't ask us if we want to have billboards everywhere in our town, you don't ask me if I want to see Nike everywhere I go, or if I want to hear U2 in every time I go shopping or when I eat in any restaurant I go, so why do I need to ask you if I can take some of it? And make fun of you, critique you, why do I need to ask?" That got me thinking about ownership and how interesting it really was that these big corporations in a sense, own us, control us, show us what they want us to see and consume, but we can't do much with it? Other than keep consuming for their own benefit?
The one time I specifically remember when freedom of speech went really wrong was when the Dixie Chicks publicly put down President Bush in 2003 and forfeited a large portion of their career. Considering the type of music they specialized in along with the very, VERY patriotic side of country music, I just don't think it was a smart move, even now 15 years later. Not only did lead singer Natalie Maines say she, 'Was ashamed the president of the United States was from Texas', but it was like she completely forgot the band she was in also originated from Texas. Making this statement along with questioning the presidents intentions with pushing war with Iran in an interview, really didn't do her band any favors in the long run. The backlash of these comments lead to radio stations quickly pulling the bands music off air along with outraged fans dropping the band equally as fast.
I didn't find it exactly wrong that Maines shared her opinion, because she did also enclose that they 'did not want war' for their country and she is entitled to her opinions and wants. Should she have shared them while performing one of the bands big hits, on stage, with thousands of viewers? Personally, for the sake of a career and her fellow band members, I don't think so. It's one thing to protest war in interviews or on your own time. but to publicly put down your president in front of your patriotic audience who paid to keep your tour and music afloat? Again, not the smartest move. I think fans, television, and radio stations were justified in their actions by dropping the band. I also can see why some people may have became fans after the incident. My biggest take on it all is just to remember who is consuming your music and who is founding you, as any celebrity should keep in mind when opinions are shared.
http://theboot.com/natalie-maines-dixie-chicks-controversy/
https://youtu.be/pojL_35QlSI
*The music video they made in response to the media*
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