I find it deeply discouraging that a group of professional, media
librarians would name "RIP: A Remix Manifesto" best-of-show at the
recent National Media Market. As the name "manifesto" acknowledges this
is not a probing, sober documentary but an unabashedly propagandistic
screed, all too typical of the baseless assertion and hyper-ventilated
opinion which increasingly passes for truth on the internet. Were there
many Birthers at this years' NMM as well? I won't waste my time or yours
detailing the film's numerous obfuscations and oversights - only the
three most egregious.
1. The film's fundamental confusion is revealed in its title. Ripping,
that is, breaking DRM to permit illegal copying, is by definition not
the same thing as remixing, that is, a "transformative" use of
copyrighted material. The film consistently and, I suspect, deliberately
conflates illegal "file sharing" (the polite term for taking someone
else's work without paying for it) with the tiny percentage of shared
files which are in fact remixes.
2. Remix enthusiasts claim that producers deny them free access to
"their culture." But from the evidence in the film "their culture"
consists almost exclusively of the commercial effluvia of the
entertainment industry produced precisely to make a profit from them.
Why don't the remixers turn off their computers and televisions, pick up
their cell phones and digital cameras and make a visual culture of their
own, a true counter-culture?.
3. Most damning, however, are the remxes featured in the film. They are
almost without exception devoid of visual imagination or political
acuity, the puerile products of minds besotted with mass media. Unlike
collage (from Braque and Heartfield to Cornell and Connor) these remixes
rarely rise above their meretricious material. They do not transform
their content so much as (to use their own term) mash it together. I am
reminded of the old acronym GIGO.
One can only hope that the remix zealots will grow up to explore the
democratic potential of digital technology to produce legitimately
original content in radically innovative forms. As for video librarians,
their apparent insensitivity to the nuances of the "fair use" doctrine
augurs ill for efforts to build a reasoned, equitable consensus around
the use of copyrighted material in academic contexts. In this regard, I
append my post from last month questioning certain aspects of the "Code
for Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare."
From: Lawrence Daressa
Sent: Tuesday, October 20, 2009 1:52 PM
To: 'videolib-bounces@lists.berkeley.edu'
Subject: FW: Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseWare
Videolib subscribers may be interested in new guidelines on fair use
prepared by the Center for Social Media at American University in
collaboration with the Washington College of Law, the OpenCourseWare
(their orthography) Consortium and MIT, with support from the Ford
Foundation.
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/code_of_best_
practices_in_fair_use_for_opencourseware1/
In way of background, the Center for Social Media is an influential
advocate for the political promise of social networking, user-generated
content and open source ("free") on-line communities. It has worked
vigorously to "push (some have said, rip) the envelope" of fair use. The
Center serves as a "think tank" for major foundations, including Ford,
enabling their shift of funding from independent documentary to "new
media" projects and research.
These guidelines raise some provocative questions about "fair use" of
educational media in academic settings. I find it a bit unsettling that
the code appears to have been drafted by a committee of OpenSourceWare
directors and university attorneys, without the apparent participation
of educational content producers, copyright holders, publishers,
distributors, independent counsel or print and non-print librarians.
Hence, it has not benefited from the experience of the people who have
grappled with these issues on a daily basis for years. As a distributor,
I would counsel caution about adopting these guidelines since I think
many of my colleagues (the potential litigants) would not agree with
some possible interpretations of this code.
My confidence in the code was not increased by the drafters' candid
acknowledgement that it had been written explicitly to provide a shield
for what could generously be termed "creative" fair use claims. In my
reading, the code tends to equate any "appropriate" educational use of
a text as ipso facto a transformative use and hence a fair use. Im
hoping members of the list can show me that I've misconstrued these
guidelines and that, in fact, they prevent the interpretations I find
dubious.
For example, the code seems to accommodate any use of a text, in whole
or in part, if the purpose of that use is "to critique or analyze" that
text. It seems to me that most texts used in academic settings are
meant to be read or viewed analytically and critically, from "The
Iliad" to "On Grammatology." Most of the filmmakers I know, certainly do
not intend their work to be viewed absent-mindedly or credulously.
Similarly, the code appears to invite the unrestricted use of
copyrighted material if they "illustrate" curricular points. It only
excludes use to entertain or duplicate material already illustrated. Few
instructors, I believe, would ever claim to use a text merelyt to divert
their students or to repeat themselves. Most Newsreel films were clearly
intended to illustrate various social conditions and concepts - at
considerable expense and sometimes personal risk to their producers.
Would their incorporation into OpenSourceWare to illustrate the issues
they were intended to illustrate, constitute a transformative use?
Finally, the code permits "explanatory" use of copyrighted material if
it "furthers understanding by demonstrating or illustrating a process,
procedure or arrangement" and if there is no "readily available
substitute." But the intended use of many instructional materials is to
do precisely that - from how to rewind a firehose to how the profit
motive impacts healthcare delivery. In addition, it seems unlikely that
anyone would produce, let alone purchase, a film if a substitute were
"readily available."
The preamble to the guidelines reduces to two the four criteria for fair
use usually cited on this list.. One of these two appears somewhat
tautological,: namely that a use is a fair use if it is "appropriate to
its re-use." Again, I can't help but wonder if the code equates any
"appropriate" educational use (to analyze, critique, illustrate or
explain) with a "fair use?."
Content producers and rightsholders have long recognized that quotation
is a "fair use" of a copyrighted work but we have argued that a line is
crossed when a quotation is used as a substitute for the text. This has
in the past been excluded by the two criteria omitted from this "code:"
first, a comparison between the length of the excerpt and the length of
the text and, second, the financial damge to the copyright holder if
the use obviates purchase of the text. Use of a text or excerpt from a
text for the use(s) intended by that text or excerpt would, it seems to
me, be cause for careful scrutiny in making any "fair use" claim.
I invite readers of the list to weigh-in with their opinions with regard
to the treatment of "fair use" in this "code of best practices." Thanks.
Larry Daressa
California Newsreel
-----Original Message-----
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Sent: Saturday, October 31, 2009 12:46 PM
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Subject: videolib Digest, Vol 23, Issue 90
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Today's Topics:
1. NMM favorites (Rosen, Rhonda J.)
2. Re: NMM favorites (Ursula Schwarz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:58:31 -0700
From: "Rosen, Rhonda J." <rrosen@lmu.edu>
Subject: [Videolib] NMM favorites
To: <videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
Message-ID:
<0C916B006DBC144DB5D965F6D1EFDEC915C1D0CC@Aries2.lmumain.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi everyone,
Since I wasn't able to get to the Natl. Media Market this year, I'd love
to hear about the favorites from you all.....i'm way behind in my buying
these days...
Rhonda
Rhonda Rosen| Head, Media & Access Services William H. Hannon Library |
Loyola Marymount University One LMU Drive, MS 8200 | Los Angeles, CA
90045-2659 rrosen@lmu.edu| 310/338-4584| http://library.lmu.edu
<http://library.lmu.edu>
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Message: 2
Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:21:35 -0700
From: Ursula Schwarz <uschwarz@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [Videolib] NMM favorites
To: <videolib@lists.berkeley.edu>
Message-ID: <C710B4FF.219BB%uschwarz@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Rhonda,
Most of the 2009 exhibitors nominated two of their best works for a
chance to win the Best of Show Award. National Film Board?s RiP! A Remix
Manifesto won the award this year. The list of all submitted titles is
below. That should be a good start for your wish list!
Ursula
Save the Date!
The 32nd National Media Market
http://www.nmm.net/
October 24 ? 28, 2010 ? Kansas City, MO
-- AIM Edcuation Inc./Learn360 Stay in School Series Real People: Legal But Dangerous, OTC and Rx Drugs AIT World Language Assessment Roger Wilco Alexander Street Press American History in Video Counseling and Therapy Ambrose Video Publishing When the Water Tap Runs Dry Glaciers and Icecaps: The Melting Annenberg Media Art in Time: a Global View Converging Cultures Aquarius Healthcare Videos Making Connections: Doctor Patient Relationship - Caregiving Ten Reasons Why Parents Abuse Beauty Media Fun Ways to Learn Chinese Basic Chinese Calligraphy BECON - TV School Board of Broward County Science Matters Up, Down and Around BioMEDIA ASSOCIATES How Cells Obtain Energy Exploring Vernal Pools Bullfrog Films, Inc. A SEA CHANGE SPLIT ESTATE Chip Taylor Communications Art Through the Ages Series: Christian - The Story of Christ in Art Joe Franklin: ?Regular Joe? to Broadcasting Legend Cin? F?te KARSH IS HISTORY TOWARD A NUCLEAR-FREE WORLD Cinema Guild, The The Beaches of Agnes The New Americans CWK Network, Inc/Connect with Kids Shattered ? Teens, Drinking and Driving Sticks and Stones -- Bullying Prevention Davidson Films John Bowlby:Attachment Theory Across Generations Making Sense of Sensory Information Fanlight Productions Monta?a de Luz In the Family Film Ideas, Inc. Biz Kid$ Series East & West Series Filmakers Library The Poet's View: Intimate Profiles of Five Major Poets The Tipping Point: Global Warming at the Arctic Circle Films Media Group What Are We Doing Here? Why Western Aid Hasn't Helped Africa The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 Getting To Know Getting To Know Drawing Media Getting To Know Thomas Jefferson Human Relations Media Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Body Image Think Before You Click: Playing It Safe Online Icarus Films MALLS 'R US WE ALL FALL DOWN ITS - International Telecommunication Svcs. HISTORY OF YELLOWSTONE THE TELL TALE HEART Media Education Foundation Codes of Gender The Mean World Syndrome National Film Board of Canada RiP! A Remix Manifesto RUNAWAY New Dimension Media C.S. Lewis (Great Hearts of Courage Series) Mystery of Disappearing Honeybees (NATURE Science Education Series) PBS Educational Media Your Life, Your Money Ken Burns? National Parks Safari Montage The Language of Shakespeare The Characters of Shakespeare SISU Home Entertainment, Inc. ?I?m Still Here?: Real Diaries of Young People The Golden Age of Second Avenue Third World Newsreel CLOSER TO THE DREAM IN MY GENES Video Project Burning the Future: Coal in America Fresh Visual Learning Co. The Life of Birds Investigating Circulation Weston Woods/Scholastic Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Getting to Know Mo Willems Women Make Movies SIN BY SILENCE SAY MY NAME From: "Rosen, Rhonda J." <rrosen@lmu.edu> Reply-To: <videolib@lists.berkeley.edu> Date: Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:58:31 -0700 To: <videolib@lists.berkeley.edu> Subject: [Videolib] NMM favorites Hi everyone, Since I wasn?t able to get to the Natl. Media Market this year, I?d love to hear about the favorites from you all?..i?m way behind in my buying these days? Rhonda Rhonda Rosen| Head, Media & Access Services William H. Hannon Library | Loyola Marymount University One LMU Drive, MS 8200 | Los Angeles, CA 90045-2659 rrosen@lmu.edu| 310/338-4584| http://library.lmu.edu <http://library.lmu.edu> VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment scrubbed and removed. HTML attachments are only available in MIME digests. End of videolib Digest, Vol 23, Issue 90 **************************************** VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.Received on Sun Nov 1 12:34:02 2009
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