jenrobinson:

RiP: A Remix Manifesto (Trailer)

I saw Brett Gaylord’s documentary on copyright and remix culture at SXSW. The film looks at Girl Talk as a case study, exploring how remix artists like Greg Gillis make original work out of the things around them — something artists have been doing throughout history.

The filmmaker interviews Lawrence Lessig and Cory Doctorow, who raise alarming questions about the history of US copyright and discuss the law’s implications as technology continues to shatter barriers between producers and consumers. Gaylord proposes the remixers manifesto:

1. Culture always builds on the past.
2. The past always tries to control the future.
3. Our Future is becoming less free.
4. To build free societies, you must limit control of the past.

The treatment is a little extreme, but it effectively sounds the alarm about copyright and the free exchange of ideas. It really struck me while watching this film that frameworks for thinking about intellectual property are deeply ingrained for most of us, and therefore incredibly difficult to restructure.  It is going to take a series of major shakeups by unexpected forces to change the way we value ideas, the change will be painful, and it is inevitable.