Chapter 4: Watching Rip! A Remix Manifesto

Your Name                                                                                        Class time:

Name of Movie: RIP! A remix manifesto

Year: 2008

Executive Producers: Daniel Cross, Mila Aung-Thwin, Ravida Din (NFB), Sally Bochner (NFB)

Produced: Mila Aung-Thwin, Kat Baulu (NFB), Germaine Ying Gee Wong (NFB)

Your questions after watching the film:

v     Does the general public benefit from hearing Girl Talks music?

v      Does Girl Talk take profits from the bands who's songs he uses?

v     Is there a solution to appease the majority?

1. There are 6 significant people in this film. Name 3 of these people, and why they are included in the film (Who are they, what do they do?)
1. Gregg Gillis- Better known as Girl Talk and uses other people songs to make remixes 
   
2. Lawrence Lessig – Professor at Harvard Law and is an advocate for lesser copyright law
   
3. Dan O’Neill- Founder of Air Pirates and is also a cartoonists who was using Mickey Mouse in his illustrations. 
   

2. Why are the above people included in the film? More specifically, why is their testimony an important contribution to the film? (Comprehension):

Gregg Gillis was the inspiration for this film, as his remixes are illegal, yet a favorite among other people. Dan O’ Neil who was famously sued by Disney for his cartoons that used Mickey Mouse is an important to this film as Disney is the reason for many of the current copyright laws. Walt Disney himself was a fan of the use of others work in making your own, but after his passing the corporation changed tunes. When Mickey Mouse came to the time of being of public domain, they petitioned the court to extend the copyright laws, and won. Lawrence Lessig is a political advocate who has argued for more realistic copyright laws as a result of the digital age and contributes his well-educated opinion to the film. Watch the following video to learn more about his work.

3. What are the main ideas being discussed within this movie? (Comprehension)

 The main idea being discussed in this film are the suffocating copyright laws of the twentieth and twenty-first century.  The film 

4. What is ReMixing? Specifically, why does narrator Brett Gaylor say that the computer is Gregg Gillis’ instrument. Explain what it does and how this technological advancement why it changing music? Be specific, show connections. (Comprehension)

Brett Gaylor  says that Gillis uses the computer as the internet because Gillis takes small clips of the songs of others, sometimes even a note of two and places them together to create an entirely new musical experience. Note the clip before:

 

 He takes samples of music and puts them together into one song and then plays them to the crowd.

5. Based on the main point off this film, where do you see connections to your experiences, society, or what you've read in the book/watched on Angel–
   Be specific, show connections.  (Application)?

Thanks to the internet, people such as  Jonathon Coulton have found great successes.  Jonathon Coulton was a 9-5 worker who started creating songs about his work and placing them for free on the internet. This allowed him to eventually quit his day job and just do what he loves to do; play his music.  Also, Electronic Dance Music  has become quite the musical phenomenon as of  recent time. Electronic Dance Music is the remixing of a popular song and can be found in clubs across America. Would that be copyright? As of 2009 nine the courts ruled no.  Courts dismissed case

Jonathon

 

6. Analyze what you've watched. What is the future of distribution, production and creativity of music? Secondly, within North America? Finally, and looking at this issue globally.  (Analysis

First I have to encourage you to watch this 4 minute video, an anecdotal song about the current industry practices: 

 Music used to be something people did solely out of love, and was distributed only at local establishments and places that people would gather to hear it play. Then the technology came about to record this art, then the record industry began. The record industry soon had control over music and who hears it and now they face losing that, hence the lawsuits. There is a panic in the industry at how the money is going to continue to flow in. Yet, the internet has allowed for the music industry to open its doors to more people and advancing technology has allowed for people like Gillis to produce music in ways that no one has been able to do before. The ability to be able to draw inspiration from many different sources and create something new is expanding the creativity in music, creating a new culture, and the internet allows that culture to reach more people. 

In North America, if copyright laws continue to become stricter, there will be a halt to this creativity. It discourages people to contain their creativity for fear of being sued. Globally, allowing access to all of this music for everyone could bring us to a more connected world.  John Maeda argues that this could bring us more creative leaders and in essence a better world.

7. Do you think that remixing is stealing someone’s Intellectual Property? Why or why not? Be specific, give examples and make connections to other materials presented in this class.  (Analysis)

No, I think remixing enhances the experience of music. For thousands of years music has been used as a means for expression and connecting people such as Tay Zonday's Chocolate Rain. People taking his song and making their own versions only allows it to reach a greater audience, which is what his intent was. 

8. How will the issues of copyright and Intellectual property affect the world in 10 years? Be specific, show connections use outside sources. (Synthesis)

If the copyright laws continue to become stronger, there will be a decline in creative freedom. Further than that, copyright laws have infiltrated our food systems as it is now possible to patent living things. Monsanto, food giant, has copyrighted all of it's seeds, preventing people from replanting every year. Not only are the seeds copyrighted, but if farmers are found using them the crops will be destroyed with 'terminator seeds': See  Monsanto Terminator.

9. Do you agree with the point that is being made within movie?  What shifts in your opinion on this topic have happened from watching this film?  What new ideas have you created after watching and thinking about this film? (Evaluation)

 I do agree with the main point of the firm, that copyright laws are becoming too strict to account for creative freedom. Watching this film I have a new respect for remixes as previously I was one who thought that they were just copies of the original music. Thanks to the music of Girl Talk, I can see the time and new creativity that goes into making these singles.

State your original questions and answer them below:

v      Does the general public benefit from hearing Girl Talks music? The general public has the opportunity to view their favorite singles in a new ways as a result of Girl Talk. Gillis presents the music in a way that would likely be foreign to the general public and allows them to open their mind to a new interpretation of different singles.

v      Does Girl Talk take profits from the bands who's songs he uses? I would argue that if anything, Gillis using the songs in his work highlights the artists who originally performed the songs. If he is in fact highlighting the artists, than they would consequently make more profits.

v      Is there a solution to appease the majority? In short, no there is not. To quote Postman, there are winners and losers in every technological change and unfortunately this is no different. As media become more accessible, there will inevitably be more people attempting to control it.