VARTS 530
Professor Joy Garnett
February 11, 2010
Steps Towards Enhanced Sharing and Communication
In the online lecture “Free Culture” presented by Lawrence Lessig, four points are highlighted as a refrain to clarify and simplify the complex issues of copyright, copyright law, ideas of originality and influence, the benefits of open access, and more. First, Lessig asserts that “creativity and innovation always builds on the past;” second, that “the past always tries to control the creativity that builds on it;” third, that “free societies enable the future by limiting the power of the past;” and finally, that “ours is less and less a free society.” A similar theme is represented in the article “The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism” by Jonathan Lethem, and the film Rip! A Remix Manifesto, written and directed by Brett Gaylor. Though the refrain is not an all-encompassing description of the issues and examples presented by the three sources, it serves as a guideline for the basic premises common to the diverse works.
Excluding the nature of Lethem’s article as an ironic, plagiarized – or “collage text” (Lethem 71) – article about plagiarism, the points brought up offer particularly interesting insight into the nature of creativity as being, by nature, influenced by the past. In literature, the use and reuse of familiar themes is widespread, for “literature has always been a crucible in which familiar themes are continually recast” (Lethem 59). The use of past ideas and stories, Lethem argues, is not necessarily negative, for such classic works as Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story could be considered as influenced by Ovid’s “Pyramus and Thisbe,” but the ability of each author to build on, adapt, and potentially improve the works is an ability that is inherently useful and important. Perhaps the retelling of familiar themes – rags to riches, trickster, or creation stories, for example – is often completed because these themes are worthy representations of the human experience through time.
Both Lessig and Gaylor also comment on the influence of the past, and move towards discussion of the second refrain, that the past always tries to control the creativity that builds on it, by presenting the story of Walt Disney and the Disney’s Corporation’s protection of its cartoon creations; particularly, Mickey Mouse. A lengthy list of Disney animated full-length and short films, including such classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, the Steamboat Willie short, and many more, were directly influenced by classic fairy tales (particularly those of the Brothers Grimm) and other pop culture sources of the time. After the death of Walt Disney, the Disney Corporation in turn fought (and continues to fight) for strict control of Disney characters’ use. As Lessig noted, the “protection” of Mickey Mouse was considered one of the reasons for institution of the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, which extended copyright to last 70 years after the death of the creator and serves as a clear and powerful example of the ability of the past to control the creativity of the future.
The third claim, that free societies control the influence of the past, represents the idea that an ideal society would have fair copyright law and an underlying attitude of encouragement of creativity for its own sake, potentially in the absence of profit-motivated, uncontrolled corporate control of so-called “intellectual property” – termed the “copyright” in Rip! - in favor of higher emphasis on the public domain – called the “copyleft.” Originally, as noted by Lethem, Lessig, and Gaylor, the intent of copyright law was not at its core to reward authors but to “promote the Progress of Science and useful arts” (qtd. in Lethem 68). While the specific nature of an appropriate treatment of copyright is difficult to define, the opposite is easier to illustrate with the many examples of how freedom of speech and expression is limited in certain situations that would presumably be considered inappropriate by the authors. These examples illustrate the final part of the refrain, that ours is less and less a free society. In particular, the case of arguably excessive lawsuits for the downloading of music by children and essentially non-criminal members of society was highlighted in Rip! Though the issue is multifaceted, the severity and intensity of the situation reflects a need to reconsider the way the issue is treated.
Underlying the three works is the premise that culture more oriented towards an open-source philosophy, where information is more shared than proprietary, is a general cultural direction with the potential for an improved creative environment. The development of ideas, inventions, artworks, music, programs, and more is benefitted by the opportunity for collaboration, for the unique perspectives of individuals may combine in a way otherwise not considered. This philosophy is certainly one that applies directly to creation of artworks, particularly in the case of joint art displays, collaborative group projects, and the use of art in group-designed outreach and education situations, where both the opinions of many and the influences of prior projects or works are both vitally important. For example, a recent poster inviting students to participate in the Roger Williams University Student Garden included a borrowed image of a student working, the inspiration of Van Gogh’s “The Sower” painting, and ideas from garden participants concerning the poster’s content.
Many possible directions for enhanced collaboration exist, including the ability to search for reusable, mixable material through Lessig’s website, www.creativecommons.org. The very nature of the works as accessible to all – and the film Rip! as “re-mixable” by all – is an encouraging example of the potential for improved sharing of ideas by the simple act of allowing your work to be shared.
Works CitedLethem, Jonathan. “The Ecstasy of Influence: A Plagiarism.” Harper’s Magazine Feb. 2007: 59-71. Print.Lessig, Lawrence. "Free Culture." OSCON 2002. 24 July 2002. Internet. 4 Feb 2010.
http://randomfoo.net/oscon/2002/lessig/free.htmlRip! A Remix Manifesto. Dir. Brett Gaylor. Digital. National Film Board of Canada, 2008.