The death of ideas.
Look, I can understant (to a point) wanting to stop piracy of music/movies online. It's the electronic equivalent of trying to stop the sale of bootleg CDs and DVDs. It's impossible to enforce but I can understand the legal principle behind it.
But why go after images and - of all things - fanfic? You can't make money off of either so what is the point? YES, fanfic can be ridiculous but it harms no one. And even at its most ridiculous, it's a creative expression. Maybe calling it 'art' is a bit of a stretch, but censoring/banning fanfic makes no more sense than censoring/banning Warhol prints of Campbell's soup cans and celebrity portraits - I mean, those "borrow" someone elses' products and images, do they not? Why are those considered a legitimate creative expression and fanfic isn't?
All art borrows from other forms of art. That's the way it is and the way it's always been. How many songs would we have to be banned if SOPA principles were applied to them? Forget about hearing The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" - its baseline was pretty much lifted from James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Boyce & Hart admitted that "last Train to Clarksville" was a ripoff of "Paperback Writer". And "My Sweet Lord"...yeah, forget that one entirely. I believe George Harrison when he claimed that he didn't intend to copy "He's So Fine" - sometimes things just seep into our unconscious minds without us realizing it. Should someone be punished for that?
I don't like the copywriting of ideas - it's the untimate loss of freedom. How can you legislate what inspires someone?! It's ridiculous and sets a dangerous precedent.
Not to mention the fact that our government has much more important things to worry about right now. I won't even get into the particulars - they should be obvious to anyone with a brain.
I really don't want to live in a world without creative freedom. Most of us don't have money or power or influence but we DO have our minds to use in any way we see fit. The thought of losing any creative outlet should be terrifying to you. If it isn't, you need to wake up.
But why go after images and - of all things - fanfic? You can't make money off of either so what is the point? YES, fanfic can be ridiculous but it harms no one. And even at its most ridiculous, it's a creative expression. Maybe calling it 'art' is a bit of a stretch, but censoring/banning fanfic makes no more sense than censoring/banning Warhol prints of Campbell's soup cans and celebrity portraits - I mean, those "borrow" someone elses' products and images, do they not? Why are those considered a legitimate creative expression and fanfic isn't?
All art borrows from other forms of art. That's the way it is and the way it's always been. How many songs would we have to be banned if SOPA principles were applied to them? Forget about hearing The Doors' "Soul Kitchen" - its baseline was pretty much lifted from James Brown's "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag". Boyce & Hart admitted that "last Train to Clarksville" was a ripoff of "Paperback Writer". And "My Sweet Lord"...yeah, forget that one entirely. I believe George Harrison when he claimed that he didn't intend to copy "He's So Fine" - sometimes things just seep into our unconscious minds without us realizing it. Should someone be punished for that?
I don't like the copywriting of ideas - it's the untimate loss of freedom. How can you legislate what inspires someone?! It's ridiculous and sets a dangerous precedent.
Not to mention the fact that our government has much more important things to worry about right now. I won't even get into the particulars - they should be obvious to anyone with a brain.
I really don't want to live in a world without creative freedom. Most of us don't have money or power or influence but we DO have our minds to use in any way we see fit. The thought of losing any creative outlet should be terrifying to you. If it isn't, you need to wake up.