Happy Black March!
Guess what day it is! Yes! The first day of Black March.
Rather than simply not buying anything, I think it would be a better, as well as more feasible, idea to make an effort to reward those artists and companies that did not support SOPA and do not support ACTA or any similar measures restricting free speech and the exercise thereof. Therefore, I'm dedicating March to these heroes of creative content, these people more interested in participating in culture than in controlling it.
I can think of no better person to begin with than Nina Paley and her luscious animation, Sita Sings the Blues.
Paley has been a true champion of copyright reform. As she puts it in her FAQ for Sita,
Q: Why would corporations hang onto all these old copyrights if they are going to make it so hard to use them?
A: Well, there's a good answer to that. The corporations that hold these copyrights are media companies that also control most of the new media that comes out. Estimates vary, but it's said that 98 percent of all culture is unavailable right now because of copyrights. So the reason they hold the copyrights isn't because they want to get paid, it's because they don't want all the old stuff competing with the media stream that they control now.
Please, if you enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues, especially consider buying the fan-subbed DVD. What could be nicer than supporting an artist who supports fans making her work more accessible to a larger audience?
The Sita icon is going to be our guide for these posts during Black March. If you have suggestions for other artists (any language!) I should feature, please let me know! If you enjoyed this, please let me know in the comments. And if you know of a large content-owning company that is on the side of the angels, let's hear about them, too!
Rather than simply not buying anything, I think it would be a better, as well as more feasible, idea to make an effort to reward those artists and companies that did not support SOPA and do not support ACTA or any similar measures restricting free speech and the exercise thereof. Therefore, I'm dedicating March to these heroes of creative content, these people more interested in participating in culture than in controlling it.
I can think of no better person to begin with than Nina Paley and her luscious animation, Sita Sings the Blues.
Click to viewPaley has been a true champion of copyright reform. As she puts it in her FAQ for Sita,
Q: Why would corporations hang onto all these old copyrights if they are going to make it so hard to use them?
A: Well, there's a good answer to that. The corporations that hold these copyrights are media companies that also control most of the new media that comes out. Estimates vary, but it's said that 98 percent of all culture is unavailable right now because of copyrights. So the reason they hold the copyrights isn't because they want to get paid, it's because they don't want all the old stuff competing with the media stream that they control now.
Please, if you enjoyed Sita Sings the Blues, especially consider buying the fan-subbed DVD. What could be nicer than supporting an artist who supports fans making her work more accessible to a larger audience?
The Sita icon is going to be our guide for these posts during Black March. If you have suggestions for other artists (any language!) I should feature, please let me know! If you enjoyed this, please let me know in the comments. And if you know of a large content-owning company that is on the side of the angels, let's hear about them, too!