Grace’s Weblog

Final Blog Post Due December 1st

December 1, 2008 at 5:56 am (Uncategorized) (Reading)

This was an extremely interesting class to take. I feel as though I have learned about many different perspectives involving different aspects of and types of communication and technology. As with communication and technology, there is not always something concrete to grab on to. I feel as though the same goes when discussing them. Every opinion is just a little right and wrong. For every answer there are about a dozen other questions. This is a subject that one could talk about for the rest of his or her life.

I would like to use this posting to discuss some of the final topics discussed in class. I would especially like to discuss the topics of copyright, remixing, mashing, etc. As a producer, the idea of someone using my work for something that I do not agree with or for something unethical is very scary. As a consumer and sometimes even as a producer, I get annoyed with really strict copyright laws that prevent any type of new expression.

Lawrence Lessig brings up some interesting points. As time has gone on, copyright laws have become more and more strict. What can fix this? No matter what happens, someone will be unhappy (either copyright owners that wish to control all rights for an unlimited amount of time or consumers and producers that wish to be able to take any material at all and transform it or use it for their own purposes.

I was reading a really interesting article on the NPR website called, “Not Coming to a Theater Near You: Satire Trailers.” One specific part really struck me. The article states that, “The Greeks used to end an evening of tragedy with what they called a “Satyr” play, a short farce that turned the tragedy inside out. The actor who’d just played a king — swallowing poison and dying, for instance — would now play a servant and swallow something that made him flatulent. It was the same basic idea, but tweaked to provoke knowing laughter. Which is, of course, what these spoof trailers do: provoke knowing laughter on the Internet, spread not by word of mouth, but by click of mouse. They prove once again that there’s nothing new under the sun…”

Some people believe that there are only about four original works in the whole of history. Everything else copies in some way or another until we are left with nothing but mashups. This is kind of a sad thought, but nonetheless holds truth. Some writer put their own experiences into their novels or take inspiration from other works. How can we say that it is okay to use one thing but not another? Is there a way to measure it? What does it really mean to own a work. Is it simply a matter of filling out the proper paperwork?

Is media and technology a mirror of or for society? A work (novel, video, song, poem, etc.) is a form of communication just like any other. Works are meant to go out into the world and to transform it. In turn, the world will then transform the works again.

In a Communication and Ethics class, I am currently learning about Aristotle’s Golden Mean. This really seems to fit this situation. Given the right point of view, any side is this ongoing discussion could seem right or wrong. It seems as though a compromise or agreement of some kind is really the best option.

I believe that people should be able to use any material that they want as long as they do not make a profit. I believe that the original owner or creator should always be credited. I believe that for a situation in which someone does make a profit, the original owner should get a share or some sort of prior agreement should be made.