Who?
Directed by Brett Gaylor
What?
An open source documentary called "RiP! A Remix Manifeso"
Where?
Released November 2008
The Gist
Basically, the movie is based around the argument between whether remixing is copyright infringement or not. Although this is at the center of the movie, the film also heavily addresses points pertaining to copyright in general, copyleft, theft, and of course open source. As the title of the movie implies, the director builds several specific pillars to create his manifesto, which deals with the past and future, and how although the past tries to control the future, we need to take into account the freedom that progress requires, and prevent the past from continuing to impede the future.
The Good?
-This really hammered in the idea that copyright laws currently have serious issues that will slow down progress and these deserve to be addressed.
-I really liked the choice of people included in the documentary not only because I am a fan of "Girl Talk", but also because they all seemed very relevant to speak about laws, copyright, and practical applications in the realm of music.
-I liked how this film ties into my Free and Open Source Software class in a way that is not only limited to software development, but also encompasses music which is one of my biggest interests. I also have a constant fear of breaching copyright laws(not sure why) especially in regards to things like music, so it was great to see the big argument pertaining to that.
The Bad?
-While I understand that almost every documentary provides a bias to one side, I felt this film emitted almost too heavy of a bias, and I would have liked to hear some serious arguments against loosening restrictions against copyright laws, because I feel that there are some very valid points in that area.
-This film did focus specifically on the field of music so it would have been nice to see a little more of similar arguments in other areas.
-Personally, I loved the music in this film, but I could completely see how the music could make this film almost painful to watch for some.
Questions?
-This movie was made almost 7 years ago in 2008, have any significant changes been made to copyright laws or in enforcement of those laws since then?
-In terms of live music and people using their own skills to perform other band's music, what are the laws pertaining to that?
-How heavily do large music production companies influence copyright laws vs any other forces.
Personal Thoughts
I loved this movie. I thought it was extremely interesting and well made. I loved the music in the movie and really enjoyed learning about things in the music industry that I had no idea about. Through this movie, my eyes were further opened and homed in on how open source applies to copyright laws in music. Overall, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, but specifically people who have an interest in music like myself, or anyone curious about copyright laws and their development. I think it is also important that people who strictly believe that copyright laws should be upheld as they always have been should watch this movie, because I think it provides a convincing argument against keeping copyright laws how they have been.
8/10
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