A Beautiful Example of the Ever-Controversial Act of Appropriation
Recently in our seminar course we have been discussing notions of authorship, participatory culture, and the debate between copyright and copyleft. These are topics that have been discussed at length throughout my time as a Communication Studies student, and remain important to acknowledge in a time when virtually everyone (at least in this segment of the world) is engaging with digital technology on a daily basis. These technologies allow people to download, upload, remix, reuse, and redistribute content on the Internet, to a potentially global audience. For some, those positioned on the copyleft side of the argument, this is incredibly liberating and allows people to share and exchange culture freely. For others, those positioned on the copyright side of the argument, this can and should be classified as stealing.
Jelena, a fellow classmate, wrote a blog post a few weeks ago about this debate, arguing that people should be free to engage with these pieces of our shared culture, and that the artists (or authors) have alternative ways they can earn money for their original creation. I think this is a fairly fair argument to make, however, the purpose of this post is not to choose sides but to introduce what I think is a really fun example of how people borrow cultural elements to create something new, and hopefully spark some discussion.
I was influenced to write a post on this topic after some mindless browsing of Twitter. Steven Yeun, who plays Glen on AMC’s hit television drama The Walking Dead, posted a video made by a fan of the show on his Twitter feed and I had a chance to watch it amidst my extremely busy day (ha). In this video a fan borrows themes, music, and sounds from The Walking Dead to create an original piece of his own that he uses to propose to his girlfriend. You can watch this video here, and I highly recommend seeing it all the way through, it’s fantastic! This video blew me away. Not only is it entertaining all on its own, but by engaging with elements of this show, which I happen to be a huge fan of, I could immediately relate to what he was doing and it was a lot of fun to watch. Now all of that aside, lets not forget this was his marriage proposal! People spend a lot of time thinking about how they will propose. You know, its (ideally…) one of those once in a lifetime moments, and this couple will forever remember how this man appropriated content from The Walking Dead, to make something he would show to his girlfriend in the hopes that she would marry him. Wow.
The reason I brought up this example is because I think it shows the very ‘human’ side of appropriation. This guy didn’t steal from The Walking Dead because he had some desire to strike it rich. He borrowed from something that thousands of people enjoy to make something that literally changed his life forever. After reading this brief post and hopefully watching this video, what are readers’ thoughts on this back and forth debate? Could what this man did be considered in any way illegal? Or have we reached a point where most of us can accept this kind of active engagement?
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This video was awesome!!
I always find this to be a tough debate – I can definitely see both sides of the argument. Unfortunately, I think we’re at the point in society where things like this aren’t considered illegal anymore. This is especially true with music. It sucks for the original creator, because a lot of their stuff is ripped off and someone else starts making more money off their remake rather than the original. The example that comes to mind here is the version of Somebody That I Used to Know by Walk Off The Earth became more famous than the original by Gotye. I don’t know about you, but if I was a new artist trying to make it, that would piss me off.
However, in a society like you describe, I guess people need to start looking at it like what goes around comes around. So where someone might create a better version from your work, one day you may turn around and do the same thing with a piece by someone else.
I hate to keep coming back to this but it really does come down to our own conceptions of the Internet. Since it’s creation, we have always held the belief that everything online is free – anyone can take it and use it for whatever they want. This is the nature of the beast, a faustian bargain, if you will.
Appropriation, authorship, copyright, copyleft… these are all things that are coming out of our uses of the Internet. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re signing on for by using and engaging with people on it.
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Hey Autumn,
Sorry to be responding to this comment so long after your first made it.
I agree with you – ultimately this is the nature of the Internet (or at least you and I think so). It is a place, open for sharing and creating.
However, I think it goes beyond what ‘society thinks’ per se. If we can agree that the Internet has become a very prevalent part of our daily lives, then it should be treated accordingly. Here I mean, if you abuse someone online, steal from them, etc, it should be treated the same as it would be if it happened on the street. In this regard, I can understand the argument ‘for’ copyright. And ultimately, the rules set in place aren’t done so by the people but by a select few who make those decisions.
I think in order for this ‘debate’ to be solved (if that’s possible), the decisions that are made need to be made by more than those select few. If the ‘people’ think that borrowing online is not the same as stealing on the street, then that should be reflected in our laws. I don’t think it is…yet.
Mike
I completely understand where you’re coming from, but I just can’t seem to picture how that would work/be effective.
I don’t necessarily think that is possible considering the internet is a free space. Isn’t it essential for society to have a space where information is free to be consumed and disseminated?
Unfortunately it’s a double edge sword and where this is great for access to information, it doesn’t serve well in the copyright perspective.
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