We are all pirates

We are now living in remix culture.

With the prevalence of material and free software available on the Internet, everyone can now be producers by remixing materials. That is 'to cut, paste, sample or jam with content, in order to produce something which is distinctive of their own social and creative innovation' (O'Brien & Fitzgerald 2006, p.1). But are remixers considered as innovators or thieves?

Some regarded remix as original forms of art and expression (Stepanek 2009). It’s true that many finished works look different from original ones, but that doesn’t change the fact that the used material is based on others’ output. Guertin (2012) explained this perfectly that people do not own the content, just the creative process in turning pre-existed material into new ones. So, remixers are thieves. But I think that shouldn’t be a surprise, cause who aren’t pirates these days?

Pablo Picasso once said ‘Good artists copy, great artists steal’. Every innovation is based on precedent. There is hardly an original idea. This can be seen in clip Everything is a Remix: Part 2 (Ferguson 2011), showing many Hollywood films are adapted from popular culture. The well-known Quentin Tarantino’s film Kill Bill is made up of different elements from various films, like adding kung fu genre where characters wore yellow jumpsuits as in Bruce Lee’s kung fu movie.

Bruce Lee (left), Kill Bill (right)
(image from http://www.ufunk.net/en/insolite/toutes-les-clins-doeil-%C3%A0-des-films-dans-kill-bill-en-une-seule-vid%C3%A9o/)

Guertin (2012, p.37) said ‘creativity is dead’. That’s really sad but true. We are all pirates. We all stole from others’ works. Even world’s great people like Beethoven, Albert Einstein didn’t come up with original idea. But what distinguish them from others is that they get inspiration and gradually develop into their own unique style.

As to the question if we have to pay for every sample used, I think the answer is no. But at the same time it is wrong to assume that everything is free on the Internet (Martin 2011). I think what matters are the extents to which we use materials. Fair dealing is what emphasized in copyright law (O'Brien & Fitzgerald 2006). Creators deserve credit and respect for their hard works.


References
Ferguson, K 2011, 'Everything is a Remix Part 2', retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://everythingisaremix.info/blog/everything-is-a-remix-part-2>
Guertin, C 2012, Digital prohibition: piracy and authorship in new media art, Continuum International Publishing, London
Martin, R 2011, 'Remix culture: a rights nightmare', retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://www.abc.net.au/catapult/indepth/s1645533.htm>
O'Brien, D & Fitzgerald, B 2006, Mashups, remixes and copyright law, Queensland University of Technology, retrieved 12 August 2013, <http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4239/1/4239.pdf>
Stepanek, M 2009, 'Remix Culture', accessed 12 August 2013, <http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/remix-culture>