The Remix Culture and the Three Offenders

 
When you hear the word remix, you may think of a catchy song ruined by an upbeat tempo created on a computer. The most recent indecency of this "remix culture," was instigated on the song "The Hanging Tree" from the popular film Mockingjay: Part 1 (2014), which stemmed from the popular novel series, The Hunger Games, written by Suzanne Collins. The song is sang by the protagonist character, Katniss, played by actress Jennifer Lawrence. The scene in which she sings is a somber one, in which she has returned from the ruin of her home in District 12, which was destroyed by President Snow as an after effect of her rebellion against the dominating Capital. She sings about a tree where people hang themselves and where two lovers plan to meet; the most ominous lyric being "wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me." Not only was the song "remixed" in the film, when head gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee changes the lyrics of "wear a necklace of rope" to "wear a necklace of hope" in an effort to support the rebellion against the Capital, but it has also been transferred to hit radio stations around the nation and now includes a poppy, techno beat along with the somber lyrics. This is remix culture. This is where we lose our creativity.


Whether you refer to it as remix culture, remix theory, or simply remix, the use of technological advances to change original ideas has caused us to lose our creativity. Remix culture forces us to wonder if any original ideas even exist anymore, or is everything a remix?

Everything is a Remix (2011) is a four-part documentary by writer, director, and producer Kirby Ferguson. Throughout the film, Ferguson gives multiple examples about how everything can be seen as a remix, and that anything we consider "original material," is no doubt, a remix from something which previously existed. He draws his conclusions from not only music, but also films and many other "new ideas" and advances in the "originality" of ourselves.

In the documentary, Good Copy, Bad Copy (2007), we follow the life of "remix artist" Girl Talk; a one-man act, who takes other people's songs from all different genres and turns them into his own. But, are they his own, or is he merely instigating copyright infringement? Your first answer to that question, may be no. "How can it be copyright infringement if he gives credit to every artist he uses in his remixes?" (1:48). Truth is, if you were to choose one song from his remix, one single song, by what you may believe to be one single artist, you will see that a lot of work has gone into the making of that one single song. Writers, producers, singers, band members, etc. were all a part of making that one song, and although Girl Talk may only use four seconds of that song, he is still leaning on the very abrupt edge of copyright infringement. Many people were a part of the making of this one song, therefore many people were paid once this one song became a hit across the radio stations of America, but does Girl Talk pay them with the money he accrues from his gigs? Of course he doesn't, and that is why he is guilty for his copyrighted remix. He is stealing the music.

I've mentioned that movies can be copyrighted, just as much, if not more, than music. Yet, the documentary focuses more on music. As the years go on and "new" music is released more periodically, people have more recently been able to hear the nuances and similarities between previously released songs. Artists are being sued, and losing money, because of the concerns of copyright issues and the lack of creativity when it comes to making music. This can also be directly related to the up rise in digital technologies.

Between the 22:00 and 24:00 minute marks, Lawrence Lessing discusses how digital media, politics, and popular culture are now becoming synonymous with each other, and creating a larger issue when dealing with copyright infringement. Copyright is changing and therefore Lawrence Lessing is a part of Creative Commons, which was created in order to assist "artists" with copyright issues, and allows them more freedom to express their creativity. Lessing argues that "this is the kind of creativity opportunity that digital technologies give us quite cheaply, but the law makes it practically impossible as it is structured right now" (24:13).

Whether you agree that there are or are not copyright issues, or if you think we need more strictly or less strictly enforced copyright laws, I believe most people will agree that copyright laws are outdated and are in serious need of a drastic update. With the digital age, came digital downloads; and with digital downloads, came illegal downloads. People have spent years in jail for illegally downloading a simple song so that they could enjoy a piece of music. Sites such as iTunes, Napster, and YouTube, allow for easy access to a piece of music, or even an entire album, and therefore the industry has become more concerned with the money they're making off record breaking sales, than with the amount of record stores closing because no one wants to leave their couch to buy music anymore. 

Here's the question we have to answer: who are the offenders when it comes to true copyright infringement and piracy laws? "The people who upload are the biggest fans, the real music fanatics," says Peter Jenner of Sincere Management (35:55). He argues that if record companies and the lawmakers stick to the old notion and business model which was created before the digital age, they are sure to fail and the standards will no longer hold up. So who are the offenders? Those who create the music and films that sound like other music and previous films? Or is it those who "steal" the music and films off the internet or through file sharing? Perhaps, the real offenders, are those who refuse to change the law.