So I don't really know any art/activist pieces that deal with the difficulty in publishing or performing works particularly works with an activist slant that refer in any way to previous media or culture without often paying up the nose for the licensing fees and having to hunt down the creator of orphaned works.
I think it'd be interesting then to have a digital collection of student and professional but unrealized documentaries where film footage that could not be distributed because of copyright law is altered or censored so the film's copyrighted materials is blacked out or silenced and then can be viewed in this highly altered form.
I imagine that having to remove sound and images from all legally questionable portions would so totally transform each work that it would be nearly impossible to distinguish the original meaning.
At every moment a copyrighted occurance happens, the amount it would cost to allow that scene to occur would be displayed and the total is caluclated at the bottom of the screen until you get the total.
Besides for making an interesting piece to watch, already there are artistic pieces that re-imagine existing works simply by blacking out portions (obviously this is a simplification), I think it would really underline the expansive and relatively recent restrictions to our means of expression in the United States.
But viewers can also donate some money to the film that might lift the cost of that censorship for that scene. So not only does it make the statement of our curtailing of expression and that 'libre' is not necessarily 'gratis' anymore, but it could be a portal where, if a documentary is good enough, crowd funding might bring it to see the light of day.
Could be called "The Price of Freedom" or "Pay-to-Express" or something.
Any film or music piece or w/e can be posted and distributed for free (or for sale).
And those sales can help repeal the cost of the copyright until the film is at a level where it can be sold and distributed through the general public (where the site becomes it's distribution platform).
In addition, these censored films could serve an education to young film makers for how to avoid policies that could restrain their film or speech. Or, more simply, highlighting what speech film and song creators are allowed to express.
But I think there could be one more aspect to this. Films that breach copyright are not permitted to be distributed to the public. But there can be selected viewings. So if there were a physical location, a Dark-Room where individuals can visit and watch the entire film of their choice, uncensored, and alone.
There's a twist though. Because the film can't legally be screened to the public, entry would require heavy background checks and surrendering of the basic freedoms one normally assumes with our normal consumption of media.
Even then, it is up to the discretion of the theater owners to reject those who wish entry outright, for no reason. Or to allow them inside but then not screen the film that they wished, either screening something horrifying or nothing at all for two hours.
Anyway, I think it would be interesting if some project like this existed in the United States.
annaxmalina
germansingergirl
gummygunk
izzy806
