Directed by Brett Gaylor
For centuries, culture has always built on what went before it, but something sinister has been growing in power for the last few decades. Recent developments in technology mean that for the first time in our history we can share ideas and information globally and instantaneously but large corporations are developing legal tentacles to strangle such freedoms and make sure that they collect a sizable toll. This sounds like pretty heavy stuff for a documentary but talented web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor has created an inspiring exposé that, in his own words, “you could dance toâ€.
At the centre of his exploration into intellectual property and copyright is a popular mash-up musician who goes by the name Girl Talk, and uses thousands of samples from artists such as Jackson Five, Madonna, Elton John, Muddy Waters and Rihanna. I didn’t even know what a mash-up was until I saw this doco and I certainly didn’t know how five powerful corporations were holding everyone to ransom by constricting the use of existing cultural products. I’d often thought that there was something evil about the Disney Corporation, but I just never had enough hard evidence to back up my hunch. This doco provides all the evidence of double standards, exploitation and downright bloody-mindedness.
Gaylor’s activism is directed at allowing free exchange of ideas and he even put the raw footage of his documentary online and includes other people’s remixes in his final product. It’s really something you have to sit in a cinema and experience. Admire the battles fought by the Mouse Liberation Front and the tremendous advances that can be made when a country is not held to the laws that are emerging from the US. Then become an active, rather than a passive consumer in the war over ideas and the sharing of knowledge. And stay for the credits – they received applause at the preview.
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