Readings

Creators:
This article was interesting but also I think it is retelling an old fact. Most of the Disney stories are fairy tails that have been made to be mass produced. Many of there movies are based on tails from many many years ago. There is always this fascination with original ideas in our society. But how can one think of a new and original idea when working in the a place like Disney. You have a turn out movies every year that you know will make a profit. That is when ideas are "borrowed" because people that make these movies are not trying to tell a good story they're trying to make money. In fact I read an article that was an interview with the Dreamworks executive who admitted that they didn't spend as much time as Pixar on the quality of the movie because they worked on quantity. They turn out more movies a year to make more in the annual profit then they don't have to rely or risk hoping that an individual movie will make enough money. As where Pixar relies on an individual film to make profit and so spend more time of the development of the story. People are thinking in business terms here, as well they should be. They are not concerned with the story but how much the story can make them. As for true originality it is something that can't really be achieved. People are influenced by everything around them there is no one who hasn't seen something or been inspirited by something in the world. This is the most important distinction I believe we must make; Is it inspiration and influence or it is stolen? Ideas are seen as original because they have taken something from their lives and turned it into their own. Think of when a band, for example, is being interviewed, one of the main questions their asked is who influences them? Are we going to accuse them that they aren't being original because they say they've been influenced by such and such band? Originality can be found in those who understand the difference. In business like Disney I don't think originality is their first priority.

Pirates:
Again this is an issue that is driven by money and profit. Piracy is something that has been around for many years as Lessing says that even industries come from a piracy. I makes me think when you see an advertisement for something such as and ipod and then suddenly Sony has something just like it but its called the Zen. Is this piracy, didn't Apple come up with that idea first! That is a product that was on the market and out before all others and now there are look alikes all over the place. I know that Sony didn't take the ipod and resell for a profit but I feel that if you wanted could claim that this was a form of Piracy. The problem is how would one govern such a thing. The Internet has incredible power. It is much bigger and reaches more people then anything ever before. It is something so vast I am unsure how would one start to stop people from doing anything and everything on the Internet.

Jack M. Balkin's Digital Speech and Democratic Culture:

This was a very interest article. The issue of free speech is something very delicate. The Internet has opened a whole new aspect to free speech that couldn't be found in any other form. It is based on free speech and has expanded only because of the freedom that can be found within it. Without the freedom of the Internet people I don't believe would have been so interested in it. Here you can create, do, and say whatever you want. The Internet reaches millions and can be accessed by millions. So then how to bring some kind of structure to the Internet. Balkin is right that these new technologies have changed our outlook on freedom of speech we as ordinary have more power today to reach a world audience. That means that anyone with an opinion or thought can post it on the internet but should these people be able to have this freedom. I have found some very disturbing things on the internet. Even on our own Santa Clara website after the theme party issue was brought up there were some very racist comments made. These are the things that we work against in our society. There are so many issues that need to addressed with regards to the use of the internet and I don't believe that they are all going to be solved anytime soon.

John Perry Barlow’s Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace:

Barlow brings up some very interesting claims about how Cyberspace has no need of industry or government interference. It seems that industry is what drives some of the internet. There are whole businesses that are established within the net. And going back to the talk about free speech there has to be some kind of govern of such a world because if any civilization is going to survive then there must be some kind of rule and order to it.


Fan Fiction

I read through the definition and illegal problems with fan fiction and found it to a great way for people to take a new spin of a old idea. I feel like its a way for a fan to express themselves using an idea that they love. I was trying to think of some movie or show that I found to be most interesting to me and thought of adding another episode of Rome where they explain the life and story of the foundation of Rome before Caesar. Starting with the story of Romulus and Remus taking a look at what created their myth of she-wolf and tell their real life story. Maybe explain how they were found when they were living in the wilderness. Their being raised by the shepherd and their relationship as brothers. Finally the founding of Rome and how Romulus become king. Also how Remus got killed because of mocking the fortifications of Rome. I think this would be interesting to those who watch the show because they want to see the beginning to the end. I think that this will give a new modern spin to the story and also an interesting look on how myths come into being. I believe if your going to start telling a story such as the story of Rome people would want the whole story. It would be great to see how such a small colony can turn into one of the greatest empires in the world.