Hollywood Copyright & Intellectual Property

I was recently speaking with a friend who is an actor. I use that gender specific because it is the term she uses for herself. She told me that many agencies do not represent people of color or anyone that is not white. They claim they do not handle ‘alternative casting’. This ‘alternative casting’ is really anyone that is not fitting a certain white image. Hollywood is full of hypocrisy. They often claim to be somehow more liberal than thou and turn around to display the opposite. They churn out endless tripe. The only way some of the mindless drivel they crank out is even profitable is through copyright. This is an entire industry built around the presence of a state. The reality is that Hollywood would not be the massive profit maker it currently is without the guns of the state to go after people who do not pay these large corporations money. Copying is not theft. If you steal you take someone from someone else. They have something you take possession and they no longer have possession of this thing. Copying is copying.

Many claim that this industry is being devastated by file sharing. Let us assume for a minute that the ability to file share is devastating the industry. It seems to mostly be devastating the lawyers and corporate bureaucracies, but we will assume that the elimination of copyright or intellectual property may devastate more that them. People often assume that what is ought to be. This is not the case. If the elimination of coercive force to maintain an industry does drastically alter an industry then the industry was built on an immoral foundation to begin with. Maintaining the status quo is what the arguments for copyright depend on. They assume that we must maintain the current way of doing things.

As an anarchist I see that the current way of doing things depends on violent force and victimization of human beings at the hand of the state. Just because someone puts a great deal of effort and work into something does not automatically entitle them to a cash reward. I put a great deal of time and money into my writing and I receive not a dime. I actually pay to do it and to maintain my site Gonzo Times. I do not sue when I find that people have read my work. I am wanting people to read my work. Media will not die out when copyright ends even if the industry is destroyed. If there are devastating effects to the industry then media will still be produced. Without the gun to our heads as the only means of income the media will most likely improve. I see many local productions that do not make much money at all. It is often these plays and smaller productions that have the most value. They are often ones who are fighting to get a message with some solid content out to the public. Without the competition provided by the power of the state media with some value will begin to compete with the mindless drivel that Hollywood currently churns out.

The reality is simple. The current business model relies on violent force to demand payment and to keep others from producing competing material. It is required so that the film, music or writing is not copied. Outside of all the utilitarian arguments for and against intellectual property the true foundation of the discussion is simple. Is it right to use violence to get your way? No. Now one who is a utilitarian statist can really take any side on this argument they see fit, for the statist has little problem with the threats of the state. This makes mainstream entertainment unsustainable in it’s current form. Whatever form it takes it must be one of where the means to the end is ethical. In the process media will find it’s little law of the jungle may just apply to itself. Create something of value or starve. I have no problem with these wealthy actors and actresses not making the millions they currently make. I have no problem with thinking that a few lawyers and bureaucrats may have to get jobs farming or producing something of value rather than leeching off of the people. I have no problem if the famous powerful directors loose some power and have to create their media out of love for the media and not love for the almighty dollar.

The copyright, intellectual property debate is not one of how do we maintain what exists, but what comes next. In a world where it seems more and more like there is nothing new under the sun we must ask what is new? We are used to Television programs and cinema in theaters being released for home viewing. As technology changes we should not just ask how it will be distributed, but also ask how the media will be produced.  What does it mean for the struggling artist when the wealthy and powerful are loosing their power? Far too often I hear people saying that we can maintain the current system of production of film with new means of distribution. I don’t believe the current model will work without the state. Art and film must be approached in new ways.

I have friends who put much effort into producing short films. They must promote and distribute them themselves. What would it look like if the playing field were equalized by the abolishing of the state? They are proof that production will not end without the massive wealth behind it all. I am proof that writers will write without massive financial backing. Many do find financial success outside of the massive legal bureaucracy. We must look at what works outside of Hollywood and the system, let’s start there instead of fighting to maintain an archaic failing system. You don’t have to have Hollywood change do this, you just have to make it. You make the art, you write the books and we will together change the way things are done by showing that the system is a thing of the past. We already see much of this going on online. We already see creative commons and other forms of questioning of intellectual property. This is a fight and a movement we must stand by. You can start by little things like getting rid of your windows or OSX and by installing a Linux distro like ubuntu. Begin to support and find art and media with intention. Make informed decisions about the media you are consuming and how you are consuming it. Promote with your dollars what you feel you should support. It is up to us to bring about the changes. The system will only attempt to conserve it’s current way.