Author Conduct: A Slippery Slope to Insanity (Part One)
I’m not the first one to discuss this issue and most certainly not the most prominent to do so. In recent days/weeks/months there has been an (sort of) out pour of stupid authors/artists doing stupid, if not psychotic, things to other folks in similar fields. Both instances have floored me, in a way, not because I’m at all surprised (after the “entertaining” William Sanders fiasco I can’t say I will ever be surprised in this field unless I find out that some of my favorite authors are actually white supremacists who eat non-white babies for breakfast), but because it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But, since this post is about two entirely different incidences, I’ll separate my arguments/rants/discussions into two separate posts. Here goes: The Sciborg Sam/Erik Secker FiascoI’m about sick and tired of this sue-happy culture we live in. I get the need to sue people who cross the line and to punish them, but more often than not people cross the line, suing people for millions of dollars when a hundred thousand would do just fine. We’ve gotten to the point where lawsuits are done for profit on the side of the plaintiff, which to mean screams of an ethical problem, if not a moral one. And yes, free speech is often squashed in these suits (almost every time, actually), and yet the people who do the suing have absolutely no issue with that, usually stating that free speech is still alive and well as a way of navigating responsibility away from themselves (don’t look at me, I’m the good guy–no, you’re not). Sciborg Sam is the latest in this attempt to silence free speech. Apparently Erik Secker recently posted a “review” (for lack of a better word) of this Sciborg Sam character’s attempts at music (or whatever it is that this person thinks he or she is doing). The following horrible video was posted (which I will post here in hopes that I will get a similar treatment as Secker): Then, Secker received a cease and desist letter telling him: This letter is to inform you that your website is in violation of United States copyright laws. And: There is an image of my artwork posted on it and a music video produced by my band and also text copied from my website. These were posted without permission or contract. Your website portrays my work in a negative way, which I believe may be libelous. I’m sorry, what? Now, first off, this is just idiotic at best. For someone to claim that you are violating copyright laws and yet be so oblivious to them is like a racist who gets banned from the local pub for trying to kill black people claiming that everyone else is discriminating. Now, Secker has done a good job laying out all the legal mumbo jumbo (that copyright does not protect you from negative or positive review, that one may use small portions of material for reviews or criticism with proper attribution, etc.), so if you want all that, go read the post. I’d like to chime in that Sciborg Sam clearly wasn’t paying attention to Youtube, because allowing for his video to be embedded constitutes a willingness to have it used elsewhere (otherwise that option would be deleted). The same can be said about the ability to comment on the videos. What stands out in all this is the fact that Sciborg Sam is threatening a lawsuit over something you can’t technically sue somebody for. Secker’s only crime is…wait, he didn’t commit any crime. He posted a “review” or “criticism,” using small snippets of text, embedding a video from a public video site, and using a picture from the same location for the same purposes. This is not illegal. If it was, then there would be no book reviews, no movie reviews, no nothing, because if you could legally sue people for criticizing your work, then nobody would be criticizing at all. We’d all have to figure out whether a movie is good on our own and then be careful about what we say in public, lest we be sued for imaginary libel. This is a clear case of attempting to stifle free speech. Seckler never did anything other than speak his mind. His review was somewhat negative, which is perfectly acceptable. But Sciborg Sam doesn’t seem to understand that. Libel is intentionally lying, to say something not true about someone else in a public forum. If the local newspaper wrote that I murdered children for fun, that would be libel. I have not, to my knowledge, murdered any children, and I doubt if I did that I did it for fun. If a local newspaper wrote that I have a habit of procrastinating, then that wouldn’t be all that untrue. In fact, that would be 100% true, as I am procrastinating while writing this. I’d probably be pissed off about the comment, but there’s nothing I can really do about it short of writing an nasty letter-to-the-editor. This all leads to my discussion of Author Conduct (or Artist Conduct). Where do we draw the line in protecting one’s intellectual property? Where do we draw the line on hurt feelings? Sciborg Sam may have been upset by those supposed mean words, but if he wanted nothing but positive comments, he wouldn’t have put his stuff online in the first place. No artist should ever expect positive words on everything. Tobias S. Buckell has received a mixture of comments on his work (good, bad, and neutral) and yet I have not seen him run around throwing a tantrum (he apparently likes driving off of icy roads into ditches, though–kidding Mr. Buckell!). But, you see, Buckell is a professional, as most people in the writing and artistic worlds are. He knows he’s going to get criticism from people. He knows that not everyone will love his work or him. And in knowing this, he doesn’t get upset when someone gives
Note to IE Users
Apparently there was an issue with the right sidebar for those of you who use Internet Explorer: the right sidebar didn’t show up and the footer often wasn’t there. This seemed to have something to do with the amount of posts on the main page and should be fixed for those of you who make up 20% of my traffic. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the past. Thanks, Shaun P.S.: I forgot to thank Mulluane for her help, which was quite rude of me. Thanks Mulluan!
Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mama always said, when something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. In 1994 Eric Roth adapted a screenplay and made the film Forrest Gump. It was instantly loved by critics and audiences alike. It was nominated for thirteen Oscars and won six , including best picture (a prize that Shawshank Redemption deserved). This year Eric Roth adapted another screenplay about a man who ages backwards and gave us an extraordinary tale over this magnificent man’s life.The movie stars Brad Pitt as the titular character Benjamin Button, a man who was born as the ugliest child you’ve ever seen, (To give you a better idea as to what he looked like, he was referred to as “A miracle you don’t want to see” “non human” and and 80 year old woman’s “ex-husband”) He is diagnosed with many diseases and disabilities that come with old age and he is expected to die very soon. His mother died giving birth to him and his father ran through the streets and left him at the porch to a retirement home, where he was picked up by his new mama, and began his incredible journey.There’s not much to say about the plot without ruining too much, Benjamin ages backwards, he falls in love with a girl who is almost exactly his age (Cate Blanchett) but is aging regularly so while he looks eighty she looks ten, and he travels the world and encounters many life changing events. Eric Roth has given us a tale surrounding love and death with a surreal twist and done his best to make it as powerful as he possibly could. However, as original and new as this movie tries to be you simply cannot shake off the parallels between the stories of Benjamin Button and formerly mentioned Forrest Gump.Benjamin Button is Forrest Gump, plain and simple. Their stories follow nearly exact plotlines and events with only a few details changed and tries to make it as magical as it can. And the surprising thing is that it works. David Fincher has crafted himself a masterpiece in this borderline copy of a previous great. He has made the character of Benjamin Button endearing and loveable, his tale timeless and pure. He fuses comedy and drama seamlessly and turns Eric Roth’s screenplay into ony hell of a majestic ride. Not only does he make the movie great, but he makes it look incredible. The special effects used here are some of the greatest I’ve ever seen. Many people think explosions and gunfights are the maximum use for special effects but they’re wrong, it’s all right here in this movie. Making Brad Pitt look like an eighty year old man and making it believable is simply jaw dropping.The story of a man who ages backwards is interesting on it’s own indeed but Fincher adds his own style to take it to the next level creating a believable love story, told through the diary of Benjamin by the daughter of Cate Blanchett, and crafting one of the best movies of the year. The Oscar Nominations have come out and this movie deservedly gotten Thirteen nominations (Forrest Gump … …). So despite it being almost a carbon copy plot wise, it copied a perfect film and did it well. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button deserves many of the awards it’s up for (Though Visual Effects is the one that it has in the bag)and it will probably get them. If Forrest Gump had never been made no one would doubt this movie’s excellence, so I’m going to forget about FG momentarily and give Benjamin Button what it deserves, a 5/5 for it’s never dull three hour runtime.
The Garden of Doubt on the Island of Shadows
Click here to see the book on Goodreads rating: 4 of 5 starsThere is something elegant and yet simple about this chapbook from ISMs Press. It’s presence is undoubtedly raw. The sole flower on its cover is beautiful and unimposing; the text clean and easy to read, yet haunting. This is the story of a missing musician and a love that reaches across the grave (but not in your stereotypical manner). The plot revolves around a secret island, ghostly in its almost-here/almost-not-here ambience, and the protagonist’s journey there to find her lover. Of course, find him she does, but he’s not quite what she expected. A superb promise of things to come. View all my reviews.