I just saw this video at youtube...
Michael Jackson was being treated more or less like Jesus, accused, prosecuted, convicted and punished - for *OUR* crimes. Michael deserved a heck of a lot more than what we (the world) gave him. Though this video is mostly funny, and I think even Michael himself would have been able to see the comedy of this video. However it tells a tale about us as humans and how much hate we're able to spill out on others, just because they're better than us. Michael was better than us. Sure he had "issues" like all those operations he did to become white. But all he wanted was to be left alone, and we (the world) couldn't grant him even such a simple wish...
The second interesting thing about this video is that it is probably breaking about every single copyright law that exists in this world. I don't think that Oliver Hirschbiegel (the director) will sue neither YouTube nor the guy who created this so-called "mashup", but the very fact that to make a "statement" like this is illegal says something about the current state of copyright laws and how twisted they are.
Some time back ago I saw this beautiful talk given by Larry Lessig about
copyright laws choking creativity, and maybe this MJ/Hitler mashup doesn't by itself entirely justify the real need to make a revision in current copyright laws, but imagine the creator of this video instead had created a political message by mixing in George Bush instead of Michael Jackson in the subtexts. Should it not be legal to create creative political statements like this? I think so! I not only think so, but I think our ability to move on and evolve is 100% dependant upon that we're able to seriously rewrite current copyright laws so that these kind of statments are being made legal, among other things...
In Norway (and Sweden) there has been an extremely hot case going on now for eveal years in fact which is about
The Pirate Bay being sued to hell by more or less all the record labels and film companies in this world. You might think whatever you wish about The Pirate Bay, and they are obviously doing something which is at least "blury" in regards to good ethics and good moral. However that is not my point, my point is that the current copyright laws are now so twisted and distorted that about 80% of people between the age of 15 and 30 thinks that
what the Pirate Bay does is perfectly OK. Such opinions doesn't come out right of the blue, they come for a reason, and that reason is that Record Labels and Film Companies have now made it so difficult to find, search, download, listen and watch music and movies that people don't care anymore! They just want the entire industry to DIE! And currently with the new IPRED laws in EU and copyright acts in the US, that would probably not be a bad thing! I have myself spent a significant amount of time combating copyright laws the last year, so I can truly with my hand on my heart tell you how twisted copyright laws are in today's western society.
John Lennon said at about 1975 or something that he hadn't still had one year with making much more than one million in Beatles Royalties and that the current feeling in the industry was that "rich musicians become lazy". And Courtney Love wrote a beautiful
essay about the music industry several years ago which explains "the math" to mere mortals. So then the question that pops into my head is; "Does these guys (record labels) really deserve life? Or would we as a specy be better of without them, just like we were without Hitler?"
I don't know the answer to that question, but merely that I am able to ask it without instantly saying in a confident way that "yes, they deserve life" is a statement in itself I think.
Copyright laws needs revision, *SERIOUS* revision...
And all "creative industries", like the music industry, movie undustry and my own industry - "the art of creating software" - needs to seriously rethink the way they distribute their wealth...
Because if they don't do all of us will stop charging at *ALL* for our work and just give away everything for free...
PS!
If you wish to enjoy free music legally then I'd encourage you to visit
Jamendo which has a database of more then 20,000 free songs. These are the next generation of musicians, and the "music industry" are not anywhere to see here. These are thousands of artists who have decided to *GIVE AWAY FOR FREE* their music, because they think that the Music as an "industry" sucks so much they don't want to participate in it...
And in case you like my writing it might also be that you like my music, which is also licensed as Creative Commons Share-Alike which you can
download here. 100% free and 100% legal :)
.t