by trythil » Sun Nov 23, 2008 7:23 am
Well, actually, I do want to say that I wasn't entirely satisfied with the treatment of "original" versus "derivative" works and how the former are often regarded as "superior" to the latter in the "Creative Production" section. I don't think the report's argument that originality vs. derivation needs to be looked at in a historical context is all that meaningful when viewing original and derivative works in the present. (I mean, sure, all this new digital media work may be viewed as culturally significant a while from now -- just as many people view, say, the Gone with the Wind film adaptation to be culturally significant -- but right now??.well, I just don't think potential matters at all.)
I think a large part of the "superiority" in "original" works (and, indeed, a large part of "originality") is that an entity can legally claim ownership of them; this, I think, gives those works a sense of permanence. (The "I think" parts are, naturally, important here: it's for this reason that I've never regarded AMVs with much reverence, regardless of whether the Avatar Music Video was made by me or not. Finally, I think that my opinion is not that of the majority.)
Because of that, I think AMVs will pretty much always be viewed as inferior -- not even on equal footing -- to the sources from which they came. Same goes for all other derivative creative works, or at least those which the author has not purchased or otherwise obtained the necessary rights to claim ownership to their work -- at which point, naturally, the work receives the veneer of "originality"?
Why does this matter?
Well, actually, I'm not sure it does matter on a large scale. The report makes a pretty good case (as far as I can tell) that derivative creative works should be recognized as an important stimulus in developing media literacy, which by itself is a good reason for allowing more of this sort of stuff by e.g. relaxing copyright laws.
But it does matter to me. I'm looking for a way to not be ashamed about the videos I've made, about my involvement in this community. Sure, you can say that external perception doesn't matter, that I should let what I've done stand on its own merits -- but, really, it matters at the level in which the primal need for acceptance exists. It's really hard to eradicate, unless you have absolutely no social graces or some forms of autism.
For the past half-year I've been trying to scrub my associations with AMVs, and forge new associations: currently, in software engineering and photography. When people see me with Avatar Music Video friends (in meatspace, obviously) and ask how we all met, I smile and offer some nonspecific answer. Then I try to redirect the conversation onto topics in which I have a socially accepted stake.
The response is automatic and usually adequate, but also annoying -- and I guess I was hoping this report would offer some easy-to-find insight that would make me proud of my Avatar Music Video work. (Rapid-fire answer mode: Yes, it's a very self-serving request. No, I don't realistically expect to find it. No, I don't think it's a deficiency of the report that it doesn't cater to insecurities.)
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