Over the last 100 years or so something unsettling has happened in America. It has occurred quietly, in the interest of faceless corporations, at the top levels of government. Our culture is not our own.
It sounds ambiguous at best. Culture, especially the melting-pot American "brand," is a difficult thing to put a finger on. In simple terms it becomes "patent," culture has become a commodity.
Perhaps the most visible owned culture is art. In the last handful of years countless stories about everyday people being sued by massive record companies for "illegal" downloads have been seen in the news. At the movie theater previews now include coercive and fallacy-ridden advertisements warning against piracy (big thanks to the Ringwraiths at the MPAA for these).
People have been scared into believing that they are stealing something they pay good money to own, not rent.
Freeing culture isn't about condoning theft or piracy, or advocating for free music or cheap movies. What it is about is promoting artistic progression, creating a cultural commons, and thus allowing for reciprocal, participatory, culture.
According to Freeculture.org, it's about creating "[a culture] where anyone can be an artist, and anyone can succeed, based not on their industry connections, but on their merit."
Eventually the conclusion must be reached that enough is enough. The general public must collectively understand that the corporation has garnered far too much power over the years, that it is an entity (considered to be a person by American law) that has proven itself to be very selfish. Perhaps it's an instance of looking at the past to see the future.
At any classic art museum are paintings of the Madonna and child and Madonna on her own, they are often similar, show obvious progression and are by numerous artists. It's hard to imagine, however, that Raphael attempted to sue Da Vinci for copyright infringement.
This is a simplified example; of course no one owns the rights to the Virgin Mary. Though he might be able to claim some serious money via his right of publicity (people own their own images, and can choose not to have them used commercially) were he around today.
People do, frighteningly, own the rights to some very surprising things. Companies own usage rights for colors, smells and sounds. The rights to study certain human genomes (some cancer related), owned. The phrase "Freedom of Speech" in print journalism, owned as well (and another story altogether).
What we can do, especially artistically, is becoming extremely limited. Gone are the days when it was normal to see cover songs on the albums of musicians. No more
"Sister Morphine" or "Prodigal Son" from The Rolling Stones. No more songs at all, practically, for Eric Clapton. Not without royalties and permission (via lawyers, contracts, and gifted first born children) at least.
Bleak as it seems, there is hope. It comes via awareness and action, collaboration and compilation. One can simply give due credit to the original creator, it does not have to be about money.
There are countless organizations fighting the good fight, some of whom hire fresh college graduates and many of whom are looking for members etc.: Creative Commons, Students for Free Culture and the American Civil Liberties Union are among them and more can be found on the Web. There are books and magazines in support and with good information out there as well, check out "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig, "Copyrights and Copywrongs" by Siva Vaidhyanathan, Adbusters magazine or Stop Smiling magazine.
It's time for a little guy to stand up to the leviathan corporation. It's time for art for art's sake.
