Left Itch readers are not the most well read -- how could they be if their time is spent reading this blog? It is entirely feasible therefore that they are unaware over the comic skirmish that has erupted over a YouTube video by an ex-Obama advertising hack who borrowed a bit from an Apple ad which uses Orwellian imagery to present Apple as an alternative to mindless drone alternatives. The ex-Obama hack's twist was to use the Apple ad to poke fun at Hillary.
That Orwell's work is at the center of this is appropriate at each of the multiple iterations of outrage. First that a corporation could use such an image without irony is itself a reflection of the mindlessness. Second that someone like Obama, a rherorical hoodwinker, could be (again without irony) offered as an alternative to the "system" (indeed ably represented by Hillary). Third that the owners of the copyrights of the Orwell work would be outraged by all this appropriation (not for purist reasons, but because it dilutes their cash cow). And finally in the latest twist, that the "netroots" would get hyper-righteous about it all (MyDD :: 1984 Copyright Holder Threaten 1984 Hillary Ad). Says Matt Stoller:
That Orwell's work is at the center of this is appropriate at each of the multiple iterations of outrage. First that a corporation could use such an image without irony is itself a reflection of the mindlessness. Second that someone like Obama, a rherorical hoodwinker, could be (again without irony) offered as an alternative to the "system" (indeed ably represented by Hillary). Third that the owners of the copyrights of the Orwell work would be outraged by all this appropriation (not for purist reasons, but because it dilutes their cash cow). And finally in the latest twist, that the "netroots" would get hyper-righteous about it all (MyDD :: 1984 Copyright Holder Threaten 1984 Hillary Ad). Says Matt Stoller:
Via Boingboing, I'm watching this power grab by copyright lunatics."Power grab"! "Copyright lunatics"! The sort of invective usually reserved for principled leftists like Kucinich. Rhetoric to match their idol indeed! And if he can get away with false populism while raising $25 million, they should be permitted to eat the system and have it too.
0 comments:
Post a Comment