From carrie at stayfreemagazine.org Tue Jun 1 11:18:56 2004 From: carrie at stayfreemagazine.org (Carrie McLaren) Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2004 11:18:56 -0400 Subject: Stay F---! | 1 June 2004 Message-ID: Hello subscribers, Now that I've finally finished the Stay F---! issue #22, I'm starting to update the woefully neglected web archives. Articles from #20 (Copyright issue) now online: How Copyright Law Changed Hip Hop: Interview with Public Enemy's Chuck D and Hank Shocklee http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/public_enemy.html Why Defenders and Critics of Media Violence Get it All Wrong: http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/media_influence_intro.html The Media Made Them Do it Just a few examples of the sick things people have done in imitation of their heroes on television and film http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/media_influence1.html The Media Made ME Do it: Stay F---! asked readers: have you ever imitated something you've seen on TV or in the movies? Here's what they had to say. http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/media_influence1.html Copyrights and Copywrongs: http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/20/siva_vaidhyanathan.html Interview with Siva Vaidhyanathan on the "rise of intellectual property and how it threatens creativity." :::::: Also, I want to let you know about a few upcoming events in the universe of Stay F---!: BROOKLYN Friday, June 4, 8 pm: In conjunction with the Brooklyn Underground Film Festival, Stay F---! is sponsoring a screening of WIZARD PEOPLE, an unauthorized re-envisioning of HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. WIZARD PEOPLE uses the entire visual portion of the first Harry Potter movie, but with the genius narration of Austin artist Brad Neely in place of the original sound. We think Neely has crafted an as-of-yet-unnamed new art form, one everyone should experience for themselves. For those of you not in New York, the audio portion of Wizard People can be downloaded from Stay F---!'s Illegal Art Exhibit site: http://www.illegal-art.org/video/wizard.html At The NEST 88 Front Street (@Washington), Dumbo, Brooklyn http://www.brooklynunderground.org NOTE: If anyone knows young Harry Potter fans who plan on going to this (particularly teenagers), please let me know; we know a reporter who wants to interview them. ::::: NEW YORK Friday, June 11, 6 pm: Carrie McLaren will be speaking on a panel at "Media Literacy: Overseas Conversations Series," a three-day conference. Chelsea Art Museum 556 West 22nd Street / New York, NY 1001 / 212-255-0719 http://www.chelseaartmuseum.org/events/2004/medialiteracy Media Literacy: Art and/or Social Studies? Panelists: Ivana Espinet, Carrie McLaren, Agustin Garcia Matilla, Robin Andersen. From carrie at stayfreemagazine.org Sun Jun 27 13:28:00 2004 From: carrie at stayfreemagazine.org (Carrie McLaren) Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 13:28:00 -0400 Subject: Stay Free! | June 27 Message-ID: Stay Free! is delighted to report that one of the artists from our Illegal Art Exhibit, Tom Forsythe, has won a major victory in his case against Mattel. Mattel, you may recall, sued Forsythe over his "Food Chain Barbie" photographs (see http://www.illegal-art.org/print/popups/forsythe.html); Forsythe won in the federal district court, then again on appeal in the circuit court. Now the district court has gone the extra mile. Calling Mattel's case "objectively unreasonable" and "frivolous," the court has ruled that Mattel must pay Forsythe's team $2.1 million to cover legal fees and court costs! Major congrats to Tom and his (until now) pro-bono lawyers... but perhaps the real winners are the rest of us. This case sets a precedent, and, with luck, it'll discourage corporations from using copyright law to bring frivolous cases against artists. Mattel, Inc. v. Walking Mountain Productions decision: http://www.illegal-art.org/print/forsythe.pdf ::: In other Illegal Art Exhibit news, here's a nice write-up about "Wizard People" by Daniel Radosh: "Harry Potter: The digital remix" http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2004/06/22/harry How one artist turned a kids movie into a poetic masterpiece J.K. Rowling never could've imagined. :::: OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST From the New York Times: "E.P.A. Energy-Saving Spots Give Cars Short Shrift: http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/public/nytimes_epa_psas.html The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- the agency responsible for increasing the fuel efficiency of cars -- has produced a series of commercials that MOCKS attempts to increase the fuel efficiency of cars. Apparently, spots feature an overweight, nerdy man devising silly, quixotic schemes (think: sails and a helium tank) to save gas with his vehicle. His wife, by contrast, is the voice of reason: "The E.P.A. says the energy we use in our home can cause twice the greenhouse gases of a car," she says. The responsible consumer, she suggests, needn't worry about cars; she simply needs to buy energy-saving household products! Nevermind that the commercials suggest that the solution to earth's energy crisis is for people to buy more new stuff -- that the onus rests on the consumer rather than government agencies or auto manufacturers. In the tradition of public service announcements, that's a given. What really gets my goat is the portrayal of plans to cut fuel use as ludicrous when they are, in fact, quite mundane. By carpooling, using public transportation, or walking to the store instead of getting in the damn car to go a few blocks people could cut their fuel usage by half. As an analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists points out in the NYT article, "You're not likely to cut your electricity use in half by using more efficient appliances." People who really want to buy something could buy a hybrid car -- that'll also cut fuel use in half. That said, it wouldn't be all that difficult to convert the spots into something that seriously promotes energy conservation -- if only they'd show people driving their cars off cliffs... or perhaps throwing them in the ocean (after all, they do it with subway trains)...or just blowing them up. Sure, there'd probably be some environmental damage but certainly no worse than daily car use...and at least they'd save fuel! :::: "Pressed to Raise Test Scores, Principals are Resorting to New Gross-Out Stunts" From the WALL STREET JOURNAL http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/public/wsj_worms.html After reading this, I'm not sure who we should be more worried about: the kids who get ideas from watching reality TV or their teachers. According to the WSJ, public school educators across the country -- terrified of losing funding -- are offering to humiliate themselves in front of their schools if enough students raise test scores. School officials are eating worms, kissing pigs, even letting children shave them with dog shears. Maybe the Bush administration should change the name of its high-stakes testing plan from "No Child Left Behind" to "Fear Factor" - ? that's all for now, carrie