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  • From: Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>
  • To: stayfree AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Stay Free! | June 27
  • Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 13:28:00 -0400

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



  • Stay Free! | June 27, Carrie McLaren, 06/27/2004

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