Intro to new culture/"piracy"

If you want to understand the major currents of culture today then pop some popcorn, pour a beer and watch this speech by free culture activist, Creative Commons founder and all-around superhero Lawrence Lessig. This is tomorrow's art history today.

And --BONUS-- Lessig is quite an entertainer too. You'll enjoy this, I promise.

Lessig's topic is copyright law, but he opens up a profound view of how modern technology has revived real, spontaneous culture and democratized who controls and profits from it. And of course, why that's created conflict between you and me and the Cultural Industy's powers that be.

This video is 20 minutes long, but well worth the time investment for those who want to understand the current technical/legal environment in which art is being made.


For a more in-depth look, check out free culture. For those interested in copyright, new models of art distribution or the debate over "piracy," this is MUST READ material.