https://youtu.be/U9Ev22Ixxws
Above: Channel Criswell 2016, I’m being Sued, YouTube video, 3 June.
Below: Henry Jenkins (2014) Rethinking ‘Rethinking Convergence/Culture’,Cultural Studies, 28:2, 267-297.
Below: Hinton, SH, Larissa, LH 2013, Understanding Contemporary Culture series : Understanding Social Media, SAGE Publications Ltd, London.
The arts encourage us to reflect while science has allowed the internet to become a medium of expression. Nowadays, the roles of producer and consumer have blurred. The internet is an interactive space and everyone wants to exercise their freedom of speech and expression.
It is also a platform that gives rise to new forms of institutions. For e.g., individual YouTube channels can be used as a specialised “tv” program. Channel Criswell (above) only publishes film essays and reviews. YouTube has become a giant database that houses independent production companies. We are moving away from traditional television. Netflix and the newly-launched YouTube Red have noticed this culture change and are now earning via subscription fees.
As we continue to participate online and produce user-created content, I think copyright laws should evolve and not restrict content from being remixed. One should have the right to sue another for defamation. But one should share goods and be open to others’ points of view as well. We are all part of a wider online community. Sharing and recreating will allow new institutions and businesses to form and grow, creating yet more communities. This is how the arts and science marry and generate more ideas – and more jobs!