- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Are Youtube creators making more of a headway to make derivative (and transformative) works of entertainment more accepted, than fanfiction ever was?
I sometimes feel, like the lines between what is and isn't allowed are drawn in a sand and the Youtube creators allowed more leniency with what they can do and it still be recognized as a fair use and they are getting paid. While the majority fanfiction writers just accepted the idea, that they have no ground to stand on and that they can be shut down at every opportunity.
I'm not try to say, that youtubers have it easy. There are double standards regarding how popular you are, some companies are more trigger happy to fight you till your last breath, to take what they perceive as theirs and others just flatly don't care. There is a lot of uncertainty, the way how the rules are constantly changing with a platform, more double standards, favoring big media over small creators, yadda-yadda-yadda, if you followed any of the major Youtube content creators long enough you've probably heard some of their rants and analysis and overanalysis... That's not what matters.
The point is that, it's way harder to take away something, that people perceive as their due, rather than convince them they don't deserve it in a first place and shouldn't even dare to try and fight, when they are unsure themselves. And it doesn't matter, what you constitute as stealing and what - as a fair and proper way of getting inspired by something - anger and indignation aren't facts, nor they are a equal the court rulings.
And I wouldn't be dropping any names. In fact, I feel rather weird, while seeing certain works on Youtube, that are treated as fair use for essentially creating a substitute for a product. An approximation, a denser or lesser version, one might argue, better in some ways, subjectively rebranded (misunderstood, broken, transformed) - in others. But still enough to make me click that like button and not need to check out the original; maybe, to become more aware of it and maybe, I wouldn't have ever bought it in a first place, but it doesn't matter, because a derivative work have seemingly taken all of the potential value out of seeing the original work. Toying around the idea of critique and entertainment, retelling and adaptation, interpreting and co-opting. So, I don't necessarily argue one way or another. I wouldn't claim to know people and the law, well enough to make a convicing case either way. I'm just wondering.
But still. The internet, and a Youtube had bent the copyright rules of courtecy and expectations. A lot of creative works wouldn't have been done with that sort of leniency. A lot of jobs had been created. While fanfiction, well, is just a hobby. Something kids and teens do, something that potentially professional writers may train on, before they start the real work, something to be ashamed of. A fake art, creative dead end, etc and it barely moved out of a proverbial basement of society. While there are things, that - I feel like - are the literary equivalent of junk food, some may surpass not only their originators, but may as well pass some of the definitions for being transformative work, other than characters. In fact, it might be the vice versa question you might need asking. Can the originating work replace this particular piece of fanfiction work - we might be asking ourselves (too)?
I guess, the only firm statement I want to make is that, while we feel about certain instances of wrongdoing (regardless of who are the alleged perpetrator or victim), individually, we make the laws and moral expectations on what is or isn't collectively and while we can take whatever our ancestors (and parents) wrote as a gospel, we can also disregard a lot for it not being very convenient for many, many people and others not being willing to make a fuss and thus changing how things are for the next generation.
It probably might be disorganized, I have a headache and it seemed to be a good thing to distract myself. If it's in a wrong subforum, hit up the mods, ASAP.
Share your thoughts.
I sometimes feel, like the lines between what is and isn't allowed are drawn in a sand and the Youtube creators allowed more leniency with what they can do and it still be recognized as a fair use and they are getting paid. While the majority fanfiction writers just accepted the idea, that they have no ground to stand on and that they can be shut down at every opportunity.
I'm not try to say, that youtubers have it easy. There are double standards regarding how popular you are, some companies are more trigger happy to fight you till your last breath, to take what they perceive as theirs and others just flatly don't care. There is a lot of uncertainty, the way how the rules are constantly changing with a platform, more double standards, favoring big media over small creators, yadda-yadda-yadda, if you followed any of the major Youtube content creators long enough you've probably heard some of their rants and analysis and overanalysis... That's not what matters.
The point is that, it's way harder to take away something, that people perceive as their due, rather than convince them they don't deserve it in a first place and shouldn't even dare to try and fight, when they are unsure themselves. And it doesn't matter, what you constitute as stealing and what - as a fair and proper way of getting inspired by something - anger and indignation aren't facts, nor they are a equal the court rulings.
And I wouldn't be dropping any names. In fact, I feel rather weird, while seeing certain works on Youtube, that are treated as fair use for essentially creating a substitute for a product. An approximation, a denser or lesser version, one might argue, better in some ways, subjectively rebranded (misunderstood, broken, transformed) - in others. But still enough to make me click that like button and not need to check out the original; maybe, to become more aware of it and maybe, I wouldn't have ever bought it in a first place, but it doesn't matter, because a derivative work have seemingly taken all of the potential value out of seeing the original work. Toying around the idea of critique and entertainment, retelling and adaptation, interpreting and co-opting. So, I don't necessarily argue one way or another. I wouldn't claim to know people and the law, well enough to make a convicing case either way. I'm just wondering.
But still. The internet, and a Youtube had bent the copyright rules of courtecy and expectations. A lot of creative works wouldn't have been done with that sort of leniency. A lot of jobs had been created. While fanfiction, well, is just a hobby. Something kids and teens do, something that potentially professional writers may train on, before they start the real work, something to be ashamed of. A fake art, creative dead end, etc and it barely moved out of a proverbial basement of society. While there are things, that - I feel like - are the literary equivalent of junk food, some may surpass not only their originators, but may as well pass some of the definitions for being transformative work, other than characters. In fact, it might be the vice versa question you might need asking. Can the originating work replace this particular piece of fanfiction work - we might be asking ourselves (too)?
I guess, the only firm statement I want to make is that, while we feel about certain instances of wrongdoing (regardless of who are the alleged perpetrator or victim), individually, we make the laws and moral expectations on what is or isn't collectively and while we can take whatever our ancestors (and parents) wrote as a gospel, we can also disregard a lot for it not being very convenient for many, many people and others not being willing to make a fuss and thus changing how things are for the next generation.
It probably might be disorganized, I have a headache and it seemed to be a good thing to distract myself. If it's in a wrong subforum, hit up the mods, ASAP.
Share your thoughts.