Blog #9

I see Lessig's key argument as focused around the problems, lawsuits, and copyright issues surrounding everyday people are faced with. He begins his book, titled Remix, by giving several examples of "everyday" people who have been caught up in the tangles of corporate greed. Large record companies like Universal Music Group, Sony, ect... target individuals who inadvertently use music in personal projects, and they set out to make examples of their "mistakes". These large companies are squashing peoples creativity and experiments, based on solely their monetary greed.

The difference between RW and RO culture as described by lessig and expressed by Sousa, is that RW culture is something of the past. It relates to a mind set where one would experience something and then add to it by using their creativity (in a similar way of the original). People would, "add to the culture they read by creating and re-creating the culture around them" (28). RO culture on the other hand, relates to the "couch potato" culture. The people who experience an art form and "recreate" it by using different (sometimes computerized means). These two cultures have many things in common, however I perceive RO culture to have more to do with the current trends and popular ideas. While RW culture is more based on an individuals personal experience and recreation, almost like paying homage to the original. I see these two cultures to have a lot of over lap, and depending on who you are talking to, both RO and RW have sufficient respect.

Lessig uses Sousa as an example because he expressed fear toward the "inevitable" merge into a RO culture. He was a critic of copy write law and he was concerned that the real art behind music, and music like his would disappear behind the noise of the phonograph.