On Copyrights and Creativity

Creativity has been defined as the ability to develop something innovative and of value. Once thought by psychologists and philosophers as an individual-centric process, that is creativity comes from within some naturally gifted creative individuals, theorists have now come to agree that the environment actually has a large part to play in the genesis of creative ideas. In other words, the individual creative genius is no longer the sole determinant of creativity in general; conducive surroundings such as the organisation and the industry are in fact necessary to help people realize the full potential of their creativity. Interactions among creative individuals actually helps people improve their own work through inspirations gained from others' ideas. They could also incorporate a part or variation of others' work in order to create an ultimately better sum of the parts. Evidence of this could be observed through the dynamism of Hollywood film and tv productions, a result of continuous interactions and idea exchanges within an ecology of creative productions.

Consideration of this concept is potentially crucial for intellectual property legal developments. On the one hand, one has to protect the society with legal rules against the infringements of copyrights. On the other hand, a free flow of ideas has been shown to be necessary to generate an ecology of creativity in order to attain even higher quality standards within the industry as a whole. So where can we draw the line between creativity and copyright violation?

In The Social Network (2010), Mark Zuckerberg was shown not to have violated any copyrights technically, as he had not used one line of the Winklevoss codes in his own facebook project. Yet, it was apparent that the original idea for the site did come from the Winklevoss brothers. The legal case was eventually ended with a $65 million settlement in favour of the Winklevii for the user of their inspirational idea, albeit an incomplete one. This incident raises worrisome concerns about what it means for IP rights and creativity, potentially portending a trend where people could be compensated merely for their 'ideas'.

Continuing down this path might prove highly unconducive for developing a highly creative environment which theoretically requires a freeflow/exchange of ideas. It is possible that overall development could be stifled as a result of a legal Sword of Damocles hanging over any individual who might use others' ideas.

Which brings to mind: what does it mean for the future of the software industry? Judging by the legal standards set by the Facebook incident, Macintosh would have had a very valid case against the first Windows OS, had the latter been released post-Facebook. In the software market where many variations of similar programs exist, it just does not seem viable to punish others' use of one's ideas.

On a final note, the Facebook incident might not set a sufficiently strong predictor of such detrimental trends in the IPR movement. Admittedly, the compensation was also in large part motivated by genuine concern not to prolong legal battles that could have extra harmful reputational effects on the Internet service company due to its fledging status at that point of time. However, this incident will still serve a strong caution against going down the slipper slope of holding people legally responsible for intellectual rights based on ideas as it might just prove detrimental to the industrial or societal dynamism as a whole.

Fav Track of HHTYD OST (:

Best OST track ever. The scene that this song accompanies was just perfect.

Film OSTs

I love films' original soundtracks. Recently, I have been paying a lot of attention to the background music of the films that i have been watching. To me, the tracks are better than all the Beethovens and Chopins put together, not to mention all those nameless composers I have heard nothing of. For me, classical music is just not my thing. My classical music is really OSTs.

I feel that OSTs bring so much to a film. And a well made film is able to give so much life and depth to a piece of music. My favourite composers have, and always will be Hans Zimmer. His OSTs have a unique flow to it, making it a great listen. He is not afraid to chop up the film music to arrange it in an album-friendly flow. It's a wonder that he has only won one academy award so far. His composing for The Dark Knight was just wondrous, better than Inception.

Another OST that I loved was Narnia #2: Prince Caspian. I think that was the film that got me started on OSTs.

I had just recently rewatched How to Train Your Dragon, and the music was just soaringly, hauntingly beautiful in some sequences (I profess i am unable to catch some of the music at times because I get very focused on the visual action). I am currently listening to the OST right now and i tell you, this OST is one of the best I have ever heard, on par with Hans Zimmer's in terms of flow. It complements the movie so darn well. I hope hope HOPE that this OST will get nominated for the Oscars. This is only proper.

Flow is a very important concept to a successful film OST. I have heard HP7 Part 1's OST, and the flow just wasn't there. One explanation I could give was the film's scenes were choppily assembled as the script was a frankenstein-version of the book. It becomes very annoying when the OST just goes from one mood to another ever 1 or 2 minutes just like the film going on this way and that from one scene to another. Didn't work for me.

Behind the Scenes of HP7 (2010 film)

An awesomely interesting video above. It was hilarious watching how they acted without the CGI stuff, doing actions that makes zero sense in real life. It also goes to show how much life CGI adds to the film, vastly improving the quality of visuals and content.

It just brings to mind the stuff i have learned from Cultural Industries about creative work, that cultural products are really a team production. Despite the fact that we only see the actors on screen in the final products, each production involves huge teams of work and collaboration among individuals of unique expertises (as we see from behind the screen). Yet the injustice of it all is that among the team, only the actors and the directors are paid the most in the entire production, even though the efforts put in by other members of the team are in no way lesser than the actors and the directors themselves.

Glee Season 2 Episode 6: Never Been Kissed

This is an episode requires a pre-disposition towards homosexuals in order to appreciate an episode in which more than half the time was spent on developing a love life for Kurt.

It. Was. Hell.

I am not homophobic. I firmly believe that a person's sexual orientation is entirely a matter of his own personal preference. People around them have absolutely zero rights to pass judgments on some person based on his sexuality alone. Who he likes and do is his and his business alone. That does not mean that I would feel comfortable witnessing homosexual acts like 2 guys kissing or hugging.

I do not know for sure how I would react around homosexuals in real life because I do not have any friends who homosexuals. But judging by the way i reacted to this episode, I would guess, not too at ease.

Perhaps American primetime shows have dealt with the boy-on-boy thing many times in the past. Notably, Gossip Girls, Ugly Betty. I daresay I had the fortune to quit these shows before I managed to witness any scenes. But Glee. How could you do this to me? I am an utmost loyal fan, catching episode the moment they are available like clockwork. And Kurt? A character that has been with us since day 1 and has brought us over such emotional milestones with his family affairs?

There are so many things wrong with this episode today that I have not the patience to state them in prose.

1. Blaine.

Cute guy except for the whole gay thing. Grabbing Kurt's hand and dragging him through the school's halls the moment they met? Really? How about some realism about respecting individual private spaces of strangers here, Ryan Murphy?

UNCOMFORTABLE RATING: 7/10

BULLSHIT RATING: NA (I do not know for sure whether there's an automatic gay-dar in gays? That led the two gay people to behave so unusually?)

2. Imagining Coach Beiste's in weird poses and outfits while characters are in compromising positions to cool off.

Then, get this, they moan their names 'Beiste', much to the confusion and outrage of their respective partners (and leading to some truly illogical consequences: would you go confront Coach Beiste to stay away from your girlfriend? Would you tell your cheerleading coach about your make out session with your boyfriend? Teacher-student distinction, hello?!). This show is getting inane. RIDICULOUS.

UNCOMFORTABLE RATING: 6/10.

BULLSHIT RATING: 10/10

3. Puck's bland busking performance.

It would have been an 'okay' performance had he not been acting like a school bully almost threatening people to make the contributions as he walked around. His actions totally spoiled the scene.

UNCOMFORTABLE RATING: 5/10

BULLSHIT RATING: 8/10

4. And now we are at the crown jewel of tonight's truly horrible episode from my perspective. The angry gay kiss name-unknown footballer bully forced on Kurt. It was so sudden that I did not manage to skip that part unlike the weird Beiste-Schuester kiss later on. Gay kisses are bad enough. But FORCED GAY KISS??? JEEZ?! Some might think it is an irrational response for a self-proclaimed open-minded person. But I would say again, there are some things that I can watch, and there are some things that I just cannot stomach.

UNCOMFORTABLE RATING: 100%

BULLSHIT RATING: 0/10 (I would completely believe a similar storyline featuring a guy and a girl, so based on story itself, there is no bullshit)

5. Beiste - Schuester kiss.

Loss of words. I anticipated this when they were sitting down to talk, and felt this is a terribly uncomfortable turn of events, so I managed to skip it even at the part leading up to the damned part.

By this time, I have lost most confidence for this episode, and perhaps in this series in general. Ryan Murphy's fascination with the Kurt character does not bode well for my interest in this show. I have stuck with this show for its exemplary music performance and comedic elements in the past, but the quality have been so unstable that my confidence have wavered in this series.

This episode was particularly drama-heavy. There is even a lack of good musical performances. The Girl V Boy Mashup faceoff was SOOO last year. Only that its the girls doing the leather thing this year. It was okay, not exceptional as other Glee performances have been.

The Warblers are extremely talented, as seen from this episode. Glee had better buck up if they hope to make it through preliminaries this year.

A few days ago, I read this article on zap2it.com about 12 steps to a better glee. I felt that they made an exceptionally good point about episodes not having a plot stringing the season together. I quote:

"Season 2 has had one identity crisis after another. Sure, the easy out is to call it a "musical comedy," but this isn't Broadway. This is TV asking us to come back every week. So aside from more serialization, the show needs a consistent voice. Otherwise, call yourself a sketch show already ..."

The Social Network

I have just finished watching the Social Network. It was a great revelation to learn about how something that has been an integral part of my life for the last few years had come into existence.

However, I also felt much depressed by the film as it highlights the terrible truths of the business world.

It's a dog-eat-dog world. The movie was full of betrayals and backstabbing that it left me with a heavy, heavy heart after watching. The contrast of light, cheerful music with the terribly-bleak tones of the subject matter added a 'matter-of-factly' dimension to the narrative.

Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as betraying the initial sources of the idea (whom he ended up paying 65 million to). But the betrayal that left the greatest impression on me was how he backstabbed his only friend, Eduardo Saverin, who had funded Mark Zuckerberg and the company because he believed and trusted his friend. I felt that perhaps part of why Zuckerberg was so readily led astray by people around him and forgot the contributions by his only friend was due to his youthful foolishness. Everybody has made mistakes when they were young, and even the brilliant Mark Zuckerberg was no exception. The movie however, put youthful mistakes into perspective, highlighting possible devastating consequences of even the simplest misguided actions.

Overall, I was very impressed with the style of direction and photography. Rich, dark tones reminiscent of Zodiac brought out the historical Harvard environment to great effect, whilst the meeting rooms in the law firms had a majestic, modern feel to it.

Eisenberg's Zuckerberg was a very grating character, completely at odds with the laughing, affable image the public had associated with the person. Kudos to the actor for bringing to life such a memorable and believable character, though I find it much exaggerated over how he actually is.

That said, I will always be reminded of my impression of him from The Social Network, and will probably always look out for signs that the movie was actually right.

On a side note: the trailer does not do the movie justice. I felt that the front part was too slow, and created the feeling that the movie was another boring biopic. It's not. It has got so many intriguing, multi-dimensional characters going for it.

The end of The Way of Kings

I had just finished the way of kings. It was another fantastic showcase of Brandon Sanderson's talents. If he isn't one of the true fantasy greats of the modern age, then nobody else is.

Last night, I gave up on the Sungkyunkwan Scandal (korean drama) without any lasting thoughts about that show. The Way of Kings marked the end of any entertainment products left to distract me from the horror that is examinations to come. I am so behind time with all my subjects, it pains me to even contemplate the hot water I am currently in.

Just like the desolation, we do not know what is to come, are bound to prepare for the eventuality to the best of our ability while knowing little at the present moment.

The Way of Kings left many questions to be answered, and given the vastness of the universe/story, it wouldn't be something to be answered quickly.

I look forward to the next instalment, but until then, there are so many hurdles of life to go through. Horrible stuff indeed.