Director: Brett Gaylor

Runtime: 86mins

If you believe documentaries should be objective and not push their own opinions, RiP! isn’t for you. If you prefer a subjective viewpoint that states its bias, it very much is. This documentary explains its manifesto in point-form within the first 10 minutes. Film-maker Brett Gaylor passionately argues for the rights of remixers and copyright violators because he’s a fan of mash-up artist Girl Talk, who forms the centre of his movie. Here’s my statement of bias: I hate Girl Talk’s music and the party tricks he passes off as songs. Fortunately for Girl Talk, bad taste isn’t illegal, so RiP! only has to defend him against charges of copyright violation.

Fortunately for Gaylor, his entire movie isn’t about Girl Talk. He’s just the starting point for a documentary that contrasts the litigious history of Disney with the career Walt Disney built on referencing other people’s stories, as well as showing the RIAA’s war on piracy as fundamentally misguided and exposing pop music’s constant recycling of the bones of its ancestors. Talking heads like blogger Cory Doctorow and copyright lawyer Lawrence Lessig state their cases amusingly and with varying degrees of clarity. It’s merrily one-sided, only allowing opponents of copyright reform to speak briefly before butting in with counter-arguments.

When RiP! explains the bizarre cases of patented plant species and medicines it’s at its most valid. It’s difficult to argue against Brazilians breaking the copyright on AIDS vaccines to make cheaper versions available without arguing poor people should get AIDS; the fact it’s illegal in the first place is a clear case of copyright laws spiralling out of control.

Better arguments for copyright reform are put forwards than a mash-up of Lil Mama and Metallica, but like Larry Flynt being put on trial for Hustler magazine, Girl Talk is an necessarily extreme case. If an argument can be made that he should be allowed to continue making his mash-ups, then defending people who do more important and interesting things in violation of copyright becomes trivially easy. RiP! makes a good case.

****

JODY MACGREGOR

Be first to comment on this article

Write Comment
Comments are submitted for possible publication on the condition that they may be edited. Poster's IP addresses are logged.
Name:
Comment:
Code:*