Steal This Film II

“Intellectual property is the oil of the 21st century.” — Mark Getty, Chairman, Getty Images.

Steal This Film (2006) was revolutionary in that it was the first documentary about filesharing not made by some offline media outfit looking to protect its own outdated business model. The sequel, Steal This Film II, goes even further with historical analogies and contemporary examples of how “piracy” is nothing more than a fiction created by whiners losing control of information in the face of technological advances. This film is well-timed, released days before the 25th anniversary of ARPANET’s historic switch to TCP/IP.

I love how the opening warning mocks Hollywood’s silly FBI warnings:

Do not seek permission to copy this film. Anyone who fails to redistribute this work, or impedes others from doing so, will be ostracised. All devices capable of being used to share this film should be so deployed. We ask the audience of this film to remain vigilant in promoting such activity and to report docile consumption to cinema staff.

Thank you.

The Gutenberg press was initially condemned by commoners as the work of the Devil, and later suppressed by aristocrats as a tool of rebellion. The same thing is happening to online video today — and we all know how big a hit Gutenberg’s thing became. Steal some popcorn and grab somebody’s chair, because this is going to be fun — unless, of course, you work inside offline video.

I liked stealing this film so much, I just donated money for the next one.