Arts Groups Want Big Brother???
Canadian arts groups want the government to regulate the Internet.
How dumb are these people?
They don't want government censoring them or telling them what to dance, sing, paint or play. But they want Big Mama to save them from world wide content.
Well, have they ever looked at the NAME? It's not called www for nothing.
WORLD WIDE WEB.
So you don't want to compete with the rest of the world. Open a bakery.
Like the CRTC has done such a fabulous job of protecting Canadian content on TV and radio....hahahahahahaha...
The horse was out of the barn about 18 years ago...the Rip Van Winkles of "Arts Groups" have suddenly woken from their slumber.
I hope they don't hurt themselves going for their morning whizzzzzzz.
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And then there's the Canadian Private Copying Collective, which, if you buy blank media in Canada, you pay. About 25 cents a unit for CD-Rs and tapes. In the case of CD-R's, this can double the cost.
The revenues are distributed based on airplay and record sales, that is, to the people (and record companies) who are already making the most money.
Who benefits most from this? Celine Dion, and Bryan Adams. Who is the most damaged? The poor musician who is trying to eke out a living selling homemade CDs, and who pays 24 cents extra each blank and gets no benefit.
And the kicker? The CPCC levy is TAXABLE. That's right, we pay GST on the levy.
Okay, being a filmmaker, this is my OTHER pet peeve (the first being Vancouver drug policy).
This is best explained by example:
The US method
Sam Raimi (director of Spiderman), his brother Ted, and friend Bruce Campbell wanted to get into the movie business. So, they made a bunch of 8mm films to learn how and see what audiences liked, then went around to a bunch of doctors and dentists and friends and family, and collected enough to make Evil Dead, which they sold for a profit and started all their careers.
The US Method Version Two:
Ed Sanchez and Dan Myrick wanted to get into the film industry. So they started creating a buzz about their story online. Then, using borrowed equipment, and cheap hi8 tape, they shot Blair Witch Project, which they sold for a profit and started both their careers.
The Canadian method
Go to Telefilm, Ontario Film, BC Film, the Canada Council, and the CRTC and apply for a Cancon status/a grant/forgiveable loan/interim financing. If the jury deems your project worthy of Canadian Content status, they give you more forms to fill out, and if they think it is culturally Canadian (whatever the hell that means), they might give you some money. Then you can make your film, with creative approval from the funding bodies at every stage, and try to get it on some Canadian broadcaster late at night. Because the kinds of films these juries approve are abysmally unpopular.
Because you've got a bunch of socially disconnected leftist failed artist wannabes who've managed to wangle jury positions, with no oversight or criteria for success, deciding what the public ought to see.
But that's fine. It's their money. They can be as stupid as they want to be about who they give it to.
The real bee in my bonnet is that Canadian filmmakers (with only a couple of exceptions) all buy into this crapola. And make films no one wants to see. And then whine about there being no access to Canadian screens.
And then they apply to the government to create some protectionist legislation to save them.
I often wonder what people around the world must think of us Canadians. I'm often conscious of this when I post something on my blog.
As for this coalition of arts groups, here are some of the things others around the world might aptly be thinking:
- Small minded
- Hypocrites
- The Emperor isn't wearing any clothes
- Has Disney Corporation turned all of Canada into one big Fantasyland?
- I thought health care was free in Canada; clearly these people are not getting sufficient meds!
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