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Abuse of Power
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- from Abuse of Power (2006)
- Created by Steve Anderson
- Distributed by Internet Archive
- Posted byAla' Diab
An activist short film using images from the mainstream media to parody the MPAA anti-piracy campaign.
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Abuse of Power
by Critical Commons ManagerA parody of the MPAA's "You Wouldn't..." anti-piracy campaign
Abuse of Power is a parody of the MPAA’s anti-piracy videos that consumers are forced to watch at the beginnings of DVDs and in movie theaters. This video was released anonymously and copyright-free onto the Internet in summer 2006; it has received more than one million views and inspired numerous related parodies. Underlying the parodic goals of the video are a number of serious issues. The tools and networks of the digital age offer great potential for participation, sharing and creativity, but media conglomeration and expanding copyright protections threaten our ability to speak using those tools. The video argues for the need to educate ourselves about copyright law and resist the efforts of organizations like the MPAA and RIAA to curtail the rights of media consumers.