On the subject of Theatre being sacrosanct

[samvara]

I’ve been gently following the kerfuffle about an illicit audio recording of A Few Good Men which quickly made it onto the megawebnet.

In an age of rampant television piracy, movie piracy and bootleg concert recordings I'm surprised it made the splash in fannish circles that it has. I suspect this is partly due to timing and if this had happened pre-Asylum (must protect the Ackles), pre-FanLib (must protect the Fandom) and pre-Strikthrough07 (must protect the World from the Fandom) then people would be a darn sight less twitchy.

Not that I'm complaining; these events have spurred an incredible surge in highly articulate, ethical, intelligent discussion of any number of important issues. I am awestruck, I am impressed. To my mind, 'now' is always a good time to talk about ethical behaviour.

On the subject of Theatre being sacrosanct I do have a few thoughts.

There seems to be a strong trend towards privileging live theatre over television. A fair chunk of fandom seems to be of the opinion that it's not acceptable (for any number of stated reasons) to record and redistribute bootleg recordings of live theatre performances. This can be contrasted to the vast amount of television which is being cheerfully downloaded. I'm not going to go into the ethics of downloading [EDIT: television shows, movies and bootleg concert recordings], we're all pretty clear on this being an illegal activity.

Fair enough. niannah proposes, in her extremely, articulate essay that the dynamic is a conflict between 'high culture' (theatre, authority and legitimacy - please insert posh accent of choice) and 'low culture' (television, fannishness and fans). I'm conflating here for convenience and please don't think for a second that I want to diminish the issue of fandom's self-esteem - it's just not the focus of this essay.

I'd like to suggest there is another dynamic present and it's not the division of high and low culture that triggers this knee-jerk defense of theatre.

Television is distributed by broadcasting companies that purchase shows based on their appeal to advertisers. We, the consumers, are not interested in either of these stakeholders; our relationship is distanced and at worst, antagonistic.

• Broadcasting companies fail to understand the shows we love, show episodes out of order, cancel unpopular shows, screen them at odd hours, insist on replacing them with sport and generally fail to be lovable. They have no faces and are both symbolically (it comes to you through the air and appears in little boxes) and physically (we never meet humans who represent them) removed from us.
• Advertisers have nothing to do with our show(s) of choice and are often a rude intruder to be viewed as the enemy of serious television watching. They don't care about the shows themselves, which are valued for their market share and dumped as soon the ratings slide.
• An important point to note is that neither of these stakeholders are involved in creating the show - they are merely vehicles for distribution.

It's a lot easier to steal from someone if you don't like them, value them, or recognise them as the legitimate owner.

Theatre is distributed by theatre companies that hire producers/directors and actors based on their ability to attract ticket sales (by being good at what they do). We, the consumers, are often deeply interested in the producer/director and actors and may even have a strong relationship with the theatre company or the venue itself.

• The producers/directors are recognised as being directly connected to the process of delivering the performance.
• The actors are often the subjects of warm respect and affection and the effort they expend to entertain is tangible.
• The advertising, in this instance, is welcomed as it relates directly to the show.

The consumer has a far more intimate relationship and is able to experience being part of the process. It's incredibly satisfying to applaud actors at the end of a performance, you want them to know you appreciate their skill and dedication.

In both cases making an copy and redistributing, or recording then distributing is subject to copyright.

This is not consumers distinguishing between legal and illegal activities, or even consumers distinguishing between high and low culture. This is consumers choosing to treat people / companies / producers / actors well if they like them and choosing not to when they don't.

I think live theatre is being privileged over television shows because we are more likely to behave ethically when we are able to make an emotional connection.

I struggle with this on the ethics of downloading television front, I console myself that buying DVDs sends the $ where I want them to go and await iTunes and Amazon Unbox opening up distribution to Australia with hopeful enthusiasm. In the meantime I'm watching Sanctuary for All (a foray into internet only television distribution) and encouraging people to support it.
We're all 'us' you know; just some of 'us' don't like 'us' very much.

responsible fanfic by heatherly
Will You Rat Me Out If You Don't Like What I Write? by stewardess
Fannish Policing: When To Bring In The "Authorities"* by morgandawn

Comments

[bluevsgrey.livejournal.com]

Yes that helps a lot. Thanks