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Double Standards at Facebook?

It took public outrage to get Facebook to back off its decision to allow video of a beheading to appear on its pages; and users still fight to get images of animal torture and pages promoting similar depravities off the site. But according to this article from Queerty.com, over 100 users were barred from access for posting a photo of two men kissing. Not two naked men having sex.  Just two men kissing. The author of the article, Matthew Tharrett suggests that it’s all too easy for  Facebook users who find homosexuality offensive to label such depictions of garden-variety romance between GLTB partners as “violating community standards.”

While Facebook may not be directly condoning the mistreatment of homosexuals, it certainly seems the company is going to need a better system if it is to remain relevant in, y’know, this century.  One minute, these companies want the Internet to be a free-for-all of vitriol, misogyny, and plagiarism on the grounds that it’s all free speech.  The next minute, this kind of thing happens, and one has to wonder.  And to what lengths are these users going to suss out these images they find so offensive?  I know there’s plenty on Facebook that would offend me, but I don’t see it because I’m not friends with people who would post it.  Duh.

Of course, if the story isn’t true, I apologize in advance.  After all, I got it from the Internet.

Family Copyrights with William Hammerstein (Podcast)

Will Hammerstein Part I
Will Hammerstein Part II

As the debate will no doubt rage (or stomp its feet) on the subject of copyright review in the coming year, one subject that will assuredly be on the table will be the terms of copyright (i.e. how long ownership can last). There is a persistent assumption that these terms are somehow the exclusive privilege of large corporations.  As Robert Levine will point out, of course, right now “copyright terms last about ten minutes” because that’s how long it takes for work to be poached on the Internet, but it should also be understood that families and other legacy rights holders have played an important role in preserving the integrity, purpose, and continuity of works for the benefit of generations born long after the creators are gone.  One body of work that has remained relevant and popular are the musicals of Oscar Hammerstein II.

William is the grandson of Oscar II, who gave us some of the most famous musicals in the world, including Show Boat, Oklahoma, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music.  The most renowned of these were of course produced with long-time partner, composer Richard Rogers.  Today, Will Hammerstein is an environmental lawyer, who  sees a link between the stewardship of natural treasures and artistic ones.  Will is also the Executive Director of the Oscar Hammerstein’s Highland Farm, which is a project to turn the home where Oscar wrote most of his work into a museum about the man and the medium.

Will spoke to me via Skype from his home in New York City.

Theme music by Sandy Davis.

Casey Neistat & Fox Redefine the Movie Promo

Okay this is pretty cool, and a really interesting example of what can happen when old media meets new media to produce something extraordinary.  Filmmaker Casey Neistat was offered $25,000 by 20th Century Fox to make a video to promote the release of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  In considering the themes the studio proposed for the project, Neistat responded that he would like to take the money and do something for the people of the Philippines whose lives were overturned by a typhoon on November 7th.  The studio said yes, and the video  below is the result.  Assuming we can take the whole story at face value — and I certainly hope we can — it’s a wonderful example of digital age meets legacy industry to produce something that wouldn’t exist without combining the best of both worlds.  Less than a decade ago, even if a filmmaker like Neistat had the same instincts, the technology simply wasn’t there to support this kind of project.  Kudos to Neistat for his approach, and kudos to whoever it was at Fox who recognized that this video actually fulfills their creative brief.  Take a moment to view.