Freedom of Expression

Resistance & Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property

Duration: 61 min ISBN: 1-893521-37-0 Date Produced: 2007 Subtitles: English Filmmaker Info Study Guide Transcript Film Festivals Praise for the Film

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Freedom of Expression
Resistance & Repression in the Age of Intellectual Property

In 1998, university professor Kembrew McLeod (Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa) trademarked the phrase "freedom of expression" - a startling comment on the way that intellectual property law restricts creativity and expression of ideas. This provocative and amusing documentary explores the battles being waged in courts, classrooms, museums, film studios, and the Internet over control of our cultural commons.

Based on McLeod's award-winning book of the same title, Freedom of Expression charts the many successful attempts to push back this assault by overzealous copyright holders.

Freedom of Expression is an essential tool for educators, activists, filmmakers, students, artists, librarians, and more.

Sections: Intro | Free Speech in the Age of Copyright | Fencing the Cultural Commons | The Rise of the Clearance Culture | Suppressing the Freedom of Information | Fair Use & Free Speech | Fighting Back

DVD Extras including the short film "A Fair(y) Use Tale"

Filmmaker Info

Producers: Kembrew McLeod & Jeremy Smith
Executive Producers: Sut Jhally & Jeremy Earp
Editor: Jeremy Smith
Assistant Editor: Kembrew McLeod
Camera: Chris Coco, Rebekah Farrugia, Ben Franzen, Nate George, Terry Harrison, Maggie Henefeld, Thessaly La Force, Hun Yul Lee, Jennifer A. Machiorlatti, Ross Sebek, David Rabinovitz & Jeremy Smith
Location Audio: Nate George, Brad Sherman, Jeremy Smith & Sanjay Talreja
Sound Design: Gregg Swiatlowski
Original Music: Eric Cunha
Motion Graphics: sweetandfizzy.com, Jeremy Smith
Print Graphics: Shannon McKenna
Production Assistant: Nate George
Interns: Andrew Brooks, Steven Coletti, Chelsey Hahn, Kim Robinson, Lita Robinson, John Seeley
Transcription: Collin Syfert

Film Festivals

International Human Rights Film Festival | 2009 | Albania
Montana Library Association Conference | 2009 | Kalispell, MT
Official Selection, 2008 Human Rights, Human Wrongs Film Festival | Olso
Official Selection, 2008 Festival Internacional de Cine Documental de la Ciudad de Mexico | Mexico City
American Library Association Annual Conference | 2008 | Anaheim, CA
National Conference for Media Reform | 2008 | Minneapolis
Simmons College | 2008 | Boston
Lucy Parsons Center | 2008 | Boston
NYU | 2008 | New York
Easthampton Public Library |2008 | Easthampton, MA

Awards

Related Links

Press Reviews

Praise for the Film

"We have a right to analyze, comment, critique, and even parody our own culture, but we must use existing works in order to do so effectively. This film stands for and justifies the use of preexisting works for legitimate purposes; the filmmakers are certainly in favor of copyright but not the corporate excesses that exist today. Freedom of Expression is well made and would be an excellent addition to any collection containing legal and public policy films..."
- Library Journal

"This smartly-made and seriously funny documentary provides an aerial view of the battleground that is today's copyright landscape. Illustrating the comments of many well-known critics of runaway copyright & trademark law with apt audiovisual examples, Freedom of Expression succeeds as an engaging and concrete presentation."
- Peter Jaszi | Professor of Law | Washington College of Law, American University

"It's about time someone made this movie. 700 Americans get sued into penury every month by the record industry. 70 million Americans file-share. Every generation of technology contains more locks to turn our computers into our masters, not our servants. Worst of all: no one seems to even notice as our tools for free speech are being turned into perfect snitches."
- Cory Doctorow | Co-editor, Boing Boing | Author, Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present

"This film is another fine way of bringing media studies' best thinkers onto your campus."
- Journal of Mass Media Ethics