COM 2010 Volume 15

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Open Access
Copyright issues about prosumer-produced digital visual culture productions
(Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State, 2010) Pitcher, Sandra
The way in which culture and society is derived has changed drastically since the expansion of globalisation. The effects garnered by such an expansion have left individual citizens feeling “lost” within a fragmented physical space (Holmes 2005). The Internet and digital technologies have, however, opened an avenue for the discovery of new social networks and communities. Online users have found it possible to navigate the fragmented state of the physical world by engaging with online networks of like-minded users. Video sharing sites in particular give users the opportunity to interact with mainstream culture, while simultaneously offering them the chance to broadcast their own renditions of culture. Problematically, these videos are often seen as infringing on traditional forms of copyright as video creators often utilise various forms of mainstream mass media, and re-mix them to formulate their own alternative narrative. This article, however, explores the importance that such videos can play in terms of cultural development within postmodern society, while simultaneously advocating the need to re-think copyright practices in order to not stifle the continued development of culture.