Video Vortex Reader II: moving images beyond YouTube

224 Video Vortex Reader II Moving Images Beyond Youtubetechnological approaches225uitous in terms of the power relationship it institutes, whereby commercial culture exploitssharing culture using prohibitive copyright law – a practice that YouTube supports and implementswith enthusiasm.Constantin Film and the Downfall ParodyIf Sony’s video of a lively wedding entrance allows YouTube to claim a dubiously harmonious‘spreading of joy’ for its rights management systems, there can be no doubt about thedifficulty and conflict over YouTube’s rights management for the Downfall parody videos.Downfall (Der Untergang), 12 a film about Hitler’s final days, is an internationally co-producedfeature film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel for the German production company ConstantinFilm. For the last four years or so, hundreds of user-remixed clips from the film have been uploadedregularly to websites such as YouTube. The remix has most commonly taken the formof alterations to the English subtitles, which are re-written to replace the originals, leaving therest of the clip unaltered. The scene that has been used repeatedly is set in the war room ofthe Führerbunker in Berlin, as Hitler discovers that he has lost the war, and excoriates hisofficers, calling them cowards and traitors. 13 Subjects of these parodies include Americanpolitical figures such as Obama, Palin, and Clinton; issues in sports such as relegations andtransfers in football; the latest technological gadgets such as the iPad; and events in popularmusic such as the death of Michael Jackson, or the split-up of Oasis. However, more local orpersonal subjects such as problems with car parking or council politics can also feature. InApril 2010, Constantin Film requested a more systematic takedown of the Downfall parodies,which is possible using YouTube’s Content ID technology. Even though it is likely that theremixes would be considered legal under fair use copyright legislation, YouTube acceded tothe request. As we now know, YouTube just wants to keep everyone happy:Content ID has helped create an entirely new economic model for rights holders. Weare committed to supporting new forms of original creativity, protecting fair use, andproviding a seamless user experience – all while we help rights owners easily managetheir content on YouTube. 14In public, Constantin Film are asserting their rights and discouraging unauthorized use ofcopyright. They say they feel ambivalent about the attention, as it publicizes the film, but hasa negligible effect on sales. Having to monitor the uploads and respond to complaints andcontroversial uses of the clip has proven tiresome and, one suspects, damaging. 15Since the first remixes appeared on YouTube, Constantin Film have been issuing ‘cease-anddesistorders’ and have used selective manual DMCA takedowns. They have also had to respondto complaints from companies whose products have been ridiculed in the video. Onesuch product was Microsoft’s Xbox Live, the parody of which was the most popular Downfallvideo with over four million views at the time of its takedown in 2007. The video in question‘Hitler Gets Banned From Xbox Live’ 16 was made by UK computing student Chris Bowleywhen he was 19. Bowley claims the idea came to him late one night as he was trying to sleep.He got up, and uploaded his video an hour later. Here was a spontaneous thought turnedinto action, as Bowley drew upon the experience of friends who had had their Xbox consolesturned off due to copyright infringement issues. The video is a bit of fun; instead of depictingHitler as a Microsoft figurehead, he is transformed into an Xbox-using gamer victim, angryat Microsoft’s drastic action against its consumers. The satire is quite gentle, yet Bowley wasthreatened with legal action by Constantin Film, presumably via a Microsoft complaint.Unlike Sony, Constantin Film has shown no interest in monetizing its property. The companymerely wants to block the use of its content. The company’s more recent blanket approach toassert copyright control of Downfall can be viewed as an attempt to reassert control over theirproperty in the face of embarrassing appropriation and time-consuming management of infringement.Above all, it may appear that the company is not in control of its imagery – which isironic, given that the power of the clip is its depiction of a person who has so dramatically ‘lostit’. Individuals who have worked on the film, such as director Hirschbiegel, have stated thatthey have no problem with the parodies. Hirschbiegel sees the parodies as an amusing adaptationof history for participation in contemporary culture, although he regrets that he doesnot receive any royalties from the parodies. 17 The reaction of online cultural interest groupsto the systematic takedown of the videos has been largely negative. The company’s decisionhas been characterized as misguided, heavy-handed, and a possibly illegal violation of fair uselegislation. For instance, Nicholas Lovell of the games business blog ‘Gamesbrief’ has made anumber of suggestions of the ways that Constantin Film could have monetized the parodies,such as building a YouTube channel, claiming revenue for them, using a Facebook fan page,and creating a website to host remix competitions. 18 However, this vision of friction-free ‘convergenceculture’, which castigates Constantin Film for missing out on commercial opportunities,fails to acknowledge the larger issues that the company has had to deal with, and thatcould be exacerbated if the company were to be seen as directly profiting from the remixes.12. Downfall (dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004).13. These remixes, known as ‘Downfall parodies’ are also referred to as the ‘Hitler Finds Out Meme’,the ‘Hitler Gets Angry Meme’, or simply ‘The Hitler Meme’. See, ‘Downfall / Hitler Meme’, http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/downfall-hitler-meme.14. Shenaz Zack, ‘Content ID and Fair use, Broadcasting Ourselves blog, 22 April 2010, http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/04/content-id-and-fair-use.html.15. Martin Moszkowicz (head of film and television at Constantin Film), AP press release, widelyreported online, for example, http://mediaissues.org/2010/04/21/popular-internet-memeremoved-from-youtube.16. ‘Hitler banned from Xbox live’, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x27sh3_hitler-banned-fromxbox-live_videogames.17. Oliver Hirschbiegel, telephone interview with New York magazine, widely reported online, forexample, http://www.switched.com/2010/01/18/downfall-director-loves-the-hitler-mashups.18. Nicholas Lovell, ‘Are Constantin Film the stupidest company in the entire world?’, Gamesbriefblog, 21 April, 2010, http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/04/are-constantin-film-the-stupidestcompany-in-the-entire-world/.