Walk into any Blockbuster in the country and you're guaranteed to find the latest Hollywood horror...I mean, hit...sitting front and center. What you won't always find are the classics, hits like Ma and Pa Kettle that you used to catch on late night TV when your parents thought you were still in bed.
This sad, sad lack of availability is leading to a whole generation of viewers who have no idea who Swamp Thing is, who believe that Edward Cullen is the hottest vampire on the block and to whom Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and (sob) Cary Grant are just names their parents whispered about when they wanted to watch something lame.
This has all changed thanks to the bountiful world of copyright protection, many old classics are now entering the public domain, introducing viewers who think "Gilligan's Island" is classic TV to what Hollywood stardom on the big screen is really all about.
What is Public Domain (and Why Does It Matter)?
The public domain is the arena films play in when there are no intellectual property rights at all influencing how they can and can't be used and distributed. This makes it convenient for websites to distribute these classic films on a wide-scale without the huge overhead costs associated with royalties and the like.
What does this mean to movie viewers like you, you who have waited patiently for that classic you yearn to see to come to either the late movie channel on TV or finally make it to your friendly neighborhood video rental store? Websites like Hulu and Amazon are required to pony up some scary licensing fees to be able to put copyrighted material on their sites. This results in a very limited selection. The more esoteric films will never appear in the selection. Film buffs the world over are left wringing their hands in misery and searching madly on eBay in the remote chance that a fellow film buff has decided to part with his original copy of "M" for some reason.
Please. Like any self-respecting film fanatic would sell a vintage copy of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" to just anybody. Not, you know, that I looked or anything.
The Internet IS the Public Domain
The internet is a whole opened up new world when it comes to the public domain. The internet can be accessed from anywhere by anyone at any time.
Using the power of something that quite frankly, if you're sitting there reading this article you probably use on a daily basis anyway. And thanks to public domain and the Internet, it's now possible for a new generation of viewers to see the classics, in their original form, instead of these random remakes out there painting vintage films with a whole new face.
It's time to expand your horizons and earn that honor of being called a film buff. Show your kids there is something beyond "Twilight" and "Matrix" and heaven forbid the remake of "Tron." When movie night rolls around again, stay put and get on the internet, search the sites for a really good classic film you want to see that night, and view it right there on your own silver screen.
This sad, sad lack of availability is leading to a whole generation of viewers who have no idea who Swamp Thing is, who believe that Edward Cullen is the hottest vampire on the block and to whom Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo and (sob) Cary Grant are just names their parents whispered about when they wanted to watch something lame.
This has all changed thanks to the bountiful world of copyright protection, many old classics are now entering the public domain, introducing viewers who think "Gilligan's Island" is classic TV to what Hollywood stardom on the big screen is really all about.
What is Public Domain (and Why Does It Matter)?
The public domain is the arena films play in when there are no intellectual property rights at all influencing how they can and can't be used and distributed. This makes it convenient for websites to distribute these classic films on a wide-scale without the huge overhead costs associated with royalties and the like.
What does this mean to movie viewers like you, you who have waited patiently for that classic you yearn to see to come to either the late movie channel on TV or finally make it to your friendly neighborhood video rental store? Websites like Hulu and Amazon are required to pony up some scary licensing fees to be able to put copyrighted material on their sites. This results in a very limited selection. The more esoteric films will never appear in the selection. Film buffs the world over are left wringing their hands in misery and searching madly on eBay in the remote chance that a fellow film buff has decided to part with his original copy of "M" for some reason.
Please. Like any self-respecting film fanatic would sell a vintage copy of "The Hound of the Baskervilles" to just anybody. Not, you know, that I looked or anything.
The Internet IS the Public Domain
The internet is a whole opened up new world when it comes to the public domain. The internet can be accessed from anywhere by anyone at any time.
Using the power of something that quite frankly, if you're sitting there reading this article you probably use on a daily basis anyway. And thanks to public domain and the Internet, it's now possible for a new generation of viewers to see the classics, in their original form, instead of these random remakes out there painting vintage films with a whole new face.
It's time to expand your horizons and earn that honor of being called a film buff. Show your kids there is something beyond "Twilight" and "Matrix" and heaven forbid the remake of "Tron." When movie night rolls around again, stay put and get on the internet, search the sites for a really good classic film you want to see that night, and view it right there on your own silver screen.
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