ENTERTAINMENT
THE COPYRIGHT CARTEL CRIBS FROM A SCI-FI CLASSIC
Hollywood�s plan for beating back the digital revolution is lifted straight from Tron, Disney�s 1982 technofantasy movie. Or so it seems from the actions of studio moguls, record execs, and entertainment lobbyists. Consider the eerie parallels.
| IN HOLLYWOOD…| IN TRON…
| Disney lobbyist Preston Padden claims PCs can recognize and kill pirated digital content because �all the bytes� go through �the CPU, the central processing unit, right?� | The evil Master Control Program rules the cyberworld from the �central computer� with a fleet of �recognizers� that hunt, capture, and kill �pirate programs.�
| Record executive Miles Copeland predicts that Net revolutionaries will soon find themselves with �their heads in the guillotine.� | Rebellious programs are branded �hysterical� and �religious nuts,� then targeted for execution.
| The Motion Picture Association of America�s legislative champion, Senator Ernest Hollings, badgers computer execs who won�t impose awkward copy controls on PC users. | The MCP�s game-grid champion, Sark, battles conscripted computer programs who are unwilling to forsake their �superfluous users.�
| Howard Berman, Hollywood�s rep in Congress, has proposed legislation exempting entertainment industries from liability when they hack outside networks and computers to enforce copyrights. | The MCP stamps out hacking by any other programs but grants itself permission to root around in outside systems.
| The Recording Industry Association of America sues competitors — Napster, FastTrack, Audiogalaxy — then demands that they cooperate. Those that refuse are destroyed. | The MCP captures and tortures independent programs — and then enlists or absorbs all those that it does not destroy.
| START
| NEWS
| If You Can�t Beat �em, Copy �em
| Darren Dreifort�s Third Elbow
| Spam-Haters of the World Unite!
| The Unseen Hand of Tron
