Mashups and the Information Society

So far this semester I have been engaged with many different types of articles involving ethics within the technology world. But one of the most critical readings (/video) I got engaged with most was the documentary RiP! A Remix Manifesto that we got introduced to our class this week. I have personally always been a fan of mashups and have always been interested in seeing Girl Talk live. But what surprised to me the most was how this documentary's manifesto relates to Masada's predictions.

The first was that “culture past always builds on the past”(RiP!). Within Masada’s predictions he states that we are moving from the industrial age to the information age. So for us make this transition we need this new culture to build and learn for our past culture. If we don't we will be doomed to be stuck in the age we are trying to advance out of. RiP! mentions that society's support of things like Girl Talk's music will help decided if are new ideas for the information age will be decided by the public or the private domains (RiP!) This idea totally relates to Masuda's predictions about how we as a society need to decide as a whole what we want are common philosophy to be. But the manifesto also states that the “past always tries to control the future” (RiP!). So that is why its so important for society to come together as a whole and decided what we need to do. Because with out the support of everyone, we won't be able to change anything.

Following the manifesto's list, its also states how “our future is becoming less free” (RiP!). This is basically stating how companies and big corporations are controlling our future. They have become so powerful that they are able to “sway” politics for the “protection” of their material. They have helped create so many laws towards breaking copyrights so that they can continue to control society. Instead of trying to come to some agreement between society and their own beliefs. Masuda talks about how a new voluntary community will emerge that stands for everyone’s freedom. And tries to stop the past's control on the future.

In the end RiP! mentions how we need to break the pasts control on the past. Something that I learned is how Brazil is on the cutting edge of breaking this control. They have denied to follow any of the international patents that the past put on the world. The past saw this as an act of war but they saw it was an act of life. This is what we as a society need to follow. We need to share all of are data with each other like ideas, art and experiences. If we can do this we will have no problems advancing, as a society, successfully into the information age.