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Day: 13 March 2013

Our attitude to piracy is all wrong

Written by Alex Goldhill on . Posted in Opinion.

On the 28th of February, in a move similar to that taken against the Pirate, the High Court ordered six broadband suppliers including BskyB, BT and Virgin Media to block access to three major file sharing sites: Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy.

This is just the latest of many heavy-handed actions taken in the war against internet piracy. Recent months have seen major crackdowns in the US and the UK, such as the aforementioned attack on the Pirate Bay, which was effective for all of a few days before operations were up and running again, as well as the regular and repeated flaunting of fair use laws by major businesses against online content users.

More recently was the legal campaign lead by the US Department of Justice against pioneer and digital rights activist Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide in January. His crime: downloading over 4 million articles off the JStor database for mass redistribution, for which he was facing a potential 35 year prison sentence and a million dollar fine, despite the fact that JStor refused to press charges against him.

What is particularly worrying about this recent turn of events is the ease and willingness with which the takedown was initiated. The process is becoming more streamlined. The continued resort to increasingly draconian measures against copyright infringement is setting a dangerous precedent and threatens to undermine the neutrality of the internet and opens the way for standardising extreme violations of privacy.

I could go on for hours about the damage inflicted by excessive Intellectual Property laws, both copyright and patent, such as the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), that curtails access to live-saving drugs and redistributes wealth from the developing world to the developed world in the form of patent rents, or the infamous Micky Mouse Effect, whereby, due to major lobbying interests, the time limit on copyright is continuously pushed back till long after the creator is in their cold grave, or the insidious practice of Patent Trolling– think you get the idea.

Those calling for stronger IP laws and harsher punishment, such as the British Phonographic Association (BPI) and other such chief beneficiaries in the entertainment, software and pharmaceutical industries, often make the claim that these measures are needed to ensure that the talent of artist like Justin Beiber, One Direction or whatever schlocky corporate prolefeed they deem to be hip and happening with the kids these days.

But then who can blame them? The recent advances in computer technology have made the production and distribution of media and information infinitely easier than ever before. Their old business model, based on scarcity and enforceable monopolies, is no longer applicable, and like any bourgeois faction in decline they resort to the coercive power of the state to enforce their position.

Yet despite this many artists and entertainers question the dogmatism of the Copyright Lobby, such as Neil Gaiman, Stephen Fry and countless independent artists who depend on the open access culture of the internet that is under attack. In the words of internet rapper and Copyleft activist Dan Bull “talent isn’t rare/it doesn’t need protection/any claim to the contrary is pure condescension”.

But the issues and intricacies of IP law also have a deep impact on students, on a more parochial level beyond generally screwing us all over. No, this isn’t about the love the student body has for pirated media. Instead I am talking about something far more fundamental: the diffusion and access to information.

In this day and age we the potential access to near limitless sources of information; the entirety of human knowledge is at our disposal. Yet current copyright laws place considerable, arbitrary restrictions on what we can and cannot easily access. More than one online documentary that was on my reading list has been taken down. Course convenors are forbidden from uploading more than one chapter from copyrighted books, even if those books are out of print. The library is often underequipped to provide enough copies of those books for all those on the courses, especially on the high demand courses. Often students have to purchase the books themselves, adding an additional financial burden to the cost of university living.

“It’s time we ended this farce” said one source in the University Faculty. “It’s become far easier to access information now…it should be made available to students”.

Ordinarily, I would finish this sort of an article by calling for us to start questioning the system, but it seems self-evident to me that the current system is already broken. The time for asking if we should change the system has long passed; instead we should ask why has it not yet been changed?

Review: ‘Chocó’ at the iViva Film Festival 2013

Written by Leo Mates on . Posted in Film.

Chocó is a Columbian film, which follows several days in the life of Chocólatico (Karent Hinestroza) a mother who lives with her abusive husband Everlides (Esteban Copete), a ‘musician’ who spends the majority of his time gambling with his friends (in some of the most heated domino-based scenes I’ve ever seen), before coming home drunk and forcing himself upon Chocó whilst their children sleep in the next bed.

Overall, the film is very slow moving, though this is in no way a bad thing. Slow, sweeping shots of Chocó walking her children to school provide a nice scenic relief from the brutal and harrowing rape scenes which occur at the beginning and end of the film. What makes Chocó interesting though, is the way in which it deals with its primary subject matter, that of gender, and to a lesser extent, race politics. The film shows us the difficulties of being a black woman in this male-dominated society, but rather than explore these problems, they are simply set out before us. The film doesn’t do much to actively sway us onto Chocó’s side, because it knows it doesn’t have to. This can be noted in a scene in which Chocó is beaten by her husband in front of a crowd of disinterested onlookers. Instead of dwelling on this point, the film continues, almost as if nothing had happened, no attempt to put any kind of cultural filter on what has occurred is made, and consequently the audience is drawn further into the harsh reality of Chocó’s world.

That said, Chocó is by no means perfect. There are a few moments when the film cuts back and forth in its narrative without giving any indication that it is doing so, which can be very confusing. On more than one occasion, I found myself unsure as to whether we had witnessed a dream sequence, a flash back or neither, which would be fine if the film explained it at any point, but unfortunately it doesn’t. However, these are simply hallmarks of an independent, low-budget film, that could probably have done with a little more editing, and barely detracts from the overall impact. Definitely worth a watch.

The 19th ¡Viva! Film Festival arrives at The Cornerhouse

Written by Sophie James on . Posted in Film.

Friday March 8th saw the ¡Viva! Spanish and Latin American Film festival return for its 19th year at Manchester’s Cornerhouse Cinema and they couldn’t have chosen a better film to kick things off with, hosting the UK premiere of Eduard Cortés’ film iAtraco! (2012) to a jam-packed cinema. iAtraco! (or, Hold up!) documents the real-life robbery of the jewels of Argentina’s famous first lady Eva Perón. In an attempt to stop the wife of Spanish dictator Generalissimo Franco purchasing the jewels from a Madrid jeweller, protagonists Merello (Guillermo Francella) and Miguel (Nicolás Cabré) are sent from Argentina to Spain on a mission to fake a robbery of the jeweller’s and retrieve the jewellery.

Whether you’re into foreign film or not, this one is definitely worth breaking the subtitle barrier for. Francello and Cabré create a dynamic duo that entertain us throughout the film. Merello’s impatience and sternness is constantly tried and tested by Miguel’s puppy-dog keen-ness, and their incessant bickering and monumental bust-ups bring the crime-thriller to life with hilarious miscalculations, brilliant one-liners and impeccable comedic timing.  With ¡Atraco! , Cortés ingeniously combines comedy, crime-thriller and tragedy to create a 1950’s period piece that can best be described as an understated adventure. An unlikely combo are thrown together completely by chance yet their relationship ends up blossoming, and, despite a lot of friction along the way, the film ends with genuinely moving moments of camaraderie. iAtraco! is hilariously heart-warming, beautifully shot, with a stunning score to transport us back to the 1950’s. Forget that ‘foreign film’ tag – this is a master class in filmmaking.

So, don’t miss out!  Spirit yourself away from the drizzle and spontaneous snowstorms of Manchester to the sun-kissed landscapes of Spain and Latin America. Impress your friends with how cultural you are and in the process have a phenomenal evening out. Get yourself down to The Cornerhouse to experience first-hand what other Spanish and Latin American cinematic delights they’ve got to offer.

Hiking Society

Written by Richard Les on . Posted in Societies.

Most weekends the University of Manchester Hiking Club heads out to a scenic part of the country to wander up a hill or two, with the added bonus of ending up at the pub afterwards. I spoke to Publicity and Merchandise Secretary Sam Winkler to find out more about the trips they organise.

The club caters for hikers of all abilities, from those who wish to climb as many peaks as possible, to those who prefer to take their time and have plenty of breaks: “We have a wide variety of people coming to our hikes and it’s always interesting to meet new people as well as old friends.” Each trip offers several routes of varying length and intensity to choose from. “Typically, we run four different hikes, and we make sure no one falls behind if they do find themselves struggling. Hiking is mostly about having fun.”

Recent trips have seen the Hiking Club brave snow and impromptu snowball fights as nearby as the Peak District and as far away as Scotland. They have also recently visited Grasmere and its famous gingerbread shop. Upcoming destinations include the Lake District, Scotland and Wales. Both single day trips and longer weekend trips are run during term time, so there are a variety of experiences available. In addition to their usual weekly trips, there is also a longer trip to Scotland coming up during the Easter break.

At £10 for members and £14 for non-members (membership itself is £10) the day trips are an inexpensive day out and no gear is required other than walking boots, although it is suggested you check the website to find out what kind of attire is recommended and why jeans are banned.

The Hiking Club can be found in the Activities office in the Student Union from 12:30 to 13:30 every weekday if you have any queries or would like to sign-up, or you can find out more on their website http://www.umhc.org.uk/ .