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You are here: Home / Humorous / Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck

Donald Duck Meets Glenn Beck

by | 48 Comments

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This is a really brilliant remix from John McIntosh:

A remix of Beck’s response, after the leap…

 

Art Brodsky comments:

Fair use has nothing to do with Disney’s politics and everything to do with intellectual creativity and the idea of “the commons” – that some uses of intellectual property belong to everyone, much as natural resources do and that private attempts to lock down culture ultimately harm society as a whole.  Scholar David Bollier, a co-founder of Public Knowledge, has released a new video, “This Land Is Our Land: The Fight to Reclaim the Commons,” which sets out quite clearly the threats to the public good from the encroachment of commercial interests.  His book, “Brand Name Bullies:  The Quest To Own And Control Culture,” has many more horror stories, like music publishers suing Girl Scouts for songs sung around the campfire.

McIntosh with his video featuring Donald Duck and Glenn Beck has clearly created a transformative, non-commercial work that enhances the public culture while not affecting the value of either cartoon character.

You’d think that Beck’s latter-day-libertarianism would put him on board with the concept of fair use, but I guess that’s too much to ask. I mean, maybe the government is funding this ‘propaganda’ against Beck. Maybe Obama is employing video remixers this very moment to lampoon the Fox Revivalist even more soundly. Scary times indeed.

Reader Interactions

48Comments

  1. 1.

    Morbo

    Maybe George Soros and the Federal Government paid for hip hop concerts in 2008 to get young people to vote for Obama.

    …What?

  3. 3.

    Cris

    Brodsky’s analysis is excellent from top to bottom. I appreciate this rejoinder to Beck:

    The idea that Disney somehow approves of the remix of its work is simply ludicrous. Disney, despite its history of appropriating fairy tales and old books for its animated features, is a copyright maximalist of the first rank.

  4. 4.

    Hunter Gathers

    Maybe Obama is employing video remixers this very moment to lampoon the Fox Revivalist even more soundly.

    He doesn’t have time for that. It’s a well known fact that commie/sociamalist/marxist (or whatever word that I can use as a substitute for n####r) spend all of their time planning insidious government takeover plans involving ACORN, Black Panthers, George Soros, race traitors, and the Tides Foundation to brainwash our youth into rejecting Prosperity Baby Jesus and worship the allmighty Ruble.

    Video re-mixing is best left to evil union organizers and Moveon.org.

  5. 5.

    Hunter Gathers

    I’ve always wanted to see a mash up of Donald Duck having a conversation with Popeye. Just to see what kind of salty language those two sea dogs would use. They both swear constantly. I’m sure of it.

  7. 7.

    ricky

    The audio of Beck in the first re-mix, if transcribed, would sound like plagiarized commentary threads from liberal blogs.

  9. 9.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    @Hunter Gathers:

    I’ve always wanted to see a mash up of Donald Duck having a conversation with Popeye. Just to see what kind of salty language those two sea dogs would use. They both swear constantly. I’m sure of it.

    Folks have tried many times to mash-up Donald Duck and Popeye but it always ends in snorkeling.

  10. 10.

    Roger Moore

    @Cris:

    Disney, despite its history of appropriating fairy tales and old books for its animated features, is a copyright maximalist of the first rank.

    Which isn’t really true. Disney is a copyright opportunist. Disney has been perfectly happy to base movies on public domain works, or to work very hard to screw A.A. Milne’s heirs out of their rights to Winnie the Pooh. It’s only when Disney’s own copyrights are threatened that maximal protection becomes important.

  11. 11.

    John Bird

    Well, that mash-up was probably the most cogent explanation of Glenn Beck that I’ve found anywhere. Thanks.

  12. 12.

    John Bird

    Well, that mash-up was probably the most cogent explanation of Glenn Beck that I’ve found anywhere. Thanks.

  13. 13.

    Joe Beese

    Curious explanation of Beck’s appeal to Tea Partiers from a right-winger:

    The left focuses on the crying, the chalkboard, the conspiracy theories. Beck is routinely called an “anti-intellectual” in the left-leaning press. What such criticisms miss is that moment when Beck brings out a musty old book by an author you’ve never heard of – and says that it’s so obscure he had to borrow it from a library in Kansas. Just then you feel as though you’re getting some secret knowledge, as though you’re learning something that maybe your neighbor, your husband, your boss and even your smart-ass kid doesn’t know. You’re Harry Potter at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore is teaching you magic.

    http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/10/20/2010-10-20_a_reading_lesson_from_glenn_beck_the_lefts_condescension_wont_help_dems_in_novem.html

    Did she get the Rowling memo on the Dumbledore’s orientation?

  14. 14.

    ChrisS

    Why do the wingers glom onto any conspiracy involving the federal government where there is no or little gain, but can’t see the wealthiest 0.1%’s influence in US policy?

  15. 15.

    Cris

    @ricky: Like these parts?

    The ideas that built America are being lost and perverted.
    __
    How many Marxists, Communists, anti-capitalists do you have around you on a daily basis?
    __
    Hola, Meximerica.

    Okay, maybe the first one. Different reasons though.

  21. 21.

    Jim Pharo

    I think I’m right on this, if I’m not mistaken, but I believe some of these right-wing talk kooks are in fact proven aliens from outer space, if I recall correctly.

    When Beck is lying (i.e., knowingly telling a whopper), his tells are obvious: “I think…,” “I believe…,” “some of these types…,” “if I’m not mistaken,” etc. What a maroon! (h/t Bugs)

    Oh and on the fair use point, the later work can’t just take an earlier work and simply use it. (Think of the book on the OJ Simpson trial that was written in the style of Dr. Suess’ “One Fish Two Fish:” clearly not fair use.) The later work must somehow comment in some way on the earlier work. I’ll be dipped if I can figure out what this video is saying about Disney.

    Plus Disney has a lot of other IP tools at its disposal (tarnishment, Lanham Act claims, etc. ) that it can use to stop the public display of this work. I doubt it’ll be around much longer (though it is supremely compelling!)

  22. 22.

    Steve

    I do not think the fair use analysis is as simple as Brodsky makes it out to be, but the legal question seems really unimportant. When Beck says “Disney seems to be okay with it” he’s just lashing out.

  23. 23.

    Cris

    @Jim Pharo: I agree with you about fair use in this case. I love the video (and others like it), I hope it doesn’t get shut down, but my non-lawyer gut tells me that fair use is squarely on the side of the copyright owners with this one.

  25. 25.

    cleek

    if they wanted to, Disney could shut it down with a simple letter to YouTube. they don’t have to prove anything or go to court or anything like that. just a DMCA “Take Down” letter stating that they own the copyright and that this infringes would do the trick.

    if anyone had a problem with it, they could file suit. but only after the take down had occurred.

  26. 26.

    maus

    @ChrisS: The wealthiest 0.1% are not gifted by predestination like good Christian America but “the global elitists” aka the bad jews that won’t bring the rapture. The wealthiest 10-0.2% just want the free market to improve the lives of all!

  27. 27.

    Roger Moore

    @Jim Pharo:

    Oh and on the fair use point, the later work can’t just take an earlier work and simply use it. (Think of the book on the OJ Simpson trial that was written in the style of Dr. Suess’ “One Fish Two Fish:” clearly not fair use.) The later work must somehow comment in some way on the earlier work. I’ll be dipped if I can figure out what this video is saying about Disney.

    That’s not true either. The point you’re making applies specifically to the use of parody as part of a fair use defense. In that case, a work is only parody if it’s a direct commentary on the earlier work, not if it’s using the work as a vehicle to comment on a third thing. But fair use can cover other things than parody. There’s actually a four part test, which includes a balance of 4 factors:

    1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
    2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
    3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
    4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

    Those factors seem to favor a fair use declaration in this case. The new work is clearly intended for political commentary- normally a highly protected use- and not for profit. The Disney excerpts used are relatively small relative to the original cartoons. And the use is sufficiently transformative that it doesn’t diminish the potential market for the original cartoons. Of course, Beck could presumably sue for copyright violation of his broadcasts, but he would get murdered on fair use.

  29. 29.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    You’re Harry Potter at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore is teaching you magic.

    More like Voldemort..

  30. 30.

    comrade scott's agenda of rage

    @burnspbesq:

    Be a shame if he fired at Norquist and hit Hamsher instead.

    He’d make sure that never happened. She does more for the right in her current “position” than she’d ever do if no longer in the picture.

  31. 31.

    That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal

    My head is starting to look like Donald’s. My computer updated to Intellipoint 8.0 for my mouse, and now my computer is messed up. It doesn’t recognize the mouse at all. It doesn’t recognize the old PS/2 mouse when I plug it in. It simultaneously tells me that the drivers are corrupt and it can’t use them, and that they are fully up to date.

    I’ve been running in circles getting nowhere. I ran System File Checker, which says that everything’s fine. I’ve reinstalled the 8.0 software manually, to no avail. I tried to reinstall the 7.0 software, but was told that it’s not compatible with the operating system. I tried a system restore to before the update. Nothing.

    Gah. I have things I need to be doing.

  32. 32.

    Brighton

    I really think that Fox News was conceived as the secular arm of Christian broadcasting. Conservatives know they will never have an honest majority, so they use the same tricks as revival tent preachers – fear, playing the victim, hate, groupthink, and a promise of redemption. It’s the same people that used to join the Klan, and they belong in the kloset.

  33. 33.

    The Other Chuck

    Anyone know of a way to save youtube videos locally? Because I’m really amazed Disney’s pack of lawyers hasn’t gotten to this one yet, but it’s a matter of short time til they do.

  36. 36.

    Steeplejack

    @The Other Chuck:

    Damn, wish I had that a few weeks ago. There was one particular YouTube video that I revisited quite often, and it got taken down recently because of a complaint from the Man.

    Thanks for this link. I will check it out.

  37. 37.

    Bill Murray

    @Cris: It was not better in the original German. A Polish soccer team had some fans that held up an arbeit macht frei banner at a rivalry game.

    I’d also like to see an English language version of Good Evening Mr. Wallenberg, as the Raoul Wallenberg story is to me more interesting than Oskar Schindler’s story

  39. 39.

    Tom M

    Poor Fox (from Mediaweek)

    Fox News Channel once again finished fourth among all ad-supported cable nets, averaging 2.44 million viewers. The news net delivered 587,000 adults 25-54, good for a ninth-place finish on the week. Nick at Nite closed out the top five with an average nightly draw of 1.85 million viewers

  40. 40.

    Svensker

    @Cris:

    I agree with you about fair use in this case. I love the video (and others like it), I hope it doesn’t get shut down, but my non-lawyer gut tells me that fair use is squarely on the side of the copyright owners with this one.

    Bet it will be gone within hours. I don’t see the fair use here at all — it’s using Disney’s work to tell a complete different story. Very creative and great message, but I don’t think Disney will appreciate it.

  41. 41.

    Origuy

    The first one’s been up on YouTube since Oct 2. It’s been all over the web. I think if Disney were going to act, they would have done it by now.

  42. 42.

    SpotWeld

    Glenn Beck isn’t offering intellectualism. That whole concept is predicated on incremental steps. Human thought.

    Glenn Beck is predicating his “elitism” based on gnosticism. He has “special knowledge” that he passes on to his followers as a testament to his chosen place as the messenger of this knowledge.

  43. 43.

    YellowJournalism

    That was sublime. The point where Donald looked out the window to find oddly-shaped Nazis marching by made me laugh so hard I started coughing and choking.

    What made this even better was remembering most of the cartoons from which the clips came.

  45. 45.

    SciVo

    @Joe Beese: Here’s the talk show grifter formula in a nutshell.

    Convince your audience that you’re the only one they can trust. Do this by sharing “secret knowledge.” It has to be some kind of unsourced hearsay, unverifiable speculation or whatnot that wouldn’t make it past any halfway competent editor at a professional news organization, or it’ll get published elsewhere and won’t be special anymore.

    Next, spin it in a way that makes the audience angry, scared and/or horny, so that their brains shut down. Then, when they’re dumb and trusting, shill for your sponsors in your own voice. Your ad rates will shoot through the roof when they see the response you get… and that’s what matters, not whether you even believe any of your bullshit yourself, let alone whether it’s true.

  47. 47.

    brantl

    McIntosh with his video featuring Donald Duck and Glenn Beck has clearly created a transformative, non-commercial work that enhances the public culture while not affecting the value of either cartoon character.

    The guy that wrote this is the master of the short-stop kill stroke. Beautiful.

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