Comments on: Nelson’s mini-tour of SFC chapters: UW Madison http://freeculture.org/blog/2008/04/15/nelsons-mini-tour-of-sfc-chapters-uw-madison/ Students for Free Culture Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:15:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: S.T. Roberts http://freeculture.org/blog/2008/04/15/nelsons-mini-tour-of-sfc-chapters-uw-madison/#comment-29802 S.T. Roberts Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:49:30 +0000 http://freeculture.org/?p=364#comment-29802 Thanks for an inspired talk and a great conference. I've heard feedback from many involved that they have been given much food for thought, especially those who were exposed to notions of free culture for perhaps the first time. Particularly inspiring was your discussion on notions of originality as a false construct, as well as the cycle of creativity; is the latter available online in graphical form, perchance? I'd like to share/discuss it with friends. I've been following this brouhaha with J.K. Rowling and her total freakout at the notion of the Potter lexicon/encyclopedia with bemusement; does she really think that her well-worn tropes of boy wizards, magical schools, characters named "Trelawney" (c.f. Philip Pullman) were acquired in a vaccum? Don't get me wrong; I enjoy Potter as much as the next nerd, but her claims to utter possession of the Potter phenomenon in the culture are spurious and silly. It seems to me a great illustration of just these sorts of situations. This morning I was looking at a book of Tolkien criticism, another author whose oeuvre has made a massive splash in the popular culture. What if Tolkein were still alive in today's hypersensitive climate of ownership? Would he be in court, suing the scholars who'd put that work together? Okay, that's enough soapboxing for now. Thanks for coming to Madison. :o) Thanks for an inspired talk and a great conference. I’ve heard feedback from many involved that they have been given much food for thought, especially those who were exposed to notions of free culture for perhaps the first time.

Particularly inspiring was your discussion on notions of originality as a false construct, as well as the cycle of creativity; is the latter available online in graphical form, perchance? I’d like to share/discuss it with friends.

I’ve been following this brouhaha with J.K. Rowling and her total freakout at the notion of the Potter lexicon/encyclopedia with bemusement; does she really think that her well-worn tropes of boy wizards, magical schools, characters named “Trelawney” (c.f. Philip Pullman) were acquired in a vaccum? Don’t get me wrong; I enjoy Potter as much as the next nerd, but her claims to utter possession of the Potter phenomenon in the culture are spurious and silly. It seems to me a great illustration of just these sorts of situations. This morning I was looking at a book of Tolkien criticism, another author whose oeuvre has made a massive splash in the popular culture. What if Tolkein were still alive in today’s hypersensitive climate of ownership? Would he be in court, suing the scholars who’d put that work together?

Okay, that’s enough soapboxing for now. Thanks for coming to Madison.

:o)

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