January 27, 2005
MPAA vs. Martin Luther King
Eyes on the Screen is a project encouraging you to download and watch Eyes on the Prize, “the most important documentary ever made about the Civil Rights Movement.” As The Globe and Mail explains, the video didn’t air on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and has been unavailable on TV or VHS, and was never released on DVD, because the makers of the documentary could only afford a time-limited license to use the archival footage that appears. So, the group Downhill Battle, working with Common Sense Culture, digitized the 10-part series and has made torrents available so that anyone can download it. (BitTorrent is required, but links and setup instructions are provided; At the moment, parts 1-3 are up.) Wired News calls this an act of civil disobedience – you gotta put something catchy in the lede – but Downhill Battle is more modest, taking the position that informing yourself about United States history by watching footage of historical events is “fair use” of copyrighted material, even if people happen to be singing “Happy Birthday” to Martin Luther King in some of that footage. They call, nevertheless, for a move back to the original purpose of copyright, so that other documentary filmmakers won’t be stifled in the future – and for widespread screenings of Part 1 of Eyes on the Prize on February 8, as part of Black History Month.
January 31st, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Downhill battle has taken down the torrent links at the request of Blackside, Inc.
February 14th, 2005 at 11:31 pm
“Produced in the 1980s and widely considered the most important encapsulation of the American civil-rights movement on video, the documentary series can no longer be broadcast or sold anywhere.”
So, we can’t see it on cable or buy it to see it? Can’t download it via torrents because that’s wrong in these days of the MPAA “gestapo.”
What a waste. Guess, we are back in the days with MLK. If we don’t agree with it, we WILL shut you down.
February 15th, 2005 at 12:34 am
Both my university library and my local public library have the documentary. You might check in a library near you for it. Institutions such as the library still provide some avenues for access to old media, fortunately.
January 1st, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I agree, it’s a very good documentary. I have a site devoted to Martin Luther King as well.