fandom, participatory culture, and democratization

You’re not pirates or thieves and you’re not stealing anything when you create transformative works. 

We know you probably already knew that, or at least you’ve been told that, but it’s always nice when a federal judge says it (in a roundabout sort of way). 

In a case involving the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and Hotfile, the judge told the MPAA that they can’t say the alleged infringements were piracy or theft, or that the uploads were stealing content. As Torrentfreak posted, Hotfile “asked the court to prevent the MPAA from using ‘pejorative’ terms including piracy, theft and stealing”. The case involves the uploads of entire show/film/music files, and if the court thinks that piracy, theft and stealing are too pejorative to apply to that kind of infringement, then it’s definitely too pejorative to apply to transformative works. 

Here’s a bit from the court’s ruling: 

“In the present case, there is no evidence that the Defendants (or Hotfile’s founders) are ‘pirates’ or ‘thieves,’ nor is there evidence that they were ‘stealing’ or engaged in ‘piracy’ or ‘theft.’ Even if the Defendants had been found to have directly infringed on the Plaintiffs’ copyrights, such derogatory terms would add nothing to the Plaintiffs’ case, but would serve to improperly inflame the jury.”

Case law in the US develops when lawyers argue by analogy, so it’s now possible to look to this case, and link to it, when someone calls creative fanders pirates or thieves or says they are engaged in stealing or theft. If file-sharing isn’t any of those things, how could creating a transformative work be? 

Fred Gideon Weasley II; gryffindor

Born September 21st 2001

Graduates in 2019

Laid back, calm, collected. Fred can usually be found on the pitch or down by the Black Lake. Extremely protective over the females in his family, they mostly all regard him as an older brother - even though he’s younger than nearly all of them.

we might define access as:

technology/ class access

media literacy

educational literacy

social connections/ knowledge 

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but in the past we would have had to consider a big factor---

$$$$$$

tumblr is a space where non-mainstream media representation can thrive, which brings with it challenges of canon and authorship. in this case, sticking to the canon is important, because it increases representation of people of color in media

*canon= the source text, usually proprietary

wicked and divine {a dracoxharry fanmix}

i. so close (ólafur arnalds feat. arnór dan); ii. wicked game (chris isaak); iii. perfect enemy (t.a.t.u.); iv. closer (nine inch nails); v. do i wanna know? (arctic monkeys); vi. my sweet prince (placebo); vii. nicotine (panic! at the disco); viii. undisclosed desires (muse); ix. i still remember (bloc party); x. might tell you tonight (scissor sisters); xi. closer (tegan and sara); xii. wouldn’t it be nice (beach boys); xiii. house (patrick wolf); xiv. we are young (mika)

Hmm. This doesn’t sound familiar to me, but here are some that are similar:

Fics with H/D in a therapeutic setting

Only the Lonely by digthewriter - (NC-17, 21k) - Harry runs a support organization for survivors post-war and hires Draco as his assistant.

Welcome to Holding Hands by susan5124 - (PG-13, 19k) - Draco and Harry are Auror partners who can’t get along. Kingsley sends them to a counseling retreat to work it out, but it’s actually marital counseling and has some unexpected results.

Reparations and Foundations by Sara’s Girl - (NC-17, 88k and 237k respectively) - Draco runs a rehab program and Harry, a healer-in-training, is assigned to assist him.

Touched by writcraft - (R, 7k) - Draco and Harry are both in therapy after the war and run into each other in the waiting room each week.

Freudian Slip by jennavere - (PG-13, 7.5k) - Draco is obsessed with Harry Potter and Lucius sends him to therapy to deal with it.

Inconsolable, or how Harry Potter Stopped H8ing and Learned to Love Video Games by November Snowflake - (R, 10k) - Harry is addicted to a video game and Ginny begs him to get help. When he goes to a 12-step group he sees Draco, who’s there for sex addiction.

Leave Your Field to Flower by Emma Grant - (NC-17, 13k) - Almost all of the magical survivors of the war have lost their memories. The exception is Harry Potter, who finds many of his friends in a support group for people with memory loss and helps Draco remember.

Fics where H/D are assigned to work together at Hogwarts

In Motion by drarryxlover - (NC-17, 6k) - Harry and Draco are assigned to fix the Room of Requirement and their relationship takes an unexpected turn

Homecoming by November Snowflake - (NC-17, 27k) - Harry goes to spend two weeks as a guest lecturer at Hogwarts. Draco is his assigned faculty guide.

Muggle Studies by counterdogma - (PG, 6k) - Draco is taking Muggle Studies after the war and makes Harry an accessory to his coursework.

Sex Magic by velvet_blood - (NC-17, WIP that may be continued by leo_draconis) - Harry and Draco are enrolled in a Hogwarts Sex Magic class and are made partners for the practical parts of the class.