Fwd: [Hactivist_news] 'Parasitic Media' Course at Carnegie Mellon University Ignites International Debate

Begin forwarded message:

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>
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> 'Parasitic Media' Course at Carnegie Mellon University Ignites
> International Debate
>
>
>
> PITTSBURGH, PA - A course entitled 'Parasitic Media: Creative Methods
> for Media Manipulation' offered this Spring through the Carnegie
> Mellon University Art Department attracted international attention
> when two online parody projects received threatening 'Cease and
> Desist' letters from attorneys representing corporate giants Wal Mart
> Stores and the Christian Broadcasting Network. The interdisciplinary
> course featured students from Political Science, Art, Design,
> Engineering, Computer Science, Philosophy, Public Policy, Cultural
> Studies, and Computer Science.
>
>
>
> On April 18th, Daniel Papasian, a twenty year old political science
> student, created a website mocking the Wal Mart Foundation. The
> satirical website looks as if it is about the corporation's
> philanthropic efforts, but the content attempts to generate discussion
> about the company's negative impact on communities. Papasian's site,
> found online at www.walmart-foundation.org, used much of the
> legitimate site's content but added satiric spin to several components
> including statements about Wal Mart's positive influence on community
> by uniting protesters around a common enemy and an advertised in-store
> Bingo game to be played by locating countries of manufacture on
> products in Wal Mart represented as blocks on the game's playing card.
> Daniel complied with the terms of the cease and desist and has since
> been featured in publications such as Forbes, the New York Post, and
> BusinessWeek. Much of the discussion around Daniel's site is focused
> on Wal Mart's use of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) which
> was wielded by the retailer's attorneys to censor the parody site's
> content. The focus of the project is now on how the DMCA has used
> copyright as the new form of censorship. With the DMCA beginning to
> extend to legal systems outside the United States, this is a timely
> issue.
>
>
>
> On April 22nd, a set of anonymous students represented by pseudonym
> Fred Timbly, received a similar letter from attorneys representing Pat
> Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). The student's site,
> www.700-club.org, satirized the CBN website by including many
> legitimate pieces of content alongside the announcement that the 700
> Club had been granted exclusive rights by the Vatican to issue the
> online sale of 'Indulgences.' An indulgence is a remission of a
> temporal sin. Some of the sins offered for remission included 'Failure
> to Honor the Sabbath' and the popular 'Practicing Judaism.' Since its
> online launch in mid-April, the site's creators have received numerous
> emails from individuals voicing their opinions on the Indulgence
> Program.
>
>
>
> The class, taught by Adjunct Professor of Art and Research Fellow at
> the CMU STUDIO for Creative Inquiry Nathan Martin, was a great success
> in getting a large number of students from multiple disciplines to
> collaborate with one another and learn to both activate and react to
> the media around them. Other student projects which created less of a
> stir in the mainstream press included Support Our Transit, a
> performance and marketing campaign to combat the city's proposed cuts
> to public bus routes and increases in fares. The group held eulogies
> at Bus Stops, created marketing materials including popular pins, and
> even produced a hit song by DJ Thermos called 'Bus Rap'. The group's
> documentation is online at www.supportourtransit.org. Other projects
> included a site promoting the elimination of the US Military's 'Don't
> Ask,. Don't Tell' policy found online at www.dodgethedraft.us, a snail
> mail based stenciling campaign to create cellphone free zones, and a
> satire of the McDonald's fitness campaign found at www.mcactive.com.
>
>
>
> Martin believes the class, which invites students to use the media in
> the way that a painter would use a canvas, was a success. He says of
> the course "Students were excited, active, and working together across
> disciplines with respect for one another. None of the projects were
> malicious or illegal. The course was designed to get students to think
> about becoming producers of media and not simply consumers and to also
> see the media around them as something they can activate and work with
> to create meaning, narrative, and Art." The course description stated
> '.students will work collaboratively across media including: print,
> web, video, electronics, performance, and writing on projects that
> attempt to intervene in communications systems and mainstream media.
> we will create a project, promote it through a press campaign, and
> attempt to get exposure for the work with a focus on satire.'. The
> work in the course that has come under fire is arguably protected as
> 'Fair Use' and comes from a history of political satire, parody and
> collage in the Fine Arts.
>
>
>
> While there is no plan for the course to be taught in the Fall
> semester at CMU, the school has been supportive of the class and of
> Professor Martin. This inaugural offering of Parasitic Media has
> created quite a stir among students and any future offering is likely
> to not suffer from poor attendance or lack of public profile. In
> Martin's words "this was a learning experience among creative
> students, and that is the purpose of higher education."
>
>
>
> Contact Information:
>
>
>
> Nathan Martin
>
> Adjunct Professor of Art
>
> Research Fellow
>
> STUDIO for Creative Inquiry
>
> Carnegie Mellon University
>
> 412-726-2338 (cell)
>
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> Daniel Papasian
>
> Owner and Creator
>
> http://www.walmart-foundation.org
>
> (860) 977-1398
>
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> Fred Timbly
>
> http://www.700-club.org
>
> 731 Copeland Street
>
> Shadyside, PA 15232
>
> Phone: 908-656-0520
>
> [email protected]
>
>
>
> Links:
>
> Wal-Mart Foundation
> http://www.walmartfoundation.org
>
>
>
> Papasian's parody site
> http://www.walmart-foundation.org
>
>
>
> Wal Mart Cease and Desist letter
>
> http://www.walmart-foundation.org/walmart.pdf
>
>
>
> CBN
>
> http://www.700club.org
>
>
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> Timbly's Parody Site
>
> http://www.700-club.org
>
>
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> CBN Cease and Desist letter
>
> www.hactivist.com/pm/700ClubCease.pd