Brazilian dance party November 12, 2009
Posted by ils9 in : Uncategorized , trackbackIn his film, Rip: A Remix Manifesto, director Brett Gaylor takes us to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to show how mashups have developed in Brazilian culture. He takes a look inside the clubs and classrooms to show how Brazilian mashup music is made, listened to, and grooved to on the dance floor to show the music’s place in an increasingly globalized culture. If it can thrive on the poverty-stricken streets of Rio de Janeiro without a problem, then why are artists such as Girl Talk such an issue for us in the states?
New York Post writer, Barry Hertz, an apparent critic of the film was not so impressed and in his critique wrote:
“After marvelling at the artistry occurring within the shantytowns, the director stupefyingly proposes that the future of art and commerce lies not with the over-branded environs of New York or L.A., but within the copyright-free slums of Rio, oblivious to the fact that he is standing hip-deep in abject poverty.”
In my opinion Barry Hertz misses Gaylor’s whole point in showing the Brazilian music scene. The people in the videos standing “hip-deep in abject poverty” seemed to be having the time of their life dancing and enjoying the music for what it was. Money had nothing to do with the experience. Furthermore, even without copyright, performances (such as the one shown in the film at the Brazilian club) most likely generated money through cover prices to get in. For the most part musicians make their money from putting on concerts and from events, not from CD sales, of which the majority tends to go to the already loaded record label companies. Not only in Brazil, but across the globe, mashup artists are mixing music to make something new and different from what already exists.
News update:
After viewing the documentary in class I went back home and looked up some more information on Brazil and the mashup scene. Apparently Brazil is looking to draft a bill that would protect mashups and private copies (like copying your CD to be an MP3 for personal use). If passed, this would be the first of such laws made specifically with mashup music in mind. It will be interesting to see what happens and, if passed, how it will play out in terms of mashup Brazilian DJ sales on the global market.
