On Nintendo v. Let’s Plays

It seems that – perhaps out of anger due to low Wii U sales – Nintendo is taking its vengance out on gamers by filing copyright complaints against Youtube “Let’s Play” videos, walkthroughs, and any video that has Nintendo-owned content. It’s important to point out that, unlike Sega did a few years ago, Nintendo is NOT taking down videos or channels. Instead, it’s using content ID matching systems to place ads on videos using footage from Nintendo games and redirecting revenue from the major “Let’s Play-ers”. Greg Lastowka has a great explanation of the legal reasoning based on copyright, trademark, and IP policy over at Gamasutra that you should go read if you haven’t already, so I won’t use the same approach. What I would like to do instead is look at some of the claims being made regarding this “scandal” and explain their validity, then state my position on whether Nintendo should or should not do what they are doing.

Over at Screw Attack, Ghost King replies to the claims that “Nintendo is stealing from Let’s Players”, “Nintendo is trying to screw over their customers”, “Nintendo is Dooming Let’s Plays”, and “Nintendo is screwing over their PR with this.” I mostly agree with his comments. Indeed, the “free promo” and “it’s killing their PR” arguments are ridiculous, and – as Lastowka explained – Nintendo is within their legal right when they file these claims. What I don’t agree with is that this is an overblown issue.

On Iron Man 3

As I previously wrote, The Avengers was a masterpiece. It might have been a somewhat shallow superhero story, but the way that it took different narratives, converged them into a single climactic epic, and left the resolution open to allow individual films was brilliant. And the movie itself was one of the great superhero movies of all time. Of course, I went into Iron Man 3 with high expectations.

I was sorely disappointed.

If you look at other reviews of the movie you will find a lot of Marvel Studio worship, praise for everyone involved in the movie, and a warning that talk of the Mandarin will be limited, because otherwise the movie will be spoiled. If you’re concerned about these spoilers and are dead set on seeing the movie, I’ll let you know what section you need to skip. But do read on. The truth is that Iron Man 3 isn’t worth the 10$ movie ticket. Wait until it’s on Netflix or Redbox instead. Here’s why:

On Wordsworth’s Spots of Time

“Spots of Time”, a short segment in book XII of Wordsworth’s prelude, shaped how I relate to life itself. When I  was asked for a Visual Rhetoric course to create a visual articulation of a text I found somehow engaging, I decided on this excerpt.  The image in this post is what I imagine this section of the poem would look like if it were a visual construct. You can read the poem below, followed by my reflections on the process of creating the image.

From William Wordsworth’s The Prelude 12.208-218 (1805 edition):

There are in our existence spots of time,
That with distinct pre-eminence retain
A renovating virtue, whence–depressed
By false opinion and contentious thought,
Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,
In trivial occupations, and the round
Of ordinary intercourse–our minds
Are nourished and invisibly repaired;
A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,
That penetrates, enables us to mount,
When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen.

On the Epic Rap Battles – Lennon vs. O’ Reilly

Find below a paper written for a course on Visual Rhetoric.

For the Powerpoint Presentation used, click here: Final Presentation

On September 26th, 2010, inspired by a conversation with comedian and actor Lloyd Leonard Ahlquist, Peter Alexander Shukoff published the first episode of the online web series Epic Rap Battles of History, a live-action music comedy series where historical characters settle their differences through rap battles. The premise of the show was to pit two characters based on famous fictional, historical, or contemporary public figures engaging in a rap battle. Created partially with the intent to entertain and partly to create a successful serial for steady revenue, the first episode, created with a $50.00 budget, featured Lloyd Ahlquist as Bill O’ Reilly and Peter Shukoff as John Lennon. The show’s use of satire and parody to portray their characters quickly earned it a dedicated following of over four million subscribers, while their views have collectively scored over half a billion views.  In a 2011 inverview for Forbes Magazine, Shukoff suggested that the main influence over his work resides with the fans. He stated that “The whole series is based around an ongoing conversation with the audience. [...] We say and do and make whatever we want, because we only answer to our audience and we have a pretty solid relationship with them” (Humphrey 3).