JoeGoaUk wrote:
> Fyi, JoeGoaUk (since 2004) only promotes the new arrival of VCDs with
> scanned copy of the VCDs Front Cover and with the names of the
> director/producer, other artistes, price tag and the month/year in
> which it was released.
> JoeGoaUk does not sell VCDs
As happens with many issues, this one too is getting confused with so
many allegations, "facts" and controversies being raked up, often based
on a misunderstanding of the ground reality.
For one, I don't understand how the VCD issue got mixed up with the
tiatr one. These are obviously very different concerns.
As far as the tiatrs go, here's one example of JoeGoaUk's postings:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5K-ZQZj61s&feature=related
It is far from a "complete recording" of the tiatr (as Samir suggested)
and is what JoeGoaUk calls a "trailer".
Personally, I too see it as an introduction to the tiatr, meant to whet
the potential audience's appetite, while giving full credit to the
producer of the work and all the participating artistes.
It is similar to the book reviews I do. There is an element of quoting
from the work, including short excerpts. The source is clearly
mentioned; stating where the book is available would hopefully help the
author/publisher to sell some copies.
[For the record, I also believe in sharing my own work, where possible.
Some of our books published by Goa,1556 are available in full-text on
the Net. This helps to *increase* interest in the book, rather than
detract from it. In my experience, it helps to build sales, not reduce
it. But such counter-intuitive logic takes time for it to be convincing.]
The issue of copyright for theatre has been widely studied, in other
parts of the world too. For instance:
http://lecatr.people.wm.edu/copy.htm
But the formal law is one thing, and undertstading what is in our best
interest in another thing. For instance, I could use a "Copyright" under
my photographs. But the bulk of my work use a Creative Commons "some
conditions apply" license, which allows free reproduction for
non-commercial purposes BUT with attribution.
The question is whether the tiatrists feel that such brief recordings
help their work or detract from it. Does it help build awareness about
their productions, or make their audiences shrink? I doubt it would be
the latter case, though the proliferation of copyright-thinking makes us
want to copyright anything within our grasp!
As I see it, for smaller cultures, the bigger threat is from
*obscurity*, rather than "piracy".
The feeling I got from the April 17, 2010 discussion was that the
tiatrists' attitude was ambivalent, if slightly tilting towards wanting
the publicity too. This is all new technology. The Internet, as we know
it, was not here for much of our adult life (except for the youngsters!)
The tiatrist's job is in the auditorium, and the lack of an
understanding of how cyberspace works only complicates things further.
At the TAG (Tiatr Academy of Goa) discussion, the tiatrists were more
than willing to concede that they did benefit from some publicity in
cyberspace. Some spoke about "unauthorised" recordings, and felt that it
should be done "properly". (Privately, they'll willing to concede that
it's too costly -- and probably not worth their while -- to do a
professional recording, from which they see no immediate returns
anyway.) At the same time, some tiatr tickets today carry a footnote
which reads, "Video/mobile/camera recording of this tiatr or any part of
it is STRICTLY NOT PERMITTED."
To my mind, it would make more sense if the tiatrists entered into a
creative dialogue to see how the new cybertechnologies could help their
work and their art, rather than perceiving it just as a threat.
One or two persons who spoke seemed a bit miffed that they didn't quite
know who JoeGoaUk was (because of his preference for anonymity). One
person even felt that I should know who JoeGoaUk is, because, in any
case, I'm spending a lot of time online :-)
If JoeGoaUk wants to spread awareness about Goa's cultural diversity
behind anonymity, I think we're wasting our time focusing on this part
of the debate. The big challenge is for traditional cultural products of
Goa to be able to become visible globally in a cyber-age.
Needless to say, it will take some convincing before residual fears on
this account are dealt with. In the meantime, I guess, anyone wanting to
settle scores can use such issues, and marshall some half-facts, to rake
up needless controversy.
JoeGoaUk, I think the true test on whether you're doing something
positive or not, and whether your work is being effective, is that
people sit up, take note, and start taking pot-shots. When this first
hit me, I was quite taken aback! Now, I smile, sometimes have a good
hearty laugh (it's entertainment without tax!), and just think to
myself: "Sour grapes!"
Don't let it bother you. Just keep on doing what you're best at. In the
meanwhile, see which tiatrists have a problem with what you're doing,
and focus on the others. In time, the others will realise their loss. --FN
