Freedom of Speech.

Kanye West steals the mic from Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Awards.

Topic 1

"Imma let you finish but...."

Most people remember Kanye's infamous rant at the MTV music awards. And although I might get some heat for this, I actually enjoy both Kanye's music and his super egotistical personality.

But when does freedom of speech go too far? In Kanye's mind, there's literally no restriction on freedom to speak, act or rant.

Despite my fandom towards Yeezy, I do think the night he stole Taylor Swift's spotlight was a little too far. However, pushing aside ethics and morality, can you really fault Mr. West? The old saying goes "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all." Well..technically Kanye didn't say anything bad about Taylor, he just had a lot of good things to say about Beyonce. So I'd give him a pass.

After watching the Remix Manifesto video, one thing that I found interesting was how Walt Disney took images/drawings from prior centuries and remade his own versions catered to young audiences.

In the film, Walt Disney is referred to as a "mash up" artist and I think his re-creative thought process is actually similar to my own. As a musician/artist (click link for my bio http://aucourantmedia.blogspot.com/2015/06/author-introduction.html)  I've admired artistry from musicians before me, in all sorts of different genres. Some of the production I do musically is in fact, sampling or recreating songs from the past. I know...legal issues right? However, the music that my group and I create that stems from another artist is not monetized in any sense, it's like watching people on Youtube cover their favorite artist or band. No harm, no foul right? Besides, I look at remixing another persons work shows admiration and respect towards that artist, which is a good thing.

Which brings me back to my first point, Kanye West is notorious for sampling artists such as Ray Charles, Daft Punk, Shaka Kahn, the list goes on.

I think in today's modern world, remixing art from prior artists whether it be music or visuals has become more popular and widely accepted in our cultures. One thing I really enjoyed about the documentary was the comparison and contrast of art from the 21st century to centuries prior.

Topic 2

Wikileaks is a very interesting topic, in my opinion I believe it is a good thing, however, only if the information being provided is credible, truthful and is not intended as a tool for propaganda. For example, in the TED interview with Wikileaks creator Julian Assange, his ability to leak information about the Kenyan government created political leverage and reshaped their election.

The current state of freedom of speech in America has been a major issue, especially since the advent of the internet. However, access to information or expression is the main agent for this epidemic. There a countless times I jump onto Facebook or Twitter and see events such as the Baltimore riots or the Eric Gardner case, stir up controversy by some average Joe ranting about societal issues.

Sensitivity!!

I'm sure you've seen a top comment on a Facebook post something along the lines of "What happened to freedom of speech?" Sensitivity, that's what happened! And although I agree that some people can say ignorant things, the fact of the matter is, freedom of speech is not what it use to be...because of the accessibility people have to information.

Just yesterday, ESPN's Radio, Colin Cowherd was fired due to his remarks on Major League Baseball. He stated that "Managing baseball isn't hard because 1/3 of the league are Dominicans" alluding to his point that people from the Dominican Republic were uneducated and easy to control. Sounds like freedom of speech...but when you're in a position or platform where your voice is easily broadcasted to millions of viewers, I think it's best to keep those thoughts to yourself, if you want to keep your job.

As the internet and social media begin to evolve, I feel as though it is almost impossible to regulate freedom of speech. Yeah...ok you might be able to flag or block an idiot from a forum but whose to say he/she won't just make another account and continue to troll? But back to my point Julian Assange said in his interview that access to information is human right, which is very true. I think all information regarding government activity should be available to the public because We The People have a right to know.

Fun questions!!

• Should we start teaching internet etiquette in public schools?
• Knowing how powerful the internet can be, how do think our founders of this country would rewrite the constitution?