Response to On the Rights of Molotov Man (Thomas Waugh)

On the Rights of Molotov Man is an article about the copyright battle over an image of a Nicaraguan freedom fighter. The article shows the development and spread of the image, full of many different iterations of the image showing it in different contexts and with different motives. While some versions of the image are being used for purposes similar to the original purpose of the image, such as many of its uses in Nicaragua, others are far from the original image’s message, Pepsi for example. I feel like the reproduction and sampling of this image is totally okay as long as credit is given where credit is due. As long as the image is cited, it should be fair game to do whatever one wants with it because, after all, it is just a collection of numbers. Without sampling and instead requiring for each artist to find their own subject matter, there could be no commentary on pop culture and people would be constrained to much simpler, basic designs. So in conclusion, I would like to make the argument that the ability to recycle and sample media is crucial in order for creativity to evolve to the next level.

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