A couple weeks ago, I heard the memory of a line echo in my head, but I couldn’t place it. I thought maybe it was from Grey’s Anatomy… or a Jane Austen movie…
Now I think it’s from Remember WENN. But I can’t check. I can’t share it with my kids. I can’t relive it.
We’ve built a society where it’s more important that a few pennies go to the right IP holders than a work of art made by an entire crew of artists continue to be appreciated by the fans who adore it.
In capitalism, it’s better that art die than someone dare enjoy it for free.
And sure, this is trivial compared to the problems of the day—people being forced to work during a pandemic, lack of healthcare, food and housing insecurity…
And yet, they’re all the same problem.
Money in billionaires’ pockets is worth more than safety, security, happiness.
We’re lied to and told artists can’t have nice things — like food & health care — unless we accept a false scarcity model for art.
But we have the resources to fund arts publicly, both taking care of artists and making art available to everyone.
Instead we have billionaires.
Here’s the line from Rember WENN, season 2, episode 1:
“How could we know what she imagined her life would be like if he had come home.”
As delivered by the character Tom Eldridge, it’s one of the absolute best depictions of grief I’ve ever seen. And no, it’s not available anywhere at all legally. This is why I will never fully condemn pirates or piracy.
No one benefits when treasures like Remember WENN (‘96-98) are lost to the world because some people couldn’t agree on how to split the money that could theoretically have been made from selling it.
Capitalism is the worst. Copyright law is pulling a close second.
It is utterly heartbreaking that Remember WENN (’96-98) is no longer findable on Youtube, isn’t for sale as DVDs, and can’t be streamed anywhere.
The damage being done to our collective culture over music rights in TV shows and copyright law in general is a horrible crime.