“Don’t panic over the latest techno jargon like … peer-to-peer, wi-max, 80211, bittorrent … the only thing that gives purpose to all these remarkable delivery systems is the kind of creative content we all produce,” Eisner said. —Eisner’s parting words to Hollywood: “Don’t panic” (Breitbart.com)
I don’t feel much pity for the hordes of netizens who are downloading copyrighted entertainment material because they feel their “need” to consume it exceeds their willingness to pay.
I’m thoroughly amused by how the entertainment industry, which has trained three generations of Americans to mistrust authority and seek pleasure at all cost, is now trying to preach ethics in order to stop massive file-sharing.
But, when isolated like this, Eisner’s statement sounds pretty arrogant.
The term “peer-to-peer” is not synonymous with “stealing Hollywood’s content,” and the internet didn’t need Hollywood in order to rise to its current level of cultural importance.
But the main thrust of Eisner’s speech, that the entertainment industry has in the past learned to embrace the very technology that it initially fought off, is worth hearing. Too bad he’s only saying it on his way out the door.
Scott McCloud is a contemporary of Will Eisner and his second book, _Reinventing Comics_, may take Eisner’s comments about embracing technology further. McCloud theorizes that online web publishing is the way of the future for comics, which labeled him “dangerous,” since most comic book publishing companies are still printed. I just received my copy in anticipation of his third book coming up early next year, looking at comic book production on the printing press.