...... and did some assignments
it might be time to rewatch "A fair(y) use tale"
I considered copying my own work for this reading response. It seemed an appropriate thing to do, given the subject matter. If I were to give myself proper attribution, after all, it would qualify as fair dealing, since all of this is happening in an academic context.
Why would I want to copy my own work in order to write this reading response? Mainly because I've probably already written something about this subject, and it was probably better than this will be. Maybe because I talked for two hours about this subject in class, and now I can't remember what I said. Or, it could be for the sheer poetry of the thing. It appeals to me, in a strange way, to produce a work about copyright and fair dealing from copied work. There's a certain sense of rightness in that, somehow.
Actually, it's like this video that was massive on the internet a while back. It's called “A Fair(y) Use Tale” and it explains fair use. Not only does it explain, but it actually exemplifies fair use. The entire video is made of tiny clips from Disney movies. In that respect, it's almost a little recursive. It explains itself, uses itself, is a derivative about derivatives. That might be why I considered copying my own work for this.
Or maybe I wanted to write an essay. Maybe I wanted to formulate a thesis and argue a point with previously published work. It wouldn't contain much new information, other than filler sentences and spin. That would be a fine example of acceptable fair use.
You might even call it a documentary. I could be cutting up the written equivalent of archival footage, stuff that has no current currency on it's own, but that can be given new life through judicious cutting and pasting. What a novel idea.
The bottom line, I think, is that there is no end of precedent for my idea of copying my own work to write this response. It seems appropriate to make something new, like a scholarly essay, a documentary, or the majority of electronic music (consider Negativeland), by cutting up old work. I might have given an old essay new life by putting bits of it into this response.
Instead, of course, I went and wrote a whole new piece of work. I haven't copied and pasted anything. But at least I've established a precedent for myself, should I choose to do that later. If only it were that easy in real life and with work owned by other people.