Here is the link to access the project:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Adez-H21OxX8fnN2ivo_y7BYAJgUuqSYfFPMReolYmA/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the link to access the project:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Adez-H21OxX8fnN2ivo_y7BYAJgUuqSYfFPMReolYmA/edit?usp=sharing
In the introduction, you clearly what copyright was and brought up the issue of dance and copyright on social media. However, the purpose could have been made more clear in the introduction. I like ho you included the fact that many viral dances are created by minorities such as African Americans. Their dances are taken and popularized by white teens and the creators do not receive credit. This is an issue that was also discussed in “Because Internet”, my book group. In the book, McCullough says that popular slang and new trends are usually started in minority groups. These new slangs only get integrated into mainstream media when white people start using them. I have seen this issue first hand. A close friend of mine recently became Tik Tok famous. He is known as the ‘Phrog man’ and is known for making strange faces while working out. Many instagram pages have taken his content and reposted it without giving him credit. Not only does my friend not get the recognition, but other pages are profiting off his content.
Since social media has blown up, it has become a medium where copyright laws can be in effect. I like how you discuss the benefits and negatives of copyright. This topic is really interesting and connects the class discussion we had. When is a work considered copyright and when is it considered inspiration? Almost everything has had influence from another idea. How can we tell if something deserves to be copyrighted and what can be in the public domain?
Your topic is an underdiscussed part of the internet that is only getting more relevant. I have witnessed the dance become a major part of the internet. For example, I never envisioned myself learning a dance anytime soon until a dance based on the Billy Joel song “Zanzibar” started on TikTok. My girlfriend and I hopped on the trend pretty quickly and had fun learning a dance. Internet sharing platforms have made dances more culturally relevant than ever, leading to questions about who owns particular dances to arise. A topic your project addresses effectively and with detail.
I was surprised to read that “JaQuel Knight is the first person in the pop music industry to copyright a choreography.” I wonder why it has taken so long for this to happen. Do you think its simply because its harder to specifically identify copied dance moves?
I also was interested to read that Fortnite has gotten sued for using other people’s choreographies. I had never considered if Fortnite and other video games compensated those who made the dances they use as downloadable content. I agree with the legal action the choreographers took due to the lack of substantial transformation in the case. Fortnite having their characters do the dance in a virtual space is remixing the dance to be a new entity. I agree with your idea that there are advantages and disadvantages to copyrighting dances in online spaces, however. The decision must be come to carefully due to its implications that it could limit the spread/notoriety of your dance (the main source of its value).
Great, thought-provoking project!
It was very interesting to hear your thoughts on copyright in the realm of dance choreography. From what I can recall, our class discussions really focused on the restrictions of copyright. We talked a lot about how copyright prohibits the concept of the remix, because copyright ultimately puts a name to everyday creations. I remember us using Disney as a classic example of a large corporation forming a monopoly over the creative ideas of others. Our class discussion was centered around the question of whether it is logical to have a copyright system in the digital age, given the vast sea of creations that exists today.
Your project flips the script of our class discussion. Rather than focusing on Disney, you focus on Jaliah Harmon, JaQuel Knight, and other creators who have contributed to our current understanding of copyright in choreography. This was my favorite part of your project– you spent time analyzing copyright at the individual level in addition to the corporate level. This makes a lot of sense since your research was looking into choreographers and how dance can be copyrighted. Nonetheless, your project gave a strong argument in defense of copyright laws. For every large corporation that is limiting creative opportunities with copyright claims, there are millions of individual creators around the world that might benefit from buying a copyright for their creations.
Your project had me reflecting on much of what we discussed about copyright claims earlier in the semester. From a rhetorical standpoint, I really enjoyed your use of hyperlinks and videos in this essay. It was fun to see examples of the dances you were mentioning as the essay progressed. Overall, your project fits into our class themes very well. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Shakthi,
I’ve been looking forward to viewing your project and I was not disappointed! Copyright of choreography is a controversial topic that doesn’t get much coverage, so I’m glad that you chose to focus on it. Also being a member of the dance community, I’ve seen some of my favorite choreographers’ work used without their permission. For instance, the choreographer I was telling you about, Brian Esperon, had a dispute with a dance company that performed in a competition and won an award using his choreography to an entire dance, without giving him any credit. Someone had posted a video of the performance online to get Brian’s attention, but this isn’t always the case. Many less known choreographers can have their dances used for gain (whether that be through monetary profit or awards) with no recognition, which is disheartening and important to shed light on. I was glad you brought up the case of Jaliah Harmon because I wasn’t aware of the amount of opportunities she had due to recognition for the Renegade dance. I’m happy for her, but sadly many others aren’t that fortunate.
I think that the information that you provided was worded well and communicated your point effectively; however, I’m not sure if Google Docs was the best medium to present your information on. I wished that the videos were able to be played on the page instead of having to go back and forth between the document and Youtube. Including copies of the videos on the page itself could’ve also enabled you to cut certain clips from the performances you provided. For instance, in the clip from Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar, I wasn’t sure where to go to see the parallel in choreography between that in the movie and in the video of Jeya Raveendran dancing with his student. The link to the full video can still be provided, but I think that cutting specific moments of the video or providing timestamps would’ve been helpful. Using another medium, such as creating a web-text, could also give you more flexibility in regard to visual aesthetics. Google Docs can be very limiting in the colors used and where, placement of text and pictures, font styles, and their rigid templates.
I found this topic to be very relevant for both personal experience and as seen on media. In my first years at Stony Brook, I was a part of a dance team where we had a coach, who made our choreography. We later replaced her with someone else, but since we were still using her choreography, she made us give her credit every time we performed and posted it. At events we would say her name and when posting on YouTube or Instagram we would give her credit in the caption section. As for in media, there was a famous Tik Toker who performed Tik Tok dances on Jimmy Fallon. It was later revealed that she was not the creator of those dances and there was an uproar of her taking the credit from others. To make it right, Jimmy Fallon gave the creators of each dance a time slot on the show and they each received recognition, even though they did not have copyrights.
I loved learning how since dance choreography being posted online has become ever growing, even if one does not have copyrights, they deserve to get credit for their work. Also, I like how you integrated pictures with YouTube links to the dances you were using throughout your text. Although you described it well, I felt as though the dance links were fun to go through and made it very interesting.
After just reading the title, I thought this would be such an interesting angle on copyright. The way you talked about these Tik Tok dances is wild because I’ve seen so many comments of black people saying how white people stole their dance in tik tok comment sections. I felt as though memes kind of felt the same way during my project. It seems as though people just build upon memes they’ve seen, which eventually leads to new memes. However, people don’t really have an issue with this concept in this context; yet, it’s different when it comes to choreography.
I remember the renegade dance that went viral. I only saw big celebrities and tik tok influencers doing the dance, however. It’s sad because I actually never saw the original, and can’t recall any of these videos of them doing the dance crediting Jaliah. It’s insane because this happens all the time. Not even with just dance, but with so much more. It’s worse when people know where it came from, but decide not to credit it in any way.
I thought the section where you talked about the actual copyright rules was pretty useful and informative. It was a pretty logical breakdown and explanation why not all dance can be considered under this copyright rule. I liked how you included videos as examples, it really helped engage and help me understand more about derivative dances. I like how you basically dedicated sections to more examples, especially single ladies because I love that song. I did not know that it wasn’t even Beyoncé who would be applying for copyright. I do agree with his decision though. I think especially given the many examples given, that these choreographers should get credit if their ideas are being used. It takes a lot to make a choreography, which deserves the credit reflecting how hard they worked.
I really enjoyed reading about your topic as a dancer and choreographer. Throughout your paper, many of my questions were answered as I was unsure about certain aspects of copyright in choreography such as – “If someone choreographed a dance that was derived from a collage of “already made” dance moves, would the choreographer have to give credit to all of them even if they adjusted these dance moves in their own creative way?” I’ve seen many times on Tiktok when someone would do an amazing job covering a dance trend only to be hated on because they didn’t give credit to the original creator. This made me wonder, if someone saw a dance on Instagram and uploaded a cover of it on Tiktok, how would they credit the creator across platforms, assuming the original creator does not have a Tiktok account? I’m asking this because I’ve noticed that people often credit others through “@” and a username pops up.
I also liked how you included many Youtube hyperlinks to demonstrate the points you made. One specific one that caught my eye was the “Permission to Dance” BTS Challenge. Though I didn’t participate in the challenge, I certainly am a fan of BTS and it was really fun to see you having fun with the dance. As someone who has joined the KBS dance team and covers a lot of K-pop covers, giving credit to these groups is emphasized since they have worked really hard to perfect their own choreography. I have wondered, however, typically when we cover these K-pop songs, do we give credit to the choreographer that made the dance or the group who uses the dance as a performance for their new song?
Overall, your topic did a great job in revisiting the topic of copyright we discussed earlier this semester and especially, was very interesting as you took an approach to copyright in choreography.
Hi Shakti,
I liked how you broke down your presentation into different sections as it helped the reader navigate through and allowed me to know ahead of time what I was going to read about. In addition, I liked how you defined the types of choreography so people that don’t know about dance can understand the information as well and how you also gave examples through the images of derivative choreography. The use of videos was also effective as I liked how you presented the advantages and disadvantages of copyright after giving examples and gave the information necessary to apply for copyright and then also gave the example of Fortnite to support.
In looking at the method of presentation, I think it was effective that you used videos throughout since your main topic was about choreography in the digital age and how copyright has changed with it and the videos were great examples that complimented the information you presented.
Hi Shakthi,
I really like how your project came out! I knew that I was going to enjoy it as soon as I read your rough draft during peer review. In terms of the format, I like how you broke it up into sections. It definitely helped me to stay engaged with the text. I also like your pop of color in the section titles. You used a first person voice in some areas, which I think gave the narration a voice. It helped me to connect with you writing. Also, the links to all the videos was a good idea. I was able to watch them without leaving the text.
The part about cross-platform sharing was interesting. I did not realize that this could cause a lack of credit. The Renegade example was also very interesting. I knew a little about this from the news, but you really explained it well. It shows the importance of giving credit. I think that it is very interesting that dances can be copyrighted. However, I feel like it is difficult to truly determine what deserves copyright and what broke copyright laws. There seems to be a very fine line. This gets even more difficult with derivative choreography. What makes something “creative enough?” I feel like there are probably a lot of disagreements. The Riff example was interesting because he got permission to use the dances. I didn’t think that many people would actually ask for permission to use dances.
Overall, this is a great project!
Hey Shakthi,
I really loved reading through your project. I thought it was super in the style of this class and i’m glad you were able to expand on this ever so reoccurring theme of intellectual property.
It’s really great that you did yours on the topic of copyright and intellectual property especially on something so physically intangible like dances and gestures. And I always thought it would be a corporation-esque maneuver to copyright a hand gesture of some sort (like apple’s “alien peace sign” emoji 🖖), but I never thought it would be possible as physical gestures have historically been in the “no-go” zone for copyright an intellectual property. Your mention of choreography on the other hand, makes sense in the legal setting, as an three-hour-long performance is not likely to be recreated on the whim or on accident, and those who try to unjustly profit from the creativity and originality that went into the original work should be rightfully punished.
Although I totally comprehend and rationalize with individuals being discredited for their originality, still feel somewhat unsure about allowing gestures to be copyrighted. One must treat all players of the game equally, and that means granting a teenager on tiktok to the rights of a dance can be equally applied to a corporation like Disney, which undoubtably would use their legal power and restrict public access to that gesture.
Overall, great and informative project — I loved your topic. The only insight/advice they could offer is to maybe work on some of the visual elements of your piece.
The way you structured your project is really similar to mine! The use of subtitles and color really aided in my ability to stay focused and get a better understanding of the topic. The colors especially helped set the tone of the piece for me. I really enjoyed learning about the intricacies of choreography and its copyright history–learning how it has changed with the internet and social media like Tiktok is so relevant to our time.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your project, especially because of just how relevant and commonplace TikTok is for our generation. Your ideas made me really consider the two sides to copyright – the restrictive and the commemorating – and how certain media often teeters on the edge of both.
I found your take on copyright to be very digestible and applicable to our daily life, which helped me further understand the mystic issues behind copyright claims and giving due diligence to creators versus halting the progress of building upon the ideas of others. I definitely agree that credit should be given where it is due – especially to young creators like Jaliah Harmon and JaQuel Knight. What sets these young creators aside from copyright “feen” Disney is that the ever-reaching hand of Disney copyrights to prevent others from stealing their ideas (aka money) whereas young creators on TikTok need copyright for recognition and due-credit. A great example of this is Addison Rae being invited to the Jimmy Fallon Show to perform several dances, most of which were originally created by young Black users (who weren’t credited until there was public backlash).
Overall, I really liked the shift in perspective when it comes to copyright, and approaching it from specifically the angle of dance copyright made your project fresh and very interesting to read through. Great work, Shakti!!
I didn’t know that story about the creation of the Renegade! Its the perfect example of how much the simple act of attribution can change someone’s life for the better. If Dubsmash didn’t put in the effort to connect the fans of the dance with their proper creator, then that dance would’ve forever remained in creation limbo: everyone knows it, but no one knows where it came from. The quote you used “I was kind of highlighting how important it is for the original creators to get credit because it can lead to real business opportunities” was a perfect way of highlighting this.
This was such a fascinating read because it once again highlights how the digital age is rubbing up against our old concepts of ownership. Before the proliferation of smartphones and digital cameras, the only way to experience dance was through live performance or memory. Now that new mediums have arrived to capture that dance, we need to think of different ways to treat it, especially for works that are partially inspired by other dances or borrow certain moves. All creation is iterative, yet proper credit still needs to be given.
I think your project was arranged fantastically, the use of case studies followed by sections that explained what that case study meant was a great way to keep the reader engaged while also introducing and explaining key concepts.
I love that you brought up the topic of copyright in choreography. I think it’s so easy for copyright to be associated with written publications, but dancing is a creative art as well and the time and effort taken to come up with new dances should be recognized as well. I loved that you incorporated some of your own dancing into your arguments, showcasing how you perform covers with your friends.
I think your project was super applicable because of how much TikTok has risen over the past year. Copying others’ dances has become the norm on the app among dancers as well as non-dancers. When scrolling through the app a while ago, I recall coming across a video where the original creator commented asking for recognition since it was original choreography. At the same time, I have seen multiple pop groups attempt dance challenges similar to the way BTS did to promote their music.
Since you are a dancer yourself, I would be interested in knowing your and your dance community’s stance on copyrighted choreography. As you mention in the end, dancers should have recognition for their work. What do you believe that recognition consists of? Just a mention of their name? Attributing a specific motion in the dance to them?
I really found your topic of dance choreography to be interesting and unique. I did not know that copyright protection can be used in choreography and this was very informative. I agree with your statement that credit is very important even if it’s not the same or as high level as getting copyright protection. When you get credit, you can get more opportunities as an influencer and can also get business opportunities with it as well. I also found the advantages and disadvantages of copyright interesting. Gaining copyright protection can prevent other dancers from using their work without giving credit, which can be annoying. but having copyright protection can also restrict the moves that a dancer can make. This can prevent the flow of creativity when it comes to dancing.
Hey Shakthi,
I don’t know why, but I never thought that choreography could also have a copyright protection. I don’t use TikTok, but I feel that it could be extremely difficult to track down where a dance originated from or who the creator was, but maybe not. I also didn’t think that anything could come from knowing who created the dance, but after looking at your examples, I now realize that I’m wrong and that there is an imperative to give the credit to the creators of these dances as many opportunities can arise. Even though the TikTok and dance craze is a foreign concept for me, I’ll think twice any time I watch one of these dances blowup into the limelight.
Shakthi,
I found the portion about copyright law in choreography really interesting, mainly because you talked about how the law has technically been around for 40 years, yet has only recently been put into practice. That portion of your paper was also interesting to me because you started talking about how JaQuel Knight, a choreographer, wants to get copyright protection for his work. You also cited that he choreographed the dance for WAP, and I think that part of the popularity of the song came from the popularity of the dance trend on TikTok. This made me think of how artists are increasingly turning to viral dances in order to make their songs more popular amongst the youth. If choreographers are increasingly trying to copyright their work, I wonder what impact this would have on this trend. All in all, I found your topic selection to be really fitting with the times, since replicating dance choreography is increasingly popular in today’s social media.