Reuse, Misuse, Abuse: The Ethics of Audiovisual Appropriation in the Digital Era [Hardcover]

In contemporary culture, existing audiovisual recordings are constantly reused and repurposed for various ends, raising questions regarding the ethics of such appropriations, particularly when the recording  depicts actual people and events. Every reuse of a preexisting recording is, on some level, a misuse in that it was not intended or at least anticipated by the original maker, but not all misuses are necessarily unethical. In fact, there are many instances of productive misuse that seem justified. At the same time, there are other instances in which themisuseshades intoabuse. Documentary scholars have long engaged with the question of the ethical responsibility of documentary makers in relation to their subjects. But what happens when this responsibility is set at a remove, when the recording already exists for the taking and repurposing?Reuse, Misuse and Abusesurveys a range of contemporary films and videos that appropriate preexisting footage and attempts to theorize their ethical implications.Every reuse of a preexisting recording is, on some level, a misuse, but not all misuses are necessarily unethical. At the same time, there are other instances in which the misuse shades into abuse.Reuse, Misuse and Abusesurveys the range of contemporary films and videos that appropriate preexisting footage in order to theorize their implications.JAIMIE BARON is an associate professor of film studies at the University of Alberta. She is the author ofThe Archive Effect: Found Footage and the Audiovisual Experience of History and numerous journal articles and book chapters. She is the director of the Festival of (In)appropriation and co-editor ofDocalogue.
 Contents
Introduction    Reuse, Misuse, Abuse
1          (Re)exposing Intimate Traces
2          Speaking through Others
3  &l#$