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The Masters are Freed

This morning a bit of interesting news landed in my Inbox from Smithsonian Magazine. Creative works published in 1926 (authors, songwriters, playwrights, etc.) are, as of 01.01.2022, available and free to use as we please. No more copyright. That means a lot of artists’ works will enter the public domain this year. What does that mean for current writers, painters, movie makers and such? I cringe at the thought of someone turning a masterpiece like The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway into something unrecognizable.

For instance, The Great Gatsby entered the public domain last year and someone wrote a graphic novel adaptation. I haven’t read it so I don’t know how much the story was changed (time period, characters, etc.). What this does tell me is that original works, masterpieces dare I say, could end up as some sci-fi adventure or even anime – or worse. I worry that instead of coming up with something unique, poor replication and representation will ensue.

Then again, maybe not. 

Pooh On Public Domain

Writer Benjamin Hoff authored The Tao of Pooh and later The Te of Piglet based on the wonderful stories of A.A. Milne, author and creator of Winnie the Pooh. I thoroughly enjoyed reading both books. Because of copyright laws, Hoff agreed to pay the Milne estate thirty percent of the hardcover profits and forty percent of the paperback profits. If he wrote either book this year, he would pay nothing and reap all the benefits of a long-beloved classic. (Note: the cartoon films are still copyright protected because they’re owned by Disney.)

Which makes me wonder:

Will unencumbered profits become a motivating factor in rehashing old classics?

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.” — Winnie the Pooh

Not a Thief, Just Borrowing

Poems by Dorothy Parker and Langston Hughes are also now in the public domain. Sounds like a ripe opportunity for some people to plagiarize and they will be free to do it without consequences. Ethically speaking, I can’t imagine stealing a single line of poetry from the likes of T.S. Elliot or stories from the likes of John Muir or Henry Thoreau. It just doesn’t feel right. Can you imagine The Sound of Music or The Maltese Falcon revamped? Blasphemy!

Okay, perhaps I’m being a bit melodramatic (well, I am an artist)…but the concern is all too real. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens when a classic meets a modern artist. Keeping my fingers crossed.

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