Pirate Cinema
by Cory Doctorow · first published 2012
32% recommend64% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
A near-future story following teenagers who remix copyrighted media into films, examining creativity, access to production tools, and the social effects of copyright. It is an engaging, accessible read.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
In a dystopian, near-future Britain, sixteen-year-old Trent, obsessed with making movies on his computer, joins a group of artists and activists who are trying to fight a new bill that will criminalize even more harmless Internet creativity.
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Kids making movies by remixing copyrighted content and perhaps shooting some more is the topic of Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. Pretty good book that explores the social implications of such efforts.
on “Nigerian Teens Are Making Sci-Fi Shorts with Slick Visual Effects” ↗I fell in love with Doctorow's works through Pirate Cinema and Makers. Please grab one of his books when you have time; its worth the read.
on “When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth (2007)” ↗…than just someone sitting in their bedroom writing a story. but i believe that if the means of production were more accesssible, people would put in the effort for the sheer joy of creation. (doctorow's "pirate cinema" is a good read in that regard; the protagonist's art form was creating movies stitched together from clips of other movies. a true creative commons would make that a perfectly viable art form.) note…
on “Content is dead” ↗…like a modern day Childhood’s End (read that too if you haven’t, though it’s aged badly). Cloud Atlas is sorta science fiction and amazing. I’ve yet to not enjoy any book by Cory Doctorow - start with Pirate Cinema. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi was excellent. This should be enough to get you started!
on “Is ‘Oumuamua an alien spacecraft? First scans show no signs of technology” ↗Shantaram by Gregory Roberts. Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. That's Me in the Middle by Donald Jack.
on “Ask HN: What are some Good Books you have read in past one year or so..” ↗Cory Doctorow's "Pirate Cinema" is a great book to read on the topic. Very well written and engaging, too. Great story.
on “The Economics Of Girl Talk” ↗Tangentially related, read Cory Doctorow's "Pirate Cinema". An excellent read about our near future.
on “You can take down Pirate Bay, but you can’t kill the Internet it created” ↗A lot of what Cory Doctorow writes is accessible to a young adult audience, like Pirate Cinema and the Little Brother series. For younger kids there are probably lots of books at the library with a science fiction theme for those just getting a taste for reading. I think Choose Your Own Adventures…
on “Ask HN: Sci-Fi book recommendations for kids?” ↗> Plenty of abandoned taverns in inhabited cities in the modern world. This is a key plot point of the excellent novel Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow. Highly recommended. Free ebook download from the author's site, here: https://craphound.com/pc/download/
on “5k-Year-Old Tavern with Food Still Inside Discovered in Iraq” ↗>Cory Doctorow Little Brother was, for a long time, my absolute favorite novel. That and Pirate Cinema.
on “Book people think they know why 9-year-olds stop reading for fun” ↗I read the book and while I enjoyed it, I must point out one thing that really drove me crazy, and that appear common to cory doctorow's YA fiction (e.g. also in "pirate cinema"). People have zero depth. All the good people are perfectly good and identify with an absolute shared good idea. E.g. if two people want free wifi for everyone they'll also share the same ethics, political…
on “Little Brother” ↗…collaborations, and honestly I don't care for McKean's artwork. It took me a while of looking at the preview to realize I'd already read Signal-to-Noise. Forgettable. I haven't read: Cory Doctorow: Pirate Cinema Lauren Beukes: Zoo City Mercedes Lackey: Invasion Kelly Link: Stranger Things Happen Kelly Link: Magic for Beginners Although I own the Kelly Link books. Never got around to them. My…
on “Humble eBook Bundle” ↗Links to Amazon reviews for all the books: http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Cinema-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765329... http://www.amazon.com/Pump-Other-Stories-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp... http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-City-Lauren-Beukes/dp/0857662163/ http://www.amazon.com/Invasion-Secret-World-Chronicle-Chroni...…
on “Humble eBook Bundle” ↗Also, links to reviews on Goodreads: Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow – http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13539171-pirate-cinema (rating: 3.82) Pump Six and Other Stories by Paolo Bacigalupi – http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8503271-pump-six-and-othe...…
on “Humble eBook Bundle” ↗…http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1986356.Invasion (3.73) Stranger Things Happen http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66659.Stranger_Things_Hap... (4.00) Magic for Beginners. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66657.Magic_for_Beginners (4.01) Pirate Cinema http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13539171-pirate-cinema (3.82) extras Old Man's War http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51964.Old_Man_s_War (4.18) Signal to Noise! http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/166570.Signal_to_Noise…
on “Humble eBook Bundle” ↗