The farcical side to the war on media piracy: A popular case of Divine Comedy?

Abstract

This article examines illegal consumption in popular media. Corporate citizens have portrayed media piracy as an activity comprising several layers of illegal and morally derelict behaviour. They have waged a most aggressive war against consumers and technology pioneers. The need for deterrence, it appears, is obvious. However the internet paints a different picture. It reminds us just how little people care about breaking copyright laws. Online parodies concerning anti-piracy campaigns also affirm this development. This article revisits the war on piracy and the strategies adopted. It assesses the success of campaigns aimed at consumers. An argument that deterrence has a paradoxical and somewhat comical effect is advanced. The final part explores the nexus between parody and piracy. Social networking has created a potentially subversive force by encouraging farcical representations of centralized copyright governance models. The dramas are indeed sublime. It appears Dante was right about the human condition. © The Author(s) 2014.