Muslim leaders are reacting to the YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims" is varying ways. Meanwhile, the domino effect caused by the attacks in Libya and Egypt continues as a handful of Republican lawmakers reportedly want to cut off aid to both countries. And regardless of who produced the controversial low budget video, the international controversy it has produced clearly illustrates the power of social media websites like YouTube. But does Google, who owns YouTube, have a responsibility to monitor the millions upon millions of videos uploaded by users for content that may be offensive to viewers around the globe? All that and FilmWeek on today's AirTalk.
Muslim leadership in reaction to YouTube film
Even as protests have spread across the Middle East, Muslims are not of one mind on the issue. Some Libyans were mourning the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, while others burned down a KFC fast food joint in Tripoli. Many American Muslims expressed regret over the violent demonstrations, but Egyptian leadership was slower to try to quell the outrage over a bizarre, low-budget YouTube movie denigrating the Prophet Mohammed. How should leaders in the Arab world be responding? Can free speech and Islam co-exist?
Guests:
Edina Lekovic, Director of Policy & Programming, Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Nader Hashemi, Assistant Professor and Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver
Protests test U.S. relations with Arab countries
A handful of Republican lawmakers want to cut off aid to Libya and Egypt, according to The Washington Post. While others say these fiery protests are not representative of all Arabs and perhaps not their leadership either. The murder of diplomats, embassy attacks and continued demonstrations present a real foreign policy challenge to President Barack Obama, as well as his presidential challenger Mitt Romney.
How should the U.S. respond to the violence in the Middle East this week? And what impact could it have on the upcoming election?
Guests:
Michael Rubin, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute; former Pentagon official; former political advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad (2003-2004)
Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, studies United States foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia.
Should YouTube pull down “The Innocence of Muslims?”
Regardless of who produced the low budget video “Innocence of Muslims,” the international domino effect that it has produced clearly illustrates the power of social media websites like YouTube. But with power comes responsibility. Does Google, who owns YouTube, have a responsibility to monitor the millions upon millions of videos uploaded by users for content that may be offensive to viewers?
The free speech issues involved in answering this question get complicated very quickly. Every person has a different threshold as for what they find offensive and it would be impossible to filter all offensive content from being posted on the Internet. "We work hard to create a community everyone can enjoy and which also enables people to express different opinions," a YouTube spokesman maintained in a statement. "This can be a challenge because what's OK in one country can be offensive elsewhere. This video -- which is widely available on the Web -- is clearly within our guidelines and so will stay on YouTube."
What basic responsibilities, if any, do Google and other internet companies have when it comes to monitoring potentially offensive videos and other content on the internet?
Guest:
Dan Gillmor, digital media professor at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University
FilmWeek: The Master, Resident Evil: Retribution, Finding Nemo 3D and more
Larry is joined by KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon to review this week’s new films, including The Master, Resident Evil: Retribution, Finding Nemo 3D and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic for KPCC and author for amazon.com
End of an era? Fujifilm leaves the film stock biz
Fujifilm, a photography company founded in 1934, announced it would no longer continue to manufacture analog film to be used in cinema. Fujifilm’s decision to cease production of cinema film is just the latest blow to the analog film industry; Fujifilm rival Kodak also announced it’s so far unable to find a buyer of its patents related to film, which was expected to be a source of much needed revenue to the fledgling film company.
The rise of digital media has impacted the film and video business in numerous ways, but nothing was hit harder than analog film companies like Kodak and Fujifilm, who were unable to adapt quickly to changing standards and expectations .Despite attempts by Fuji and Kodak to monetize and restructure their film businesses, the lower costs and easier distribution of digital films were too high of a barrier for the companies to surpass. But photophiles have bemoaned the lack of analog film, stating that the composition and quality of physical film are unmatched by its digital counterparts.
Guests:
Jason Squire, Associate Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts at USC; former studio executive
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and dearhenrysheehan.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic for KPCC and author for amazon.com