I think I may have mentioned this in another post, but this is a question that Professor O’Malley brings up a lot: Who does the past belong to? When you think about your memories in the past of those road trips with friends with the music blaring and now whenever you hear that song it brings you back to that time. But does that memory really belong to you if the song belongs to someone else? The author of that song has the copyright to that song, they own that song and by making that song they created that memory for you didn’t they? Would the memory still be as impactful in your life if there had been no music? Or the memory or going to the drive-in movie theater and having your first kiss while the movie was playing so now that movie makes you think of that time. Is that really your memory? You wouldn’t have been the drive-in if there was no movie so the director of that movie really helped to create that memory.

So, in a world where pretty much everything is under copyright do we actually own any of the memories that we have? Does our past really belong to us or do we just think it does? It’s a complicated thing to grasp and is one of the most interesting questions that professor O’Malley has asked. It makes you think about all your memories and how many of them involved something that actually belongs to someone else due to copyright. And with everything that is under copyright would have things in our lives that sparked a memory as much as books, music, movies, and most forms of entertainment do in today’s society. It just boggles my mind!