Film

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto

Name: RiP!: A Remix Manifesto
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2008
Cast: Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, Cory Doctorow, Gilberto Gil

Brett Gaylor's urgent, playful manifesto about copyright law in the digital age. Through Girl Talk's maximalist mashups, legal theory, and interviews with creators worldwide, it makes the case that remix is not theft but evolution. Sharp, funny, and genuinely radical—not preachy, just convincing. Essential for anyone who makes or cares about culture.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy films that make an argument by collage, where sampled clips and mashed-up music carry the point as much as the talking heads do, and you already find copyright law a little absurd.

Skip it if you want a documentary that stays calm and expository; this one is restless, fast-cut and openly partisan, and its enthusiasm for remix can feel like a lecture delivered at full volume.

What it asks of you: It runs about an hour and a half and keeps moving, so it asks you to follow a stack of references, sound bites and on-screen text without much pause to digest them.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Social Dilemma2020

Another urgent documentary about how the internet's architecture shapes what we see and think. Equally concerned with power, creativity, and who controls the narrative. Accessible, infuriating, and perfectly paced.

But Leans toward moral panic at moments, and some of its warnings feel overstated. Also somewhat dated already, given how fast tech criticism evolves.

Copying Beethoven2006

A narrative film about artistic borrowing, homage, and who gets credit—set in 19th-century Vienna. Shows the anxiety around originality is ancient, not new. Mahler, Salieri, Beethoven all grappled with the same questions.

But Fictional drama, so it trades rigor for emotion. Not a direct argument like RiP!, just an elegant parallel case.

Terms and Conditions May Apply2013

Rajesh Masrani's doc attacks the other side of copyright culture: how companies use contracts to control what we do with what we buy. Dark, often darkly funny, reveals the absurdity of terms nobody reads.

But Can feel repetitive—the horror mounts but solutions stay vague. Also more corporate critique than creative liberation argument.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from RiP!: A Remix Manifesto

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Bling Ring2013

RiP! argues remix is legitimate; Coppola asks: is it? Always? By anyone? For any reason? A necessary counter-argument wrapped in brilliant style.

Sofia Coppola's deadpan portrait of kids stealing celebrity culture wholesale—appropriating, sharing, remixing their idols into a lifestyle. It's what remix culture looks like when severed from its artistic or political intentions, when it becomes pure theft of coolness.

But Deliberately affectless; Coppola refuses to judge or explain. Some want their satire angrier or more clearly moral. Also feels dated in its specific target.

Trumpland: Kill All Normies2017

About internet culture, memes, and how meaning gets made and remixed online. Shows that remix isn't academic—it's how we actually communicate now. Confrontational and generative at once.

But Gets tangled in contemporary politics in ways that feel less urgent now. Also assumes deep knowledge of internet subcultures.

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World2016

Werner Herzog's meditative take on the internet's invention and meaning. Not about copyright per se, but about the culture that made remix possible and necessary. Genuinely philosophical without being dry.

But Herzog's voice-over can feel self-important. Also far more in love with technology than RiP! is—it doesn't interrogate power the way you might want.

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World poster

Indie Game: The Movie2012

Creators making something without permission from the gatekeepers, building on existing culture and code. Shows remix culture in video games—how tiny teams build massive worlds on the shoulders of others.

But Very inside baseball about indie game development. If you don't care about games, the stakes won't land.

Our Brand Is Crisis2015

David Bercovici-Artigas's doc about political PR shows how narrative itself is remixed, manipulated, and weaponized. A portrait of creative people doing ethically dubious work with existing materials.

But Bleak and a bit scattered. Less interested in defending anything than in showing how it's done and what it costs.

Searching for Sugar Man2012

A mystery about a musician whose bootleg recordings became an underground hit he never knew about. Touching, beautifully shot, and about how culture moves without permission or credit—in a heartbreaking way.

But Far gentler and more sentimental than RiP!. Takes the remix story as tragedy rather than manifesto, which some will find more honest.