# Spurlock Movie.. Who hasn't sold out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566 "2011-05-20T14:40:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/21 "2011-05-20T23:47:20Z")
OK, you people have to be fucking with me, because this is without question the stupidest shit I’ve read in at least three hours. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/22 "2011-05-21T00:10:31Z")
When an artist relinquishes his work to be exploited for means other than that which he created it he is essentially giving license for someone else to change that work and give it a meaning or purpose that wasn’t intended by the artist. That idea is understandably repugnant to most artists. People do a lot of repugnant things for money but I don’t think anybody was ever been admired for doing so. I don’t think it’s at all pretentious for an artist to be repulsed by the idea of someone else fucking with his art. Granted, it is a little presumptuous for that artist’s fans to think they have a say in the matter, though. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/23 "2011-05-21T00:32:17Z")
[The Who](http://www.thewho.net/linernotes/WhoSellOut.htm) before they sold out. Hey, hang on? ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/24 "2011-05-21T04:02:40Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The fact that you want to link commercials with terrorism is more than just absurd. I hate greed, too, and appreciate people who don’t give into it. But then why don’t you feel the same ire for Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or some other rich person? No, the idea of selling out is based on some weird idea that the work is somehow soiled by being used by someone else. And that’s pretentious bullshit. Where do you get the idea that I hate wealth? I have no problem with people earning money, I have a problem with _advertising_. As I clearly said. There’s good sources of income and there’s bad sources of income. Selling out = accepting money from a bad source. I don’t “link commercials with terrorism”, I used terrorism as an _example_ of something that is clearly evil and unacceptable. I did not say they were the same thing. …oh, nevermind. I’m sick of arguing with people who can’t tell a metaphor from their elbow. ---
**Author:** ![Private\_Bin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c0e974/32.png) [@Private\_Bin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Private_Bin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/25 "2011-05-21T10:42:05Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Tom Waits. Not only does not do commercials, but has [successfully sued](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Waits#Lawsuits) advertisers for using Tom Waits soundalikes in commercials. > > I’d probably still think TW was a genius even if he’d totally sold out, but his integrity makes him even more admirable. I wish there were more like him. Even Tom Waits needed to make a little cash on the quick [now and then.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYOMPU18QjA) But doing an ad for dog food? He’s still cool. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/26 "2011-05-21T10:49:51Z")
They’re already selling their music to make a living. Who cares where they sell it? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/27 "2011-05-21T10:55:00Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Clue: Cheerios != KKK. And Cocoa Puffs definitely!= KKK. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/28 "2011-05-21T16:46:30Z")
Wait…what about Klan Krispies? ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/29 "2011-05-21T18:15:30Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > OK, you people have to be fucking with me, because this is without question the stupidest shit I’ve read in at least three hours. I was being a bit facetious in the hopes that you might clarify your position. Do you think that a song is artistically harmed if it were, in fact licensed for a morally objectionable cause? (I realize that this is a somewhat separate question from “selling out” in general; I’m not now trying to confuse the issue.) For another quite popular band that hasn’t done much in the way of selling out, there’s Pearl Jam. Probably trying to imitate Neil Young. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/30 "2011-05-21T18:24:30Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Tom Waits. Not only does not do commercials, but has [successfully sued](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Waits#Lawsuits) advertisers for using Tom Waits soundalikes in commercials. > > I’d probably still think TW was a genius even if he’d totally sold out, but his integrity makes him even more admirable. I wish there were more like him. That was awesome, thanks! I’ve loved him for years, had no idea about his arrest or lawsuits… Joe ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566/31 "2011-05-21T19:46:45Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > I was being a bit facetious in the hopes that you might clarify your position. Do you think that a song is artistically harmed if it were, in fact licensed for a morally objectionable cause? (I realize that this is a somewhat separate question from “selling out” in general; I’m not now trying to confuse the issue.) I think the artistic merit of a song can be judged independently from its commercial uses. However, if an artist were to license his song for a morally objectionable cause, that is certainly a decision by which we can judge the artist and his morals. I don’t think there’s anything morally objectionable with licensing a song to advertise everyday products, especially if the artist likes that product anyway. It’s his song and he can decide how it is used until the copyright runs out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spurlock-movie-who-hasnt-sold-out/582566.md?page=1)