# The Downfall of Downfall: Or all those Hitler parodies got taken down from YouTube. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009 "2010-04-22T17:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/1 "2010-04-22T17:18:09Z")
See all about it here: [![](https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/59976027-9f8e24479a71b610fceb13e404f7b1c4fca4e153113f8343e260f0f7e091974e-d?f=webp "Hitler, as ") ](https://vimeo.com/11086952) Or if that gets taken down, read about it here: > **[Hitler Is Very Upset That Constantin Film Is Taking Down Hitler Parodies |...](https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/19/hitler-parody-takedown/)** > > For my money, memes on the Internet don't get any better than the Hitler one. You know, the one in which you take some current event (the more mundane, the better) and shove it into the scene from the German film Downfall in which Hitler is told in... Tis a shame. They haven’t all disappeared yet, but most of the really popular ones are already gone. I would have saved the “Grammar Nazi” one if I had known. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/2 "2010-04-22T17:27:23Z")
it may be for the best… the concept had been really diluted. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/3 "2010-04-22T17:29:36Z")
I remember back in the old days, when we naively thought that stuff posted online would be available forever… ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/4 "2010-04-22T17:32:44Z")
I just wish Google had the balls to tell Constantin films to piss up a rope - 4 minutes of parody out of a 2 1/2 hour movie clearly falls under Fair Use. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/5 "2010-04-22T17:33:58Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I just wish Google had the balls to tell Constantin films to piss up a rope - 4 minutes of parody out of a 2 1/2 hour movie clearly falls under Fair Use. I’m no lawyer, but this was my thought too. This seems to clearly be fair use. Guess Youtube/Google doesn’t think it’s worth the fight. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/6 "2010-04-22T17:44:23Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > See all about it here: > [Hitler, as "Downfall producer" orders a DMCA takedown](http://www.vimeo.com/11086952) That was really nicely done, though I’m sure they’ll get shit for having Hitler be Constantin Films. But working in “Stallman” as he yelled “Stalin” was brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/7 "2010-04-22T18:27:03Z")
Constantin is a pack of retards. In exchange for not controlling access to a single five minute scene, they had the internet running a viral marketing campaign on their behalf, producing wave upon wave of trailers advertising their movie. In my world, this would be seen as a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/8 "2010-04-22T18:28:18Z")
While they were worrying about a bunch of 4 minute parodies, I watched the entire thing online for free in 9 parts. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/9 "2010-04-22T19:05:33Z")
It’s amazing how little lawyers know about digital property and the law. It’s fair use. Plain and simple. I doubt anyone outside of Germany would have known this film existed until this clip was lampooned. Since I _ahem_ obtained an unedited version of the clip, I will be playing around with it and posting on my soon to be launched site thatsh\*[tiswrong.com](http://tiswrong.com). I’m a little guy, so I think I will enjoy telling a big company to piss up a rope, as muldoonthief said. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/10 "2010-04-22T19:30:03Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > It’s amazing how little lawyers know about digital property and the law. It’s fair use. Plain and simple. I doubt that it’s a matter of not knowing. I expect that it’s a matter of not wanting to spend the money to argue the matter in court, win or lose. And I doubt that they actually care about the principle of the thing. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/11 "2010-04-22T19:48:07Z")
I’m hopeful the EFF will take the case. Fair use has to be clarified. This is very obviously Fair Use, as a very small portion is being used for clear satirical purposes and it does not impact the market for the full product. If anything, it has dramatically _increased_ demand for the film. Amazing how anyone so bone-headed could have made it through law school. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/12 "2010-04-22T20:06:20Z")
Youtube is quickly making itself irrelevant. They are taking down so much good stuff. Even fan made videos are targeted if they use commercial music. I ran into some videos that played with their sound removed. People will find alternate places to post. Meta Cafe is getting more popular. I’m sure there’s others that are newer and not as well known. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/13 "2010-04-22T20:11:10Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m hopeful the EFF will take the case. Fair use has to be clarified. This is very obviously Fair Use, as a very small portion is being used for clear satirical purposes and it does not impact the market for the full product. If anything, it has dramatically _increased_ demand for the film. > > Amazing how anyone so bone-headed could have made it through law school. There’s always the possibility you might create precedent to _narrow_ the definition of Fair Use. That would give serious jollies to not only the producer of _Downfall_, but to many other producers and distributors. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/14 "2010-04-22T20:27:00Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I’m hopeful the EFF will take the case. Fair use has to be clarified. This is very obviously Fair Use, as a very small portion is being used for clear satirical purposes and it does not impact the market for the full product. If anything, it has dramatically _increased_ demand for the film. > > Amazing how anyone so bone-headed could have made it through law school. Does EFF have any standing to do anything though? As I understand it, Constantin is basically asking YouTube to take the content down, and YouTube is complying - they’ve got a policy that if you put up something that someone else owns the copyright too, no matter how brief or fair use it is, that the copyright owner can take it down. They’ve got every legal right to have that policy. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/15 "2010-04-22T20:52:36Z")
I can totally see Constantin’s point - all these parodies have completely trivialized what should be the climactic scene in their film. Never mind the money, the free advertising, the viral word of mouth - if it lessens the impact of that moment in the film, it isn’t worth it to the actor, to the writer, to the director. That’s the point of copyright, to allow the artist a degree of control over how their work gets used. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/16 "2010-04-22T21:02:09Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Never mind the money, the free advertising, the viral word of mouth - if it lessens the impact of that moment in the film, it isn’t worth it to the actor, to the writer, to the director. The director is on record as loving the videos and thinking they’re directly in line with the point of the movie, which was to knock the Nazis off the pedestal of evil they’re generally placed on. > [@](#): > > “The point of the film was to kick these terrible people off the throne that made them demons, making them real and their actions into reality,” he says. “I think it’s only fair if now it’s taken as part of our history, and used for whatever purposes people like.” [cite](http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/01/the_director_of_downfall_on_al.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/17 "2010-04-22T21:03:41Z")
The movie director likes them , he said many of them make him laugh out loud. He’s seen over 140 of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/18 "2010-04-22T21:10:59Z")
Uh, did I miss something? I just searched for a ton of them and they all worked on Youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/19 "2010-04-22T21:19:00Z")
**Gorsnak, Bijou Drains** : Fair enough - I stand corrected over the director’s reaction. I’m only projecting what my feelings would be if a film of my creation were used in such a way. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009/20 "2010-04-22T21:22:28Z")
Someone needs to do a “Hitler finds out he’s being removed from Youtube” parody! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-downfall-of-downfall-or-all-those-hitler-parodies-got-taken-down-from-youtube/537009.md?page=2)