It's no secret — rich white guys in Hollywood were the No. 1 reason why scary copyright bills SOPA and PIPA almost made it through Washington this year.

Yet the film industry is sort of the original pirate, leeching off the public domain of creativity and making a killing off the genius of a few.

All this, laid out in a sweet new infographic from Paralegal.net:

It shows how Hollywood, born as a renegade answer to strict copyright laws in the East, later reverted on its spirit of freedom and creativity to become a selfish, stifling ruler. (Sigh. Why does everything come back to Animal Farm?)

Keep in mind that the Hollywood blockbuster machine is as corporate as the WalMart empire, and as rich-white-male as the Augusta National Golf Club, or even the coal industry. (As is the voting pool for the Academy Awards, which surely perpetuates all that homogeny via Oscars prestige.)

So here you have it: Film executives' claims that piracy is draining the industry of its life-blood are a pile of BS. And hypocritical, besides.

Hypocrisy in Hollywood
Created by: Paralegal

[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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