This really isn't a good article. It's not terribly eloquent, nor is it unique or new.
Also, it avoids the big, ugly question. The author writes: It was warped thinking, and it produced bizarre results. That's about copy protection, a.k.a. "Digital Rights Management" in Newspeak. Great, warped thinking. Honestly, I don't think that mere fear can cause decades long periods of "warped thinking". Most people get talked out of "warped thinking" fairly readily, when they see some evidence, or some bad fallout from that warped thinking. The popular culture industry can't possibly be on a decades long binge of warped thinking. There's got to be some other motive. And that's what this article resists thinking about.
Also, it avoids the big, ugly question. The author writes: It was warped thinking, and it produced bizarre results. That's about copy protection, a.k.a. "Digital Rights Management" in Newspeak. Great, warped thinking. Honestly, I don't think that mere fear can cause decades long periods of "warped thinking". Most people get talked out of "warped thinking" fairly readily, when they see some evidence, or some bad fallout from that warped thinking. The popular culture industry can't possibly be on a decades long binge of warped thinking. There's got to be some other motive. And that's what this article resists thinking about.