In a privatized American Internet, is big business “Big Brother” or does the free market protect and serve the needs of the average citizen with its invisible hand? With the simple act of swapping files, barbershop quartet baritone Robb Topolski finds himself at ground zero of a landmark case whose outcome will affect the rights of every American citizen.
Following one man’s personal quest to defend what he believes to be his inalienable rights, BARBERSHOP PUNK examines the critical issues surrounding the future of the American Internet and what it takes to challenge the status quo.
Contemplating the future of the American Internet and the inalienable rights under review, the film features discussions with Ian MacKaye, Damian Kulash of OK Go, Henry Rollins, Janeane Garofalo, EFF’s John Perry Barlow, U.S. Congressman Chip Pickering, Congressman Marsha Blackburn, Free Form DJ Jim Ladd, Clinton White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry, Michelle Combs of the Christian Coalition, Songwriters Guild President Rick Carnes, NARAL’s Ted Miller, lobbyist Jack Burkman, and FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, among others.