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Dear Movie Industry: You Are All Idiots

Sunday, May 14, 2006

So I sat down on the sofa, popped in a new DVD, and prepared to enjoy.

But oh no. Hold on there, citizen. First you must be exposed to the state-sponsored propaganda!

"You wouldn't steal a car! So don't steal a movie! PIRACY IS THEFT!"

I am angry about this for so many reasons, I have to make a list:

First of all, it's not piracy. Piracy is: "an act of robbery on the high seas; also : an act resembling such robbery". Am I in a boat? No. So shut up and learn English.
If I steal your car in the middle of the night, in the morning, you don't have a car any more. That's theft. But if I download a movie without paying for it, nothing has gone missing, anywhere. I might not have even bought the movie if I couldn't download it. So no-one has lost out: this is not theft. At worst, it's copyright infringement, something that happens every time you sing "Happy Birthday".
Finally, and most ridiculously, you can't skip this stupid video. You are forced to watch it before you can watch the movie, and the controls of your DVD player are locked out. But if I were to download a copy instead, there would be no such restrictions. The illegal version is better!

Way to go, Movie Industry. Why are you all morons?

Labels: commentary, tech