Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Stolen, The Truth About Piracy
Who is the real Online Pirate, YOU or THE STUDIOS? This is a documentary about piracy made solely from pirated media.
Stolen, The Truth About Piracy (An Essay)
Walk down Canal Street in southern Manhattan on a Sunday afternoon and every direction you look loom countless pirated DVD’s. DVD piracy is a crime, but generally DVD’s are only sold in a few extremely urban areas (Anti). A more important and less understood issue is internet piracy, defined, by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) as:
Downloading or distribution of unauthorized copies of intellectual property such as movies, [or] television…. It is no different from stealing another person’s shoes or stereo, except sometimes it can be a lot more damaging. (Anti)
In recent years the MPAA and other Hollywood studios have launched a massive anti-piracy ad campaign, blaming average Americans and mostly young guys for billions of dollars in media theft (Anti). Jack Valenti, of the MPAA, once said, “We are resolute that we’re going after people who use our material, without permission, in an illegal fashion. We’re going after them every-where they exist (Fox).” Yet internet piracy is not as simple a crime as Valenti discuses. The MPAA’s anti-piracy campaign is unfounded and illogical because the ads contradict known facts about piracy and almost solely blame basement lurking, video game playing, teen guys, when there are many other forms of piracy online.
