The Weird World of Movie Piracy
November 2, 2009
Last Sunday's 60 Minutes took a look into the world of movie piracy. Take a look.
I have a really difficult time understanding how there is such a huge market for this kind of thing in the United States. I can understand why there might be a market for a product like music, even textbooks, because theoretically you can make a near-perfect copy of the original and the bootleg would be only marginally different (if at all).
Movies are a different beast. People listen to music on their ipods and in their cars; but they go to a concert to experience that music live. People go to the movies for an experience they can't get at home - watching a movie on a giant screen. The reason I wouldn never want to watch a bootleg DVD of a new movie is the quality gap. The 60 Minutes story describes bootleg movies being made by people sitting in the back row of the theater recording on tiny spy cameras . There's no way that the bootleg can even come close to the quality of the original.
I always thought the point of going to movies was to enjoy films, not to see them merely for the sake of it. I know there are a lot of people with more disposable income than me and it probably would be good for my budget if I quit going to movies, but there's no way I would substitute a bootleg instead. Watching a bootleg movie like that would be like listening to a live concert recorded by someone standing in the audience. What's the point?
I have a really difficult time understanding how there is such a huge market for this kind of thing in the United States. I can understand why there might be a market for a product like music, even textbooks, because theoretically you can make a near-perfect copy of the original and the bootleg would be only marginally different (if at all).
Movies are a different beast. People listen to music on their ipods and in their cars; but they go to a concert to experience that music live. People go to the movies for an experience they can't get at home - watching a movie on a giant screen. The reason I wouldn never want to watch a bootleg DVD of a new movie is the quality gap. The 60 Minutes story describes bootleg movies being made by people sitting in the back row of the theater recording on tiny spy cameras . There's no way that the bootleg can even come close to the quality of the original.
I always thought the point of going to movies was to enjoy films, not to see them merely for the sake of it. I know there are a lot of people with more disposable income than me and it probably would be good for my budget if I quit going to movies, but there's no way I would substitute a bootleg instead. Watching a bootleg movie like that would be like listening to a live concert recorded by someone standing in the audience. What's the point?
