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A couple of weeks ago, Jason returned home with a pirated DVD of Live Free or Die Hard. As a writer, I have always imagined myself above the criminal act of buying intellectual property from the pirate community. Alas, I have crossed over. Mind you, I haven’t personally bought any of those DVDs, so technically, I have not broken the law. Jason has done the dirty work, but, I confess, I have watched them and enjoyed them. A pirated DVD costs about 3 dollars in Oaxaca City. The quality of these DVDs has been pretty good, with a few flaws here and there. Nothing you wouldn't expect given the bargain basement price. Oh...and Jason mentioned that on one of the DVDs there was a written "consent" that this DVD was legal in Mexico. That could potentially clear our conscience, but I'm skeptical about the legitimacy of this "waiver".Pictured above, the current Jensen collection of pirated DVDs. In our defense, we haven’t found any “non-pirated” DVDs for sale in Oaxaca City nor have we found any movie rental stores. I'm interested in hearing what some of you feel about this tricky issue.
And since I’m confessing, I might as well tell you all, that I stepped on my first cockroach the other night. Previously, I made Jason and the kids squash the shiny brown pests, when they showed themselves in the house…or I ignored them. I have chalked this aversion up to some kind of St. Francis sensibility. I cannot hurt one of God’s living creatures. But, that isn’t honest. I kill ants when then threaten our fresh bakery bread. The truth is, I hate the feel of and the sound of the crunch under the sole of my shoe. Sorry cockroaches. Your luck has run out.
9 comments:
One of our teenage houseguests loved to buy bootleg DVDs. I told him about royalties and legal things. He never got it and always thought I'd be happy that he was "saving money." Maybe you guys can have a bootleg movie fest when you return. It's a way to save money, I've heard. Maybe you could charge a fee and make some money.
Interesting idea...I'll have to chew on it.
when will you 'fess up to your cocaine habit?
I'm generally against buying bootlegged stuff. Unless it's The Wire. Then buy, buy, buy! Without conscience!
Settle down there, Bora! My parents and inlaws read this blog...though perhaps not the comments.
I only confess to a caffeine problem...That's as far as I'll go.
So The Wire is good? We've gotten into watching Studio 60 here...our Sunday night treat. Good writing...though at times you feel like the writers are showing off with all that witty dialogue...too good to be real dialogue. Maybe Jon Stewart thinks on his feet that fast, but not many other humans. The writers would like you to believe that all those in Holloywood think and act brilliantly and in funny, coherant, lyrical sentences. They're all so smart in that city...
Thanks for turning me on to the blog! I'm always impressed with you writer types.
To the question of the day: I've always recorded other people's music on the theory that I wasn't going to buy it anyway, so the artist isn't losing any money. As an economist type myself, I'm perturbed by the distribution problem: I would gladly put a dollar in the tip jar for the artist, but I don't want to pay the price of marketing, packaging, etc. My own crappy cassette tape is good enough. (Well, now I just rip to hard drive.) But there's no tip jar, is there?
Another thing: What's the "morality" of buying a used DVD or CD? Low cost, no tip to artist, no consumer protection . . . Sound familiar?
And as long as we're on the exciting topic of economics, I'll add still one more comment. The ultimate consequence of widespread failure to pay is failure to produce. No $, no movies, books, music. But in the art world, it's not a credible threat. Artists are driven by their crazy internal daemons, need to fill the void with public validation, you know the type. (Ever hear of a "struggling" garbage man or an accounting firm that practices in the garage?) So there's always going to be artistic output even if we keep stealing it. I'll end on that happy note. Peace, --R
The Wire is soooooooo good. Not always edifying (it's cable!) but the writing is among the best I've ever experienced. A critic from Slate compared it to literature.
I had similar issues with Studio 60. Enjoyed the writing, but too much pontificating and showing off. Too much soapbox. It's like he couldn't make the appropriate transition from West Wing.
Also, Friday Nights Lights and Heroes--very good.
We'll take what we can get here in Mexico...mostly that's a lot of soccer. We got see Barcelona play today. How many of you can say that? And yes, if you were wondering, Messi scored a goal. If you don't know who he is, ask Phil Cunliffe.
By the way, Ryan. I appreciate your perspective on the bootleg issue. I'll consider the small "gift" you gave me online...hint, mlb...my tip in the tip jar for all this great writing!
S--
You're welcome. Don't let such astounding fortune go to your head. Peace,
--R
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