MPAA: Teaching Your Kids

[Bombardier]

Classroom anti-piracy program hotly debated

The push to educate children about the evils of downloading copyrighted files continues throughout the nation's classrooms, reports both the Boston Globe and P2Pnet. Students are offered DVD players, DVD films, theater tickets and trips to Hollywood for winning essays about the dangers of file-sharing.

Teachers too receive gifts if their students offer up the winning entries. Junior Achievement, the group helping the industry bring its "What's The Diff?" programs to classrooms, has seen no limit of criticism for their decision. Critics argue the 45 minute class shows only one side of the debate, and doesn't focus on issues such as "fair use".

From the Globe: By the end of one session, the teacher asked one boy: "Will you stop copying music online and download the right way?" "Yes," he answered. I'll go to the music store and buy more CDs."

http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/42987

[desdemona]

this article goes into more detail about how unbalanced the course is, click here for more details:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/...hildren?pg=full

[Bombardier]

I tell you, the spirit of the Iraqi misinformation minister lives on in the USA!

It's sad how much misinformation these ethically bankrupt corporate interests are trying to put into the heads of our very future (our youths).

[desdemona]

you know, now that you mention it, we should take nominations for for "information minister", I vote for John Cheney. :shut up:

[DudeAsInCool]

I do have an issue re filesharing of movies before they are released. Unlike music, the stakes are much higher. Movies are very expensive to make and market, and usually only begin to make their money at the DVD stage. And unlike the RIAA, the MPAA has been far better than the RIAA in terms of treating its audience respectfully. Finally, on a craftsman issue, movies are meant to be seen on the big screen - not a tiny one.

[Ken]

So now they bribe children?

They haven't hit rock bottom, they've went through the planet, and out the other side.

[Bombardier]

My own viewpoint is that whole situation of "people downloading movies & the MPAA" is the same situation as "people downloading music & the RIAA", just with different variables.

Will people download movies instead of seeing them at the cinemas? Maybe. I think they would be less likely to do that than to download music instead of buying it at the store.

A well encoded mp3 can can stand up to true CD quality quite well, but the cinemas experience can truely only be found at the cinemas. Given even the best situation of a good rip of a movie from a camera or a screener rip, the quality is only so good.

Todays portable projectors can hook to computers to display movies on your own living room wall and speakers can provide a grand "Home Theater" sound, but it's still could never come close to the actual cinemas.

Are movie tickets and concessions way overpriced? Yes they are in Regal Cinemas theaters.

Do a lot of Hollywood actors get paid way too much and the "little guys" on the set get paid way too little? Yes.

I don't believe it's wrong to download movies, as long as you don't charge people admission to see it or sell it. Just like downloading music. There is a transition period when a movie leaves the theaters and is set to be released on DVD some time in the future. During that span of time, I sometimes have downloaded a movie to see it at least one more time before I purchased the DVD.

The good thing is that the MPAA hasn't filed 1977 lawsuits against file sharers. In fact, I haven't heard of them suing anyone. They may be the sister company to the RIAA, but I believe that someone in the MPAA has the foresight to see that a path of litigation will bring you bad PR and help destroy your company!