I really love going to the movies. I’d put it up there with one of my most enjoyable pastimes. My partner and I normally go at least once a week, and I sometime go by myself to see the pointless, plotless, CGI overloaded spectaculars that no one else is interested in seeing.
It’s not a cheap outing either. With ticket prices in the $18 per adult area, or $20 for 3D (plus $2 for the glasses) and $25 for IMAX, an outing for 2 including snacks is easily in the $50 plus vicinity. Once a week for a year, and that’s looking at around $2500 PA. It’s quite a lot, but it’s something that I truly enjoy, and so I’m happy to pay for the experience.
But there is a problem. My movie going is supporting an industry that wants to destroy the internet. The internet that I use every day. The internet that I rely on to make a living. This industry wants to handicap and maim the most incredible technological feat the world has ever seen. They want to do this for their own financial gain, and because they have failed to keep up with the modern world, hoping instead to stop the innovation and progress that has left them floundering. Unfortunately, it is the money that I spend on movies that is enabling them to do this.
I have never anything good to say about the RIAA or the MPAA, but with the close call last week that was the SOPA and PIPA legislation, I’ve decided that words are not enough. So it is with great reluctance that I have decided to boycott Hollywood, and anyone in the film industry associated with the MPAA. This means no more films, whether at the movies, on TV, on the DVD’s I own or via iTunes. Not even torrented or downloaded films, as this will only add fuel the piracy that drives the scaremongering on congress.
Unfortunately, this also means that there are a number of other business and services that I will no be using, despite them having no direct affiliation with Hollywood. I’ve really enjoyed using letterboxd.com, but if I’m not watching any films, I guess I won’t be writing any reviews. And I’ll no longer be tuning into At The Movies, the fantastic film review show on ABC.
It saddens me that it has come to this, but to think that the more films I watch, the more likely it is that something akin to SOPA will come to pass makes me feel ill. It also makes me extremely mad that anyone could be so greedy as to try and ruin something for the entire planet just because they failed to adapt.
There is a silver lining though. I’m looking forward to seeking out and supporting those independent film makers who are trying to make a go without the help of Hollywood. I can see that sites like youtube are going to become an even bigger part of my viewing experience. I’m also very excited to see what comes of calls to action like this one posted on Y Combinator. I’ve already read of a couple of great articles in response, which make me hopeful for the future of film making, and the film making industry.