Hollywood sues to stop Family movies

[Bonnie]

Hollywood leaders have joined together in a major lawsuit to stop Family-Safe Viewing of movies on DVD. Among those who have signed up to this lawsuit include Martin Scorsese, Robert Fidel Redford, and Stephen Spielberg, along with leading studios MGM, Warner Bros, Disney, Sony Dreamworks, Universal and Paramount to stop a company called ClearPlay which does not edit but simply allows parents to skip over movies scenes they deem unsuitable for children to view.

www.grassfire.org/39/backgrounder.asp

 

[HGROKIT]

I for one feel ClearPlay is barking up a wrong tree. Comes back to freedom of speach.

In the article, they contend that too many movies are rater R or Pg13. Well parents, I am sorry, but if the movei has a rating you do not want your child to see, don't rent or buy it.

I think it fairly absurd to think that if you take out a scene or a few words, that the intent and meaning of the plot will be missed by the kid. If a character is one moment present and the next laying on the ground with mass quantities of blood everywhere, even the dumbest of kids is going to be able to draw the conlusion that something violent happened. So what is the gain of changing the content of the film?

Again, it is about individual reaponsibility. We as a society cannot regulate or legislate morality, It is an individual choice.

let people think for themselves. We get in enough trouble when government treis to do that for us.

 

[lilcountriegal]

I've heard of this Clear Play before. I think the idea behind it is a great one. Families should be able to filter out portions of the DVD to make it more family friendly.

The part that I get confused about is the copywright laws. it was my understanding that Clear Play would have to basically "copy" a DVD into their "machine" to be able to filter certain scenes. Clear Play says they wouldnt have to... I just dont see how you can add that type of software onto an existing DVD versus adding the DVD onto the software.

But then again... my VCR was one of the only ones in town that always blinked the time.

 

[Bonnie]

I for one feel ClearPlay is barking up a wrong tree. Comes back to freedom of speach.

In the article, they contend that too many movies are rater R or Pg13. Well parents, I am sorry, but if the movei has a rating you do not want your child to see, don't rent or buy it.

I think it fairly absurd to think that if you take out a scene or a few words, that the intent and meaning of the plot will be missed by the kid. If a character is one moment present and the next laying on the ground with mass quantities of blood everywhere, even the dumbest of kids is going to be able to draw the conlusion that something violent happened. So what is the gain of changing the content of the film?

Again, it is about individual reaponsibility. We as a society cannot regulate or legislate morality, It is an individual choice.

let people think for themselves. We get in enough trouble when government treis to do that for us.

I don't see anything in this as part of govt regulation of morality, but rather using technology to give parents an option to make decisions for their kids. There is no cencorship here. And I would add that a lot of ratings are very inaccurate so they are not a helpful guide to parents there are some movies that are given very children friendly ratings and still contain small elements of what parents would consider objectional.

 

[lilcountriegal]

I for one feel ClearPlay is barking up a wrong tree. Comes back to freedom of speach.

In the article, they contend that too many movies are rater R or Pg13. Well parents, I am sorry, but if the movei has a rating you do not want your child to see, don't rent or buy it.

I think it fairly absurd to think that if you take out a scene or a few words, that the intent and meaning of the plot will be missed by the kid. If a character is one moment present and the next laying on the ground with mass quantities of blood everywhere, even the dumbest of kids is going to be able to draw the conlusion that something violent happened. So what is the gain of changing the content of the film?

Again, it is about individual reaponsibility. We as a society cannot regulate or legislate morality, It is an individual choice.

let people think for themselves. We get in enough trouble when government treis to do that for us.

I first heard of ClearPlay (I think) from an interview on the Today show a few months (?) back. They actually used it with a few movies and showed what the original movie had, and then how Clear Play edited it. When they say they edit for violence, they edit it for violence. I believe the movie was The Matrix and they completelly cut a scene just for a kickboxing move (no blood, just an actual kickbox move). Personally, i wouldnt waste my time or money using it... I agree with you in the sense that if its PG-13, your 6 year old child has no business watching it anyway.

 

[Bonnie]

I first heard of ClearPlay (I think) from an interview on the Today show a few months (?) back. They actually used it with a few movies and showed what the original movie had, and then how Clear Play edited it. When they say they edit for violence, they edit it for violence. I believe the movie was The Matrix and they completelly cut a scene just for a kickboxing move (no blood, just an actual kickbox move). Personally, i wouldnt waste my time or money using it... I agree with you in the sense that if its PG-13, your 6 year old child has no business watching it anyway.

So now do the parents actually have control over what is edited, or does the device do it for you by some preset programming? That's what Im not too clear on?

 

[HGROKIT]

...there are some movies that are given very children friendly ratings and still contain small elements of what parents would consider objectional.

That could be said of anything. So, it is up to the parents to be aware of and to understand what it is they are showing their children. These same parents read the medicine bottle to determine the appropriateness of said medication for their children don't they? We do not have any additional legislation covering that do we?

My point is...we need less government not more. We are all intelligent people (well some) capable of making choices regarding our own lives

 

[lilcountriegal]

So now do the parents actually have control over what is edited, or does the device do it for you by some preset programming? That's what Im not too clear on?

The device does it.

You click to "edit violence" or "edit language" and the device picks exactly what is edited and what is not....

 

[NewGuy]

That could be said of anything. So, it is up to the parents to be aware of and to understand what it is they are showing their children. These same parents read the medicine bottle to determine the appropriateness of said medication for their children don't they? We do not have any additional legislation covering that do we?

My point is...we need less government not more. We are all intelligent people (well some) capable of making choices regarding our own lives

The problem is that the parents have the TV IV so far in that they can't break free of the euphoria to be proper parents with it.

It is a 27" sewerpipe plain and simple.

Anyone denying needs to get ahold of that 1st step.

 

[Bonnie]

That could be said of anything. So, it is up to the parents to be aware of and to understand what it is they are showing their children. These same parents read the medicine bottle to determine the appropriateness of said medication for their children don't they? We do not have any additional legislation covering that do we?

My point is...we need less government not more. We are all intelligent people (well some) capable of making choices regarding our own lives

Well I definately agree with you on the less government idea.......And yes personal and parental responsbility is key to that

 

[Bonnie]

The device does it.

You click to "edit violence" or "edit language" and the device picks exactly what is edited and what is not....

Se now to me that is a problem, it's one thing to have the parents view the movie and decide for themselves what to skip over, but for the device to do it, that is crossing the line.. needs to be reworked

 

[lilcountriegal]

Se now to me that is a problem, it's one thing to have the parents view the movie and decide for themselves what to skip over, but for the device to do it, that is crossing the line.. needs to be reworked

... which is why I couldnt understand how that doesnt infringe on the copywright laws... it would almost seem that the movie would have to be copied onto the program, not vise versa.

Like I said, I dont have a problem with it... however, I would never use it in my home. Personally, I think it caters to lazy parents.

 

[Bonnie]

... which is why I couldnt understand how that doesnt infringe on the copywright laws... it would almost seem that the movie would have to be copied onto the program, not vise versa.

Like I said, I dont have a problem with it... however, I would never use it in my home. Personally, I think it caters to lazy parents.

Good point!

 

[Merlin1047]

I for one feel ClearPlay is barking up a wrong tree. Comes back to freedom of speach.

Well, if we're looking for the correct tree to bark at, let's discuss your assertion that this is a freedom of speech issue. Fact is, it is no such thing. Once you purchase a DVD, video, or CD, it belongs to you. How you watch it is up to you and you are NOT violating the free speech rights of the author by skipping over certain segments. If your statement were correct, then you would be violating the free speech rights of Kotex every time you changed the channel to skip their commercial.

In the article, they contend that too many movies are rater R or Pg13. Well parents, I am sorry, but if the movei has a rating you do not want your child to see, don't rent or buy it.

Poorly thought out statement. Everyone has a right to enforce his or her own standards decency within the home. If a parent finds some scenes of a PG rated DVD unsuitable, why do you believe that they should be forced to watch them simply because they purchased the DVD?


I think it fairly absurd to think that if you take out a scene or a few words, that the intent and meaning of the plot will be missed by the kid. If a character is one moment present and the next laying on the ground with mass quantities of blood everywhere, even the dumbest of kids is going to be able to draw the conlusion that something violent happened. So what is the gain of changing the content of the film?

Again, you're missing the point. It is your right to watch the contents of a DVD in its entirety or any portion thereof that you damn well please. And no one has the right to tell you you're not allowed to skip over anything you find offensive.

Again, it is about individual reaponsibility. We as a society cannot regulate or legislate morality, It is an individual choice.

And here you contradict yourself. On the one hand you deride parental editing, but now you say it's about individual responsibity. Well, it IS about individual responsibility and this gives parents the ability to exercise their responsibility to raise their children as they see fit.

let people think for themselves. We get in enough trouble when government treis to do that for us.

Another contradiction. You encourage people think for themselves, yet you would deny them the ability to act on their thinking. Perhaps you're laboring under a misconception that the government is involved in editing. The way I read this, the Clear View program simply allows one to skip portions of a DVD. Personally, I don't see what's got you all worked up about that. If you're watching TV and the program hits a boring segment, do you get up and do something else for a while, or do you just sit and tough it out?

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[Bonnie]

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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Well said

 

[Bonnie]

I would also dissagree with the notion that by parents doing this they are forcing their kids to watch the movie out of context.......Which is a weak argument for Hollywood to make. Again the parents should have the say on that.

 

[Merlin1047]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Well said

Inadvertently saved before I removed those, I tried to edit that out and couldn't.

Thanks for pointing that out. :funnyface :

 

[Zhukov]

I think the best reason to have this device is because today's PG-13 is yesterday's R.

Who know's what PG-13 means anymore? It could have one swear word or it could say shit 160 times. It could have no nudity, it could have brief nudity. It could have no violence, or it could have just enough not-so-violent violence.

Yes it contributes to parental laziness, but that's no reason to make it illegal.

If things that encouraged laziness were illegal....

 

[Moi]

I think the best reason to have this device is because today's PG-13 is yesterday's R.

Who know's what PG-13 means anymore? It could have one swear word or it could say shit 160 times. It could have no nudity, it could have brief nudity. It could have no violence, or it could have just enough not-so-violent violence.

Yes it contributes to parental laziness, but that's no reason to make it illegal.

If things that encouraged laziness were illegal....

I absolutely agree with the first statement. The fact is, what some people think of as PG is NOT my idea. Janet Jackson's boob aside, what is played on regular TV these days offends me sometimes.

I don't think there is anything wrong with using technology to edit out the things parents find objectionable and it certainly doesn't have a damn thing to do with free speech. If that were the case, radio stations wouldn't have the right to do it, the FCC wouldn't have the right to fine people, the networks wouldn't have the right to bleep out on live TV, etc. Furthermore, if it were illegal, no one would have a fast-forward button, TiVo, etc.

Another example of hollywood being completely full of hubris.

 

[Bonnie]

Inadvertently saved before I removed those, I tried to edit that out and couldn't.

Thanks for pointing that out. :funnyface :

Actually I was referring to the substance of your response not the aaaa :tng: but it just worked out that way