Movie Pirating

You know those ads you see before movies, where it shows a teenager downloading movies with quick cuts and jolted editing? And in grungy, ghetto-type it says, "You wouldn't steal a car. You wouldn't steal a handbag. You wouldn't steal a television. Downloading pirated films is stealing. Piracy. It's a crime."

I always knew the MPAA was out of touch with the public. I mean, look at how bogus the rating system has become. But this commercial really took the cake for me. I agree with the message that downloading movies is against the law; there's no arguing against that. What I don't get is the extreme comparison they make to prove a point.

No, we wouldn't steal a car. But if it was possible to download a Ferrari off the internet, it'd be a different story. Same with TV's and money. The MPAA has too much faith in the public's willingness to spend money. If something is available for free, and you can get it without leaving your house, whether it's a movie, a car, or an X-Box 360, people will probably just go for the download.

When we choose not to steal a car, it's not because we'd rather buy one. It's because stealing a car is hard. Plus it belongs to somebody already, which means you're costing him thousands of dollars, not to mention the fact that cops will be out looking for the car as soon as he knows it's gone. Who wants that kind of stress? I sure don't.

This logic reminds me of the comment that people make whenever you're following the crowd: "If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you do it?" Well, of course not. That's insane. Why is everyone jumping off the cliff in the first place? If I saw that going on, I would freak out. What area of human psychology leads people to believe that if someone witnesses a mass-suicide, he'll just throw himself into the mayhem? Granted, I might see a movie or play a video game if everyone tells me it's good. But if everyone told me that jumping off a cliff was good, I would seriously doubt their judgment.

Who was it who first came up with that phrase anyway? It's so specific, somebody had to have said it first. I wonder if that person is still alive, and if he or she is amazed at how greatly it's caught on with the American public. Funny how random stuff spreads like that.

So there you have it. If you're trying to prove a point, don't compare moderate, relatively normal things to extremes like car theft and throwing oneself from a cliff. After all, you wouldn't just stab a person in the face with a fondue fork.