April 13, 2004
Netflix Junkies
For the Netflix junkies out there. I was channel surfing the other night and landed on one of my goto channels – TechTV. There was a commercial for an on-line rental service for video games called GAMEFLY. I also saw the trial memberships in Best Buy last night, so I’m guessing this is a creditable site. They have games for all the major gaming systems PS2, Xbox, GameCube and even Game Boy. They even sell pre-played games at discounted prices, which you can decide to keep after you’ve rented the game and tried it out. You’ll get to keep the copy you have and they’ll ship the original case & instructions out to you.
Another on-line rental service I’ve thought about checking out is The Family DVD Network. This is another Netflix inspired site, except all the movies “are carefully edited to remove profanity, excessive violence and sexual content (innuendo, nudity, and gestures).” These are movies that are truly family movies that you can watch without fear of something inappropriate popping up on the screen. I think this is a great idea, but I have not tried it out yet. I’d like to be able to check out a few of these edited movies before I start forking over a monthly fee to them.
Posted by price at April 13, 2004 10:05 AMThe Family DVD Network is a great idea I guess if you want someone else to decide what's right for you and your family. I personally don't want to leave that up to someone else. It's why I'm an adult.
Posted by: dabrettman at April 13, 2004 01:28 PMActually, I already have let someone else decide. As an adult Christian, I already guard my heart from the profanity & sexual content they edit out. My compass is the Bible as to what is right for me and my family to watch. That's not to say that I don't lose my direction every now and then.
I envision Family DVD editing out the unnecessary sex scene in Matrix Reloaded or removing the language from one of Kevin Smith's joints (Mallrats, Clerks, etc).
That reminds me of the terribly edited snippet of Mallrats I caught this weekend on TV and hope that an edited version on the Family DVD Network is not that bad. It's not available at this time though, which is another draw back to the service. Limited selection.
Posted by: Jeff Price at April 13, 2004 01:51 PMIt is unfair to take someone's movie and edit it as you see fit. If you don't like what is in it - don't watch it. Period. You don't want someone taking the Bible and editing it as they see fit do you? Would you agree to that? I doubt it. Censorship is dangerous.... once it happens to someone, it can happen anywhere. Don't watch it if the content is offensive....
Posted by: WebmasterMama Is My Name at April 13, 2004 03:29 PMWord on the street is that Netflix is looking at renting games, too. See http://www.hackingnetflix.com/netflix/2004/04/netflix_confirm.html
Posted by: maphet at April 13, 2004 04:46 PMInteresting service. Do you think any of the creator's intent is lost when you edit a movie like Mallrats for offensive content? There would be nothing left of the movie.
Also, it seems like there's got to be a copyright violation or something in there somewhere. I know that if I made a film, I wouldn't want people hacking it up and sticking words like "fudge" and "ship" in there, repackaging it and then making a profit off my name and work, when it's not even mine anymore.
What about using word-of-mouth reviews and the MPAA ratings to decide whether it's appropriate for your family? I usually find that to be the best technique, though I'm guessing I have a much higher tolerance for "offensive material" than some.
Posted by: MB at April 14, 2004 12:06 PMBefore I see a movie I generally screen it using, http://www.screenit.com . This helps to see if there is anything inappropriate in a movie. The idea behind the Family DVD service is to remove those inappropriate elements, so you can still watch the movie rather than pass on it all together.
It's interesting though to see everyone's concern for copyright infringements. I wonder if any of you use or have used the file-swapping services to download music or other media you have not purchased. I wonder if any of you have made a mix tape of songs from a friend's CD collection or rented a movie from Blockbuster and made a copy. I would hope not if the ultimate concern is the copyright violation.
It is only censorship, if the idea is to make it illegal to show inappropriate content all together. Also, people do edit the Bible and misapply it all the time to fit their own needs. Just because it is their right to do so, does not make it righteous.
Posted by: Jeff Price at April 15, 2004 04:23 PM