whirlygirl Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3611969.stm 2012 Mod Edit: for future reference: Coming soon: The smut-free DVD Just as long as it goes no further American cinephiles will soon be able to enjoy their movies without sex, violence, swearing - indeed, without any of the interesting bits. Wal-Mart, the country's mightiest retailer, is preparing to ship a $79 DVD player that automatically strips out potentially offensive content. The gadget, made by French-owned RCA, aims to tap into mounting concern in the US about media standards. But the self-censoring technology has run into protests from Hollywood. No sex, please The RCA player is the first to incorporate the screening technology of Clearplay, a Salt Lake City-based company. Many firms provide bowdlerised versions - not always legally - of Hollywood films, but Clearplay operates at a higher level of sophistication. Clearplay scans movies for dodgy content, and then programs that data into its system. Subscribers can then watch standard copies of the 500-or-so films on its list, with the assurance that they will automatically skip over mute anything that children or the squeamish may not like. Until now, Clearplay has only run through a PC. The naked truth The launch of the new player, which RCA says was at Wal-Mart's urging, could hardly be better timed. Ever since the singer Janet Jackson bared a breast during the SuperBowl, US regulators have been highly jumpy about what goes out over the airwaves. "Increasingly it seems the media is not playing close to the line, but is outright leaping past the line and in fact daring the audience and daring the government to do anything about it," Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, told a media seminar last month. "Some of the transcripts I have been forced to read reveal content that is pure trash, plain and simple." The FCC has fought shy of tougher state regulation, but has handed out some unprecedented indecency fines in recent months. The same, but different But Clearplay and its rivals face a challenge from the other direction. A Hollywood consortium, including some of Tinseltown's top directors, has sued Clearplay and others, arguing that they are abusing the films' artistic integrity. By producing - without permission - altered versions of intellectual property, censors are effectively pirating directors' and studios' work, the lawsuit argues. Clearplay hopes to escape through a loophole: instead of making new versions of films, it argues, its technology is simply another way of playing the existing movie - no more an abuse than a viewer fast-forwarding a tape in his own home. The case is pending, but RCA has decided to press ahead regardless. Link to post Share on other sites
Cate Perfect Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Look at that. Americans being uptight about sex and swearing. Imagine. Does it also take out gratuitous violence? Or violence against women? Racism? Sexism? Ageism? Anti-semitism? I'd love to watch a Peter Greenaway film with one of those machines. It'd last about five minutes. God no, save the children from the breasts!! :roll: Cate Link to post Share on other sites
mindlife Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I've been asexual all my life, but I've never considered myself to be a prude. I don't think sexual expression of any variety should be stricken from the culture. Our culture should reflect our lives accurately, and for the majority, that means sexual hierarchy, expression, orientation and attraction. For asexuals, that should mean a whole subset of characters and narratives that construct relationships and hierarchies differently. If anything that's a call for the culture to become more inclusive, not less so. It means that the hero doesn't traipse off into the sunset after kissing the girl. It means that the girl doesn't fall in love through the progress of the story. It means that the two girls alienated from audacity don't kiss hysterically in the closet. Instead, it's a vision of love spreading out over distances and people, not holding tight. I anticipate it with much excitement. As for this equally hysterical desire to hide sex, it's morally degenerate. It shows social sickness more than well-being- a desire for blood and money and the alienation from positive human interactions. It's an outgrowth of the neoconservative hatred of negotiation, of living and allowing to live, of the integrity of others. And Wal-Mart is a seller as well as a buyer-in. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Can you imagine a zombie movie without sex or violence?! It defeats the whole genre! It would be like: GUY: The zombies are coming! GIRL: AHHHH! GUY: Well, it was hard but the zombies were defeated. (END CREDITS.) We must stop Wal-Mart at all costs! Link to post Share on other sites
ApolloSeek Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Excuse me. I think some people need to read the article a little closer. No one is forcing anyone to use the content-blocking tech. There are no Content Kops compelling you to use this. So acting like there are legions of nannies awaiting to supress your right to express yourself is silly. Furthermore, Wal-Mart is not on some idealogical crusade. They are selling this because thier customers want it. In fact, those who don't want to see certain things have pay more for the ability to do so. This is hardly a reciepe for opression. So if you want to boycott Wal-Mart, find a reason other than selling content-altering tech. Keep in mind that freedom of expression also means the right not to hear or see something you dislike. There is no difference in kind between this tech and setting your computer to block e-mail or IM's from someone you dislike. Link to post Share on other sites
Silly Green Monkey Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I'm with ApolloSeek on this one. Nobody will be forced to buy a Clearview machine, they won't be forcibly installed in your homes. No doubt you could even set it to only pick out one objectionable behavior, if you really wanted to. So you can still watch your zombie or slasher movies in full, glorious violence and orgy. Link to post Share on other sites
fluffy_hime Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I agree with Apollo. I think that content-editor would be great for sex scenes in my own personal movies, but that doesn't mean anyone else's rights are being impeded on. Link to post Share on other sites
fluffy_hime Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Nobody will be forced to buy a Clearview machine, they won't be forcibly installed in your homes. ...Yet! DUN DUN DUN! Sorry, couldn't stop myself. Link to post Share on other sites
Silly Green Monkey Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Not a 'yet' either, moviemakers would be censored first. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 So you can still watch your zombie or slasher movies in full, glorious violence and orgy. Can I get an "ohhh yeah?" ;) Link to post Share on other sites
ApolloSeek Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Nobody will be forced to buy a Clearview machine, they won't be forcibly installed in your homes. ...Yet! DUN DUN DUN! Sorry, couldn't stop myself. Please deal with your trust and paranoia issues by means other than projecting them upon others. Link to post Share on other sites
fluffy_hime Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Ohhhhh yeaaaaaah. Link to post Share on other sites
junie99 Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I want one! I wonder how much they cost? Link to post Share on other sites
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