Shalt thou pirate: Thy neighbours’ movies?

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Abstract:

Reframing the moral drama around copyright: ‘piracy’ or just ‘tax evasion’?

One of the more histrionic advertising campaigns in recent years is a fifty-second video clip tacked onto the beginning of most DVDs sold or rented. Developed by the Motion Picture Association of America, it was released in July 2004. The story starts with a girl sitting in front of her computer illegally downloading a movie. The screen goes to black, and then in stark white lettering viewers are barraged by a number of blunt messages accompanied by visuals of thieves in various guises who are purloining other people’s property, the drama heightened by a jarring soundtrack.

Details / PDF:

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