Abob Teff

I'm not trying to sound condescending or argumentative here, but your example actually highlights the dilemna of having somebody else tell you what is family safe. I will agree that using the F-bomb would be objectionable. However, the things that jumped out more at me were a monkey crawling out of a man's arse, Jennifer Aniston's breasts growing, and Jennifer's orgasm scene. Now, I would argue that these things are more objectionable than simply calling somebody a name.

I will agree with you that the studios play ratings games. I won't argue with you there. I'll agree with you that some movies should not be rated what they are (should I break out my favorite Small Soldiers vs. Titanic debate?). But wouldn't it make more sense to talk with the parents and say "Hey, this rated (fill-in the rating) because of (fill-in the objectionable material). However, we feel that it would be a good film to show because of (fill-in the morally uplifting reason)." That way the parents are actually taking some RESPONSIBILTY and making a decision. Many schools send home "permission slips" these days for showing a film in class (such as Schindler's List). (PS, thank you for what you do for the children!)

Mr. Toast

I just want to know how they plan to upgrade the software on the player itself. Seems to be a major potential roadblock to easy adoption. If purchasers can't watch any newer releases in "edited" fashion than I think it will fail badly. And I can't think of an easy (we are talking Wal-Mart and K-Mart shoppers after all) way to accomplish this. And what would it cost? How can these people make money off of this? Do you really think the purchasers will want to keep shelling out more $ for upgrades? Not sure this model is a winner. But I do think it may pass copyright muster, although there's no telling with the DMCA.

Artman

Keep in mind this wouldn't be just for parents to use for their kids. A lot of young people (well maybe not A LOT) and even adults would probably use this for themselves. I'd actually imagine PG-13 films would be the most common...

Being a christian I can understand why some people would actually want to use this. I hear the "why is it OK for me to watch/listen to this if it isn't ok for my 5 yr old" explanation quite a bit...

Myself however I know that the morality of a story is not in its details (content) but its overall message and themes. Some dont see it that way, and thats fine I guess.

DodgingCars

For the most part I agree, but I understand where some parents might not object to their kids seeing certain movies EXCEPT for such-and-such scene. In this case, they can still allow their kids to see the movie without exposing them to whatever they object to.

And, this isn't just for kids. My wife's parents are pretty damn prude. They shut off 9 months because they didn't like that the man and woman weren't married. There are some films I'm sure my mother-in-law wouldn't watch just because it might contain some nudity or too many curse words.

talemyn

I intended that to be one example from the film . . . I agree that the other things that you mentioned could definitely be considered objectionable, as well. I guess it sort of depends on how the technology gets implemented to see what would actually get pulled out.

It's getting harder to do effectively the more that we talk about it. There are actually a number of websites that break things down like that that are very useful for stuff like that:

- Yahoo!'s Movies and Film Reviews > Reviews for Parents - although a surprisingly high numbers of these sites seem to have had server crashes recently.
- The Movie Mom
- Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media, in particular, is good because:

1) it offers reviews of multiple forms of media,
2) tries to stay objective about issues (i.e., it points out all issues that might be considered objectionable or controversial),
3) it tends to be specific about exactly what those possible points of contention are within the movie,
4) allows for feedback/reviews from users, and
5) even suggests some topics for discussion with your kids after having watched it and/or suggests what a good target audience for the movie might be . . . example from the review of Mrs. Doubtfire:Thanks! It is truely one of the greatest blessings in my life. It's a lot of fun just hanging out with them and being a friend and someone that they can talk to in what, I'm sure we can all agree, is a tough time of life (ages 12-18). My job just pays the bills so that I can do this in my free time . . .

. . . well that and buy DVD's.

chemosh6969

OH NO!!!!! this is going to put Clean Flicks out of business!!!!!!

This idea is going to fail. If it was a good idea, there would be Clean Flicks in every town already.

Dragonslayer

I'd hate to watch a film that had sexual content, graphically violent scenes and language deemed offensive in it on this player. The thing would be skipping all over the damned place. If the baring of a breast by Jackson is supposed to be the media pushing the limits of decency then that is a laugh!!! Now if she had engaged in graphic sex on stage, well then some people might have an argument. In any case I think this is just going to be wasted money by these corporations. And if parents need a DVD player like this to police the viewing habits of their offspring then they have not done a good job with raising their children IMHO.

DigIt

This is simple: release a CD with a software update on it. Any user that can play a DVD can load the software CD into the machine, and it would cost pennies to produce a CD.

TBFL

Technology like this frightens me because it is putting what is acceptable in someone elses hands. Who ever purchases one is basically allowing another group to decie what is too graphic for them to see or hear - even if there are 14 levels of control.

I can see this becoming like web browsing filters blocking closley associted items...

Wll it allow you to see the statue of David in a movie ?
Or how about any classic nude painting ?

And how much more of a step would it be for someone to decide to block out political commentary...

Censorship in mass media is a scary thing that shouldnt be tread upon lightly.

mmguen

I think I'll purchase one of these and see how it works. If you don't want one- don't buy it! It's voluntary. Please take a deep breath and relax! Everything will be ok.

Thanks for the post.

PS I hear it has a feature that automatically mutes Sean Penn dialogue.

eau

If the player skips the objectable scenes, will it skip any musical score in those segments too?

AGuyNamedMike

Ahhh, the voice of reason!

DodgingCars

Scary? What are you talking about. IT'S VOLUNTARY. If you don't want it, don't buy it. Yes, you are trusting someone else to judge what is appropriate or not, but guess what... If you disagree with them, you no longer need to use their services.

It's hard to even consider this real censorship when the editing they are doing is for a select audience that agrees to their guidelines.

If they block out political commentary, then that's up to the consumer to decide if they'd like to continue using it or not. If they block out the statue of David... same. What is so hard to understand here?

In case you hadn't noticed, the MPAA decides for you what is decent and what's not by applying ratings to movies.



Exactly

DodgingCars

You know what. All the anti-censorship people should actually applaud this. Here you have a device that allows people who don't want to see objectionable material to have it edited out. This only affects them.

You could have the alternative, which would be these same people pressuring studios to censor themselves. That would affect everybody.

Batoru rowaiaru

the_dude8

all i want to know is, is the clearplay dvd players could be hack to make it region free?

from forbes april 19, 2004 article on page 40 entitled "Out of the box", "for $5 a month the player can be updated with fresh filters for newly released DVDs)"

Rypro 525

also will the person be able to choose what is bad, and what it not.

DVD Smurf

...the termination of parenting is imminent and psychologists will be without jobs…

...and books will have black lines drawn over the inappropriate…

...Louvren will pixelate the nude images for its visitors...

By the way, the excuse for the day, "I think I forgot to set the DVD player..." the man says as he tries to explain his sons erradic behavior to the psychologist.

Cheers

DVD Smurf

Iron_Giant

I agree. It will not hurt anyone who wants DVD uncensored.

I would love to have a machine like that, it would give me another option in viewing DVDs if I choose to use it.

But, I dought it would have all the features I would need in my DVD player (progressive, DTS, 10sec backup...).

Abob Teff

(This is also for Dodgingcars's in-laws)

Now we get down to the real issue in the debate! The real argument here is not censorship or freedom of speach or whether "Showgirls" will corrupt little Suzie. The real issue is the artist's intent and who has control over that intent. I don't consider myself a prude, but more and more often I see things in a film that jump out and I think "that was really pointless other than mild titilation." Example, I thought that Sexy Beast would have been one hell of a movie EXCEPT I felt that the language was WAY over the top. Now, the director made that decision to include the language as a means of conveyance for whatever his message was (I assume it was that Ben Kingsley was a bad ass). I just watched Kill Bill (First Half, not Vol. 1, but that's an issue for another thread). I have always had an aversion to Tarantino because I feel that the violence in his movies is senseless and tasteless. Other than the cartoon violence, I would have thought that it was an excellent movie. As it is, Tarantino deemed that alienating some audiences was worth it to send HIS message the way HE wanted.

Is it my right to remove the language and thus ALTER the director's message? No, it is not. It is my right to watch the film and make my judgement based on the content that the ARTIST produced. Thus, ALL of the components lead us to make the decisions that we make as to whether we like or don't like a movie. Yes, movies are "cleaned up" for TV and airlines, but the artists have a role in the re-editing of THEIR product and thus it is OK. However, for somebody to make money by altering a piece of art (in a general term) WITHOUT the consent of the creator or author of the piece is a violation of copyright laws.

And thus, Janet Jackson is still evil.

Abob Teff

*cough* *cough* *DIVX* *cough*

Abob Teff

See also, The Simpsons, Season Two, "Marge vs. Itchy and Scratchy" (Just watched it yesterday).

Yes, censorship in the mass media is a scary thing. However, this is not a censorship issue. It is an issue of copyright infringement, questionable free use, and to a lesser degree eroding parental responsibility.

DodgingCars

This is where you and I differ in opinion. I think I have every right to alter the music or movies or other intellectual property that I have bought. Do I have a right to distribute the altered version, without consent? No. But, this DVD player does nothing like that. It merely is pre-programmed to edit movies for PERSONAL HOME viewing. I don't think the Director has any say how I watch his movie in the privacy of my own home. I can mute it, pause it, fast forward it or even skip chapters. I should also be able to watch it without curse words or nudity if I'm so inclined.

The issue with Clean Flicks is a little different, I admit. They alter movies to be rented out to by their customers. I can see how the creators would have a case, but I still disagree with them.

DodgingCars

Give me a break. This isn't censorship (in the real sense), because it is VOLUNTARY!!!!!!

It's not an isue of copyright infringement, because the copyright holder cannot tell me how I can watch their movies.

And how is this an issue of eroding parental responsibility? Because a parent might not want their child to see questionable material. OH NO!!! The HORROR!

DVD Smurf

Parenting – caring for the child in the outmost sense with affection, protection, food, clothing, and education among other things. The DVD player is technology used for education, but material on the DVD is still present even without the violent scenes. For example, Friday the 13th, if the violent is removed the idea is still present and it is the violent notion that teaches and not the brief visual violence. However, the violence has an affect in the sense as it traumatizes the naïve and uninitiated. This baptism into violence can be harmful, yet a world without violence does not exists. This could also create more naïve and unprepared people for the dangers of the world [ref: Irreversible]. For example, Red Little Ridding Hood has a moral lesson due to its violence, but without the violence in this case it would not educate the young of the dangers of the of world, which would help the child self-defensive mechanisms.

There is a quote in the Arabian Nights that goes, Stories are told to teach us how better our lives. If one removes the violence from Red Little Ridding Hood, then the lesson would be dropped and it would not improve our view of our lives. However, in today’s society there are plenty of films with out lesson to be learned, and in this case these films should be avoided for that purpose only as it could be viewed as a waste of time.

I am against violence as much as the next person, however, the violence is not the visual imagery in this sense, but the notion that causes the violence. As we all have heard before, Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.. This statement is clearly putting the consequence in the hands of the people, and not the technology. In this reference I would like to say, DVD players does not enlighten people, people teaches people.

I would prefer to see parent use their common sense and not bring their 6-year-olds to movies such as Blade 2 and Wrong Turn. I think the idea is noble with this DVD player, but for the wrong reason. We need more parenting knowing what children are viewing and parent (as an action) their children, as they are not miniature adults.

I stop here as I could go on for ever...


Cheers

DVD Smurf

PS. thoughts...