I boycotted the Beavis and Butt-Head DVDs.

I just saw an episode of "Fear Itself", directed by John Landis, with a script by Victor Salva! The story began with a shot of a smiling young boy, and I began to worry. It was a decent episode, directed with Landis' customary smirk, but the twist was as old as a pack of Rod Serling's smokes. No cameos by Paul Reubens or Jeffrey Jones though.

I definitly boycott PBS and any other network that claims to be educational for little kids... for the most part I boycott Disney - except for the two or three movies of theirs that I've liked (Tuck Everlasting, Tom and Huck). I dislike their animated movies.

Quick aside. I hate religion too. I'm a Christian. True Christianity is the exact opposite of religion.

On boycotts, I agree with the point that it is silly to boycott something because it is opposed to your viewpoint. I consider it my God-given duty to have knowledge of, and at least limited respect for all other opinions and viewpoints.

I could maybe understand boycotting purchasing something that is diametrically opposed to an important viewpoint, so as to not financially support something. But feel like we must all study and consider opposing views.

There is a big difference between refusing to buy a DVD because you think it is lousy because of a particular actor or director and refusing to buy because of the political convictions of the actor or director. Uwe Boll makes crappy movies; if I see one of his DVD's for sale, I won't buy it because I know enough about him to know that this is almost certainly a crappy movie.

However, because you don't like Charlton Heston's or Jane Fonda's politics, to say you will never buy one of their DVD's (and frankly neither Fonda nor Heston's estate gets much benefit from any DVD sales nowadays anyway) seems rather counterproductive. Further, where do you draw the line? Do you boycott Ben and Jerry's ice cream because you don't like their politics? You might not like big oil companies, but you will be very hard pressed to avoid buying their products. If you limit yourself to doing business only with companies whose beliefs mirror your own, your shopping options are going to be very limited.

Cases like Victor Salva straddle the line. There is a definite pedophiliac feel to his movies and that alone should be reason to avoid seeing the films. Using film to espouse a particular political, personal, or religious philosophy is a whole different matter. I fully agree that people who don't like Michael Moore's politics are entitled to avoid his films for that reason... you shouldn't pay for something you don't like.

As for edited TV shows, people are going to have to face the facts that the versions of these shows that are available on DVD are the best any of us are ever going to see. If the thought that a snippet of some song has been edited out is enough to make you reject seeing a show like The Fugitive, then my view is you are cutting your nose off to spite your face. On the other hand, edits that change the entire meaning of the show (such as WKRP in Cincinnati or edited syndicated versions) are a different story.