Awhile back, I posted about a proposed change to copyright laws (HR 4586) and an apparent contradiction it led to in GOP philosophy as espoused in their platform. That generated some really good comments, including one today by Bill Aho, the CEO of ClearPlay, which is an outfit that sells a DVD player add-on that lets You The Responsible Parent censor home movies that your kiddos watch. I still think this sort of thing enables parents to be lazier rather than more responsible, and it does nothing to address the question of how one's kids will behave when you're not there to watch them, but his comments and his remarks to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property are worth your time to read. I report, you get the idea.
BTW, this is an example of why I've always been unwilling to close comments on older posts. Admittedly, the "diamonds" to "rough" ratio is pretty low, but I still like finding them, however rare they may be.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 04, 2004 to Show Business for Ugly People | TrackBackAfter reading so many comments about ClearPlay, I have concluded that this filtering system is not for everyone. Some people actually enjoy sitting through movies featuring actors saying and doing things that others would find offensive. Personally, I applaud ClearPlay for coming up with a device that will keep vulgarity in all its cinematic forms out of my living room. Contrary to what you say, responsible parents who use ClearPlay to screen movie content for their children does not make them lazy. It just shows they care what their young ones are exposed to. And if the kids are trained properly, their parents will not be overly concerned about how they will behave when they are not there to watch them. If you are comfortable with the profanity, graphic violence, and gross sexual content of modern movies, then ClearPlay technology is not something you need to invest in. However, for those of us who want no part of such behavior, ClearPlay is a must!
Posted by: Carl Booth on August 8, 2004 11:38 PMHowever, for those of us who want no part of such behavior, ClearPlay is a must!
Why? What's wrong with simply not allowing "modern movies" with "profanity, graphic violence, and gross sexual content" into your house in the first place? You know, like responsible parents had to do before ClearPlay came along? That's my point about laziness.
Posted by: Charles Kuffner on August 9, 2004 6:51 AMCharles, there was a time when the deaf could not effectively follow the story line of TV programming because they could not hear the dialogue. However, since closed captioning was developed some years ago, the hearing impaired can now enjoy more of what they see on television. Are they lazy for using this tool or should they be forced to rely on lip reading? My point is that since the technology now exists to remove objectionable content from certain movies, what's wrong with parents taking advantage of it to screen what their children watch? Incidentally, I am not a parent, but I use ClearPlay all the time whenever I watch movies. Does that make me lazy?
Posted by: Carl Booth on August 10, 2004 9:35 PM