Joal Ryan of E! Online was kind enough to contact me about participating in her piece about the re(re, re, re) release of Star Wars and the milking of consumers (many of whom are buying the same movie for the Nth time in order to get some incremental gain).
She pointed to my site instead of the piece I wrote about amporphous, perpetual content licensing, so I’m pointing to it here for those who might be visiting off of the E! article and want to read my original rant. Enjoy!
Look you are absolutely right about that! But you are acting as a rational human being, making what appears to be the right economic choice. But, a fan, a true die hard fan, doesn’t think that way. Such a fan is like an addict, who must have the latest hit. In this case some possible new word from his supreme high honor George Lucas. To buy six copies of Star Wars means nothing to those. Beside, it is a free choice on their part. in the end are they happy after they have bought the 6th, 7th, or Nth copy? If the answer is yes, then there is no real problem. If this purchasing of endless copies is a burden to the fan’s significant others (wife, girlfriend, children) then they must take whatevere corrective action is wise (divorce? split?). this is what it means to live in a free society. You are free to be an idiot.
I think a true fan would have a copy of all the movies. But to be fair, it does seem like the original fans, those who saw the movies when they first came out, were tricked into believing they were getting the original originals. Star Wars is a classic, and I would prefer to have the classic movies on dvd, not the digitally altered ones. But, Im the type who prefers a natural face and not one with makeup. Most people “collect” different formats of the same film because of the ever growing entertainment industry, like vhs evolves into dvd. Not a lot of people own vcrs anymore, or the other types of players. Some people just buy the newer formats because their old ones died. Ive had vhs tapes that grew mold on them, so Im gonna buy a new copy to replace the old one. I think this makes sense. What doesnt make sense to me is people buying the same movie when they already have a good one that works on a player that they still use. But, Americans do have the habit of spending money frivolously. Maybe this is why most countries dont like us. Here we are with the means to buy the same movie in different formats, while people in poor countries cant even maintain a steady food supply. I wonder if this is only in America.