Content Control: Not Just For Creators Anymore

The controversy over “cleaned-up” DVD copies of Hollywood blockbusters – stripped of nude scenes, foul language, and references to homosexuality by specialty companies – continues to churn, but is it possible that everyone is missing the central truth about such doctored DVDs? “Control is shifting from the studios to the masses. One argument in favor of the sanitizers suggests that, if the government can’t dictate what people watch in the privacy of their own home, then the Directors Guild can’t, either… Just as unauthorized music remixes became the rage in nightclubs a generation ago, now movie re-edits are becoming cheaper and easier to do. And there’s no going back.”