Hollywood as an institution really does seem to shoot itself, not just in the foot but in the heart, on anti-piracy messages. If every movie that looks at large enterprises portrays them as evil, mud is going to stick to the studios as well. Since big companies are evil, you owe is to justice to steal their stuff.

Then there was Jon Stewart's take-off on the ads that show the damage that piracy does to the non-stars of the biz -- the stunt people, grips, writers, and so on. He said (loose paraphrase): "For those of you considering piracy, think of the people here tonight," as the camera panned the sea of glamorous decollatage in the audience, "why there are women out there who can barely afford enough cloth to cover their breasts!"

I laughed. I doubt that the executives did.

Were I a movie boss, I would make it a project to develop movies that portray corporate life realistically: the good, the bad, the moral complexities, the accomplishments, and the failures. It is not just the professors who are miseducating the students about the essential reciprocity of economic relationships and the free market.

posted by James DeLong @ 8:36 AM | General

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