Partisan Piracy: Conservative Filmmakers Accuse Obama Supporters Of Uploading Their Film To Youtube
from the believing-in-the-same-fallacy-unites-the-parties dept
Piracy is usually the scapegoat trotted out by various declining industries and pointed at angrily for supposedly single-handedly destroying them. Generally, it's content creators and various gatekeepers (mostly the latter) doing most of the pointing (and lobbying). In the normal scheme of things, the gatekeepers are all on the same side, united against filesharers. That's the status quo.For the first time in memory, one entity has accused another in the same field (politics) of using piracy as a weapon. In this strange case, conservative filmmakers are accusing Obama supporters of uploading the full version of their documentary, "2016: Obama's America," to YouTube in order to harm box office sales.
The film, the second-highest-grossing political documentary in U.S. box-office history, has made $32 million domestically since opening in mid July but took in only $938,000 during the recent weekend for a per-screen average of $771, down 27 percent from $1,060 per screen in the previous weekend, according to BoxOfficeMojo. Overall, the movie's box-office dropped 53 percent in the most recent weekend compared with the previous one, its largest decline since opening 10 weeks ago.The filmmakers contacted the FBI about the possible piracy and the user who uploaded the full film has taken it offline. In addition, mass emailings announced the (fake) news that Fox News would be showing the movie for free last Sunday. Many bloggers and websites ran with the story, but most have issued retractions.
While such a drop isn't unusual for a movie during the course of a week -- especially when the theater count dropped from 1,876 to 1,216 -- filmmakers nevertheless say box-office results were artificially depressed for two reasons: a disinformation campaign spreading the false rumor that Fox News Channel would be showing the movie in its entirety Sunday and a pirated version of the film showing up on YouTube this weekend.
The whole situation is a bit odd. Obama's official website issued a post criticizing the film and one of its creators, Dinesh D'Souza, saying he has a “long history of attempting to add a veneer of intellectual respectability to fringe theories, conspiratorial fear-mongering and flat-out falsehoods.” One wouldn't normally expect the President (or at least, a high-ranking spokesperson) to respond to a clearly political documentary. Perhaps the fact that "2016: Obama's America" is now the second-highest grossing political documentary added a bit of pressure.
However, while it's clear that some sort of misinformation campaign took place, it's a stretch to lay the dropoff in ticket sales on the "dirty tricks" of Obama supporters. It's fairly common for movies to experience large dropoffs in ticket sales from week-to-week. It's also fairly common for movies to get pirated. The other argument against a "concerted effort" to tank box office receipts is the timing. "2016:Obama's America" has been in the theaters 10 weeks and is due for a DVD release in October. As Zac Gille at Alt Film Guide asks: "Why now? Why not two months ago?"
“The reports of the movie appearing on Fox before the election are completely untrue," Dinesh D’Souza declared, "and we strongly suspect that they are the result of dirty tricks by our opponents who spread this rumor in order to confuse the general public and keep them from going to their local theaters."Even if it turns out that a few Obama supporters did mount an effort to tank ticket sales, it would be tough to separate any possible impact from the misinformation campaign from the normal sales decline of any theatrical release. If anything, the piracy and misinformation plan backfired as the particularly loud response from the filmmakers can't help but draw more attention to the 10 week old film. Not only that, but uploading the movie to YouTube where it could be watched for free drives more viewers (and potential voters) to the film itself, a side effect the film's (alleged) opponents couldn't possibly have intended. However this turns out, we have a new tactic to add to the piracy pantheon -- piracy as political sabotage.
If so, what an idiotic waste of time on the part of D’Souza’s and 2016 Obama’s America‘s "opponents." After all, the 2016 movie is fast on its way out.
So, why on earth would anyone in his/her right (or left, as the case may be) mind want to keep people "from going to their local theaters" to watch a movie that so few moviegoers care about at this stage? If an organized anti-2016 Obama’s America effort truly exists, then those guys have arrived on the scene a little too late. They should have acted five weeks ago, when the 2016 movie began its initially popular expansion.
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Filed Under: copyright, dinesh d'souza, documentary, obama, piracy, politics
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Just a sidenote
Take the information in the movie with ten tons of salt.
That said, I fully believe that D' Souza would be the same type of person to upload this and blame it on political opponents. It's what the conservatives in this country have been doing for the past three years when Obama inherited a bad debt from the Bush administration.
I just sincerely hope this mode of using peavy as a scapegoat ends here when no one outside of conservative circles cares.
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Re: Just a sidenote
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Or perhaps they manufactured the whole piracy thing to grab headlines, so sites like TechDirt would help promote the film?
Welcome to 21st Century marketing.
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Win-Win
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Sad
This is an important election. There is no shortage of substantive issues to be debating. Why is this story getting any traction? President Obama has disenchanted a lot of Americans and Mitt Romney just outright ostracized 47% of them! I mean, why the hell are we talking about piracy of a political doc regardless of how good or bad it is (or how much or little money it's made). The White House shouldn't be giving this the time of day and if it's true that they made a statement slamming the film or it's creator, they really shouldn't have.
If there's something everyone can agree on, it' that the lobbying force of the content industry is not dependent on whether a republican or democrat holds office.
This is coming from someone who is passionate about intellectual property law...there are more important things to be discussing than copyright infringement right now...
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Agreed. Like the scandalous lockout of NFL officials.
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Could be funny
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Heh .... This coming from someone who has a “long history of attempting to add a veneer of intellectual respectability to fringe theories, conspiratorial fear-mongering and flat-out falsehoods.”
This is rather humorous. I wonder how many went do to see this movie for it's comedic value vs how many went to experience the paranoid delusions of right wing nutterz.
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Your Republican pay packet will be on it's way shortly, I am sure ;)
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Did Dewey defeat Truman? Did Truman win due to Chicago ballot box stuffing?
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Re: Just a sidenote
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Re: Just a sidenote
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Response to: Anonymous Coward on Sep 26th, 2012 @ 7:26am
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Re: Sad
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As someone else mentioned, this newspiece serves as nothing more than a useless distraction. Seriously, in what way does it change your day if this or that film rakes in less money? Does anyone really care?
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it's not about informed votards. it's about making money.
duh.
where have you been for the past 200+ years?
/pseudotroll
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"The Streisand Effect" is often cited here. I'm thinking the movie producers tried to harness it to breathe some extra life (or at least some free marketing) into a movie going to DVD soon.
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Re: Could be funny
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To bring renewed attention to the movie just before its DVD release, thus increasing upcoming physical sales.
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Re: Re: Just a sidenote
A pitcher for the White Sox. We blame that fucker for EVERYTHING....
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"Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness it is the right[I would add the duty] of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government..."
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This is a common expression of hopelessness where one is encouraged to not vote because it makes no difference - but apparently it does make a difference to those who promote such drivel otherwise they would not be doing so. Even if one agrees with such sentiment, not voting implies that you are ok with everything the way it is.
"The top 2% owns as much money as the bottom 60% and that divide keeps growing."
Based upon this issue alone, one could review statements from each candidate and have something to vote about.
Last but not least, let us not forget that congress is just as much to blame, if not more so, than the wht house.
Do not let others tell you that your vote makes no difference.
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Re: Re: Re: Just a sidenote
After his last couple of outings against the Tigers, we're kind of liking him here in Detroit. Just sayin'
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Let me ask one question, you're a birther huh.
btw, nice wall-o-text
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back the truck up...
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Re: Re: Re: Just a sidenote
Hey, you got him from us (Padres). No take-backs...you got what you paid for.
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Damn phone...
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Re: Just a sidenote
Like I really care about watching more lying trash.
I will go read one of my books for better entertainment.
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Obama et. al. dislike this movie so much that they've made it easier and cheaper for more people to see it (and given them a wider choice of options to see it), by giving it away free.
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I've been called worse, including "fancy lad." (BTW, I would like to buy a monkey.)
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Re: Just a sidenote
Media's main purpose, which they have abandoned, is to apply healthy skepticism TO ALL to bring out the truth, just like scientists that use the scientific method.
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Scientific method?
lol
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So what will it be?
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If our government is willing to ignore us when it comes to matters regarding legislative policies, laws, security, et al., and is so heavily financed by corporations that they practically own the politicians, what makes you think that they're suddenly going to allow us to decide who sits in the high office? You're dreaming.
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Every little bit counts and direction matters a lot.
Defeatist attitudes like this not only allow the present crapfest to devolve further but it encourages same at an increasing pace and severity.
I'll say it again, do not let anyone tell you your vote does not matter. It would be nice to see voter turnout above 80%. It barely breaks 50% every four years and yet I hear people claim this is a representative form of government - represent what - a bunch of slackerz?
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Re: Re: Re: Just a sidenote
From Websters: Media - a singular or plural in construction : MASS MEDIA
b plural : members of the mass media
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1) good journalism; based upon verifiable eye witnesses, credible second hand sources, public and private documents, historical accounts which agree between multiple sources.
AND
2) good science; based upon well constructed theory, supported by repeatable experimentation, and subjected to scrutiny by peers and experts in the field.
If journalism were handled in a manner similar to science, you would not get "Happening Now", you would get "Happened Years Ago".
In addition, you seem to have conflated science and fact. The majority of science deals with hypothesis, theory, experimentation and peer review. Many times, so called "facts" are scoffed at with ridicule when they do not stand up to scrutiny.
So, pardon me for being picky - but it does make a difference.
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But not on the right? I find this claim to be highly suspect, are there any studies to back it up?
"They are embittered by the betrayals and tepidity of the Democrats"
I'm quite certain there is similar disillusionment on the right. I think studies have shown low voter turnout tends to consist of more left than right leaning people of voting age, however I doubt it is all driven by unrealized expectations. Disenfranchisement is a tactic used by both parties but it seems to adversely affect the left more than the right.
“If you have to stop people voting to win elections, your ideas suck.”
- Penn State Sen. Daylin Leach
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Re: Re: Sad
The problems you lay at the feet of congress are in fact due to an incompetent electorate.
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