Obfuscated Thoughtlessness Inversed

Filmmaker Michael Moore said he disapproves of copyright laws. It’s a stance, he admits “I’m sure is different than that of Harvey and Bob,” referring to the Weinsteins, whose Weinstein film company is releasing the movie nationally June 29.

“I think the music industry’s response to Napster was misguided … and for me, it’s about getting people to see the movie and that’s what I want, so they will talk about it,” Moore said. -June 18, 2007 from Brandweek

You have to see this film. I recommend the theatre on opening night June 29, but I certainly couldn't wait that long. Given Michael Moore's high profile support for you downloading it, this might be time to up and do what he says.

You'll need a BitTorrent client like Azureus or BitTorrent and then to make a quick visit to a website like ThePirateBay.org. After you download it you will need to install an MPEG4 codec.

Caution, I am not suggesting you break your local copyright laws, I'll let Michael Moore do the suggesting there. However, as you are probably aware this activity is not illegal in Canada (where I reside) as you already pay a fee when you buy storage media.

“As a moviemaker … I created a work of art that is meant to be seen on a screen that is 40 by 20 feet. It’s a big-screen experience that is to be shared in a movie theater, where people love to boo and get mad.”

Moore added that the number of theaters the movie is distributed to is determined on the opening weekend, meaning that if too many people opt to download the movie instead of seeing it at the theater, it may not see as widespread a screening.

“That said, I would never want to prosecute anybody who would download it,” he added.

Sicko is available on a number of P2P sites for free download. One site, thepiratebay.org, lists at least roughly 2,000 downloads of the flick, and the Web site p2pnet.net, which tracks torrents, or P2P downloads, writes that the movie “is already thoroughly entrenched on the p2p networks.”

Labels: alternatives, health, leftist content creation, new media critique, opinion, pro-choice