AroVideo start Campaign for Censorship Reform in NZ
(crossposted from CreativeFreedom.org.nz)
Lumiere Reader writes “Andrew Armitage, proprietor of AroVideo in Wellington, presents his case for reform of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act”. Armitage argues that, with new technologies emerging such as DVD, cable television and the internet, subsequent amendments to the Act have failed to fairly accommodate the unique properties of new formats. He further explains that “the primary reason why films are not available on DVD, and in many cases are withdrawn from the NZ market, is because the distributor cannot justify the classification costs to release the film. The cost of classifying a film in New Zealand is approx. $1100 + gst for an average feature film or DVD disc…Thus the cost of classifying the 16 discs that comprise Seasons 2-5 of The L-Word TV Series, for example, would total $17,600 + gst payable to the OFLC. The distributor of this series made a business decision not to release these titles in New Zealand.”
As we’ve seen in the success of iTunes and the Monty Python back catalogue, providing good legal availability and access alternatives is often the key to addressing the problem of illegal downloading – ultimately boosting sales. If obscurity is a bigger risk than piracy, then we hope that this problem of access to films and video in NZ as highlighted by AroVideo will be solved, and we can all finally get to rent and watch the complete Freaks and Geeks series. And maybe, maybe one day someone will figure out a way to let us legally download films and video online!?
Read more here: http://www.lumiere.net.nz/reader/item/2133
Note, Armitage states: “This forum is not concerned with censorship decisions that are made by the Classification Office (OFLC) in respect of a film’s content, and we are not anti-censorship. Our concerns are with what amounts to the “economic censorship” of legitimate filmed entertainment for mature audiences.”
