Saturday, August 18, 2012

WEEK 6 EOC: Illicit


I think the movie was very interesting in how it showed that something that seems like no big deal – buying an imitation handbag, for example, is actually just the tip of an iceberg and supports a huge chain of illegal goods and illegal activities. The crime itself might not seem to be such a big deal, but when you consider the millions in lost revenue by the companies being scammed and the money laundering and other crimes involved to support the illegal activities, then you realize that it really is a big deal, that without the demand on the consumer side for such knock offs, the supply would shrivel up. Plus you see that while buying a purse might not be dangerous, buying pills of unknown quality could put you at risk for serious injury or even death because you have no idea if they are what they say they are or how they are made, and it is all just to save a few bucks. It is not worth it.
            Personally I have never downloaded an illegal song, I buy songs legally on Itunes for a dollar. I see downloading songs illegally as no different from stealing something and I have always discouraged others from copying software when I knew they had the means to buy the software legally. I do admit that when I was younger I did copy a few computer games illegally and that was wrong, but that was a long time ago when I couldn’t afford the software. Now all my software is legal.
            On the other hand as a photographer, I am really annoyed at how nonchalantly people copy images off the internet and never once think about the rights of the artist who made them. Such free images have hurt the market for photography because people see  no reason to pay for something they can get for free.

No comments:

Post a Comment