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Used to swap bootleg VHS tapes in the parking lot behind the mall back in 92
I remember when getting a banned movie meant meeting some guy named Jerry at the back of the strip mall in Phoenix. He had a whole trunk full of Faces of Death and Cannibal Holocaust tapes that he copied from his friend who worked at a video store. Now I just pull up a VPN and watch whatever I want from my couch in 5 minutes flat. The difference is CRAZY to me because back then you could actually get in trouble just for owning that stuff. Now the internet lets you see basically anything but governments are still blocking whole websites in places like India and Turkey. Makes me wonder if the free speech fight just moved from the parking lot to the server room. Has anyone else noticed how the banned stuff just changes formats but never really goes away?
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stone.jesse13d ago
Buddy of mine still has a Cannibal Holocaust bootleg in a shoebox in his closet.
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The old bootleg scene at least kept some barrier to entry. You had to know a guy, drive somewhere, hand over cash. Now any 14 year old with a YouTube link can stumble onto things they probably shouldn't be watching. I'm not sure that's progress. Blocking a whole country from Wikipedia or social media is different than a few dudes swapping tapes behind a mall.
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