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Criticism of ClearPlay Left Some Things Out

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Re “Just $7.95 a Month and You’re Free to Turn Movies Into Pablum,” Commentary, Feb. 23: Patt Morrison states that using ClearPlay to edit out portions of movies is comparable to storming into a library and tearing out pages of a book that one doesn’t approve of, “or rewriting them to serve your liking.”

Morrison’s premise fails to establish her argument. Whether one buys a CD, DVD or book, one is entitled to do anything he or she wishes with the product, including changing its content through editing, provided it is not for that person’s commercial benefit. The purchasers of the DVDs have the absolute right to have their own copies edited by ClearPlay to suit their purposes, including having a movie edited into the equivalent of a movie trailer. Neither they, nor ClearPlay, have the nonconsensual right to change copies belonging to others.

ClearPlay edits these DVDs for a fee for each owner on an individual basis, not for general circulation. The former is legal and ethical, the latter is not.

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James Lewis

Los Angeles

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I agree with Morrison about the danger of ClearPlay to the art of filmmaking. Yet, even though I oppose its use on principle, in practice it poses no threat to my family’s exposure to culture. My wife and I are the ultimate authorities for our kids at this point, and we don’t need to pay a monthly fee to have someone scrub the films we decide to show our kids. If something in a movie raises a question from my kids, hey, family communication. What a novel concept!

Yet there are parents lazy enough not to discuss sex and violence with their kids, and dumb enough to need a tool like ClearPlay. As Morrison wrote, one can easily excise objectionable material by using the off button. But ClearPlay believes there is a market for parents who don’t mind showing their kids sanitized versions of “Ray,” so why deny them the American dream of making a profit off the stupidity of the public? Just look around. It happens all the time.

Eric Potruch

Westchester

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