psychoceramics: Letterboxing is Censorship!

[John Tynes <rev @ halcyon.com>]

That's right! Those evil studios and effete directors are out to CENSOR 
your favorite movies by putting black bars across the top and bottom of 
the screen when you see a film on video or cable!

Or so this guy says. He pops up in various media-related usenet groups 
and begins haranguing people about the evils of letterboxing. His web 
page, which he promotes as the source of the "Movie Letterboxing FAQ", 
isn't really worth a visit for what's there.

So, here's what his FAQ consists of to save you the trip. It's very, very 
special. This gentleman seems to be on good terms with the first half of 
"crackpot"...

Rev



>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Movie Letterboxing(TM)
>
>
>
>Letterboxing: Vile Censorship of Movies on Tv and Video
>
>
>
>Welcome to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Movie Letterboxing. The 
>purpose of this page is to educate the public about
>the evils of "letterboxing," the process of censoring movies on broadcast 
>and cable tv and on videotape and laserdisk by blocking the
>top and bottom of the tv screen with black bars that block portions of the 
>screen and prevent the movie viewer from being able to
>watch and enjoy the movie. We welcome your comments and input, new links 
>to other anti-censorship sites, and other interesting
>links for us to add here. Together, true movie lovers can defeat letterbox 
>movie censorship, and other similar assaults on the
>artistic integrity of cinema.
>
>    What IS "letterboxing"?
>Letterboxing is the vile and shoddy practice of censorship of movies by 
>placing black bars to block the top and bottom of the tv
>screen, so that the viewer cannot watch or enjoy the movie. All true movie 
>lovers abhore this practice, and demand full screen
>videos and cable and broadcast movies. 
>    Why is it wrong?
>The television screen is a different shape and size than a movie theater 
>screen. Therefore, to correctly show a movie on a television
>screen so that you get a full screen image, it must be formatted to fit 
>the tv screen. Letterboxing, instead, shrinks the movie image
>down tiny and places it in the center of the screen, placing black bars on 
>the top and bottom. While no part of the "image" or
>"information" from the original movie is "lost" or "blocked," the movie 
>becomes effectively unwatchable as the image is too small
>for anyone to watch, and the black bars on the top and bottom make it 
>impossible for the viewer to get "drawn into" the movie.
>Rather than pretend that one can somehow "duplicate" the experience of 
>seeing a movie in a theater by trying to present a movie
>image in a shape other than the shape of the tv screen, most broadcasters 
>and most video companies today present movies in the
>full, original, uncensored, unletterboxed, full screen format, just like 
>they have been broadcast on television for over 50 years now.
>The letterbox censors and their supporters want to take this right to view 
>and enjoy movies in full screen image away from you.
>They argue that "letterboxing" is superior, when any reasonable person can 
>see that this is a lie. They call it "widescreen," when
>actually it should be called "shrunk" screen or "small" screen (the width 
>of a tv screen is physically fixed and is NOT expanded by
>showing a mangled letterbox image of a movie. They use pejorative terms 
>like "pan-and-scan" to refer to the full, original,
>uncensored full screen format, trying to mislead people into thinking that 
>this is something bad, rather than the way that most
>people prefer to view movies. Over 99.99% of the viewing public prefers 
>the full screen format.
>    Who is against "letterboxing"?
>Practically everybody, except a tiny handful of people--which 
>unfortunately includes some film makers, film critics, and their
>followers. The public hates it, and won't watch it, buy it, rent it, etc. 
>People who accidentally get "letterboxed" (better called
>"lettershlocked") versions of movies at video rental stores bring them 
>back as "defective". And they are right!
>    If some directors want their work presented in this format, isn't that 
>up to them?
>The audience has rights too. We pay good money for cable access and video 
>rentals, and certainly should speak up and let these
>directors know that we cannot enjoy their work when it is presented in 
>this letterboxed/lettershlocked format. Directors need to
>know that we want a full screen image on our tv and will not settle for 
>anything less.
>    What other drawbacks are there to "letterbox"/lettershlock censorship 
>of movies?
>Letterbox/lettershlock censorship is a violation of the letter and spirit 
>of the Americans With Disabilities Act and similar state
>statutes and local ordinances against disability discrimination against 
>persons with visual disabilities and impairments. The
>much smaller image makes it much tougher, in fact impossible, for persons 
>with visual impairments, such as reduced vision or
>partial blindness, to view and enjoy movies on cable, broadcast, and 
>videotape or laserdisk. Such persons are entitled, under the
>law, to reasonable accommodation from public accommodations and those who 
>provide goods and services to the public, which
>includes the entertainment industry. As of yet, there is no concrete 
>reported case law on this atrocious disability discrimination, but
>it is only a matter of time before someone takes legal action against this 
>despicable discrimination. You can help move this process
>along, and help with the recognition of the wrong that letterbox 
>censorship is by contacting the FCC to object to cable broadcasters
>or broadcast stations showing letterboxed censored movies.
>    What can be done?
>The majority of the public has been silent too long. We must Educate! 
>Organize! and Act! by writing and phoning cable channels,
>video stores, and movie companies, telling them we want full screen 
>movies, not censored letterboxed ones! Tell them that we pay
>good money for access to cable television, especially premium movie 
>channels, and that broadcasting letterboxed films which
>cannot be watched or enjoyed is a violation of their implicit agreement 
>with us to provide us with watchable entertainment. Call
>your cable operator to object when letterboxed movies are shown. And be 
>sure to give your video rental and purchase business to
>video stores that carry the full screen movies, not the letterboxed ones.
>    Watch this page!
>Coming soon to this page will be more detailed information, including:
>* More links to tv broadcasters, cable channels, movie studios, the FCC, 
>and other places to voice your opinion against the letterbox
>censors!
>* Lists of videos available in the full screen format, rather than the 
>censored lettershlocked format.
>* The text of the Americans With Disabilities Act and similar state 
>legislation, along with the addresses of agencies where you
>can write to demand that they take action against letterbox censorship!
>* Other interesting film links on the Web.
>* More detailed refutation of the lies of the letterbox supporters!
>* Links to other anti-censorship sites and organizations.
>
>
>                        ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S 100th BIRTHDAY:
>                                       AUGUST 13, 1999
>               INTERNATIONAL END LETTERBOX CENSORSHIP DAY!
>
>
>In honor of this great filmmaker's 100th Birthday, August 13, 1999 has 
>been declared International End Letterbox Censorship Day!
>Watch this web page and elsewhere for further details of this great 
>celebration! 


John Tynes   r--@h--.com      []      "If he died in Memphis,
http://www.halcyon.com/rev/       []      wouldn't that be cool?"
Pagan Publishing                  []           -The Replacements,
& Commando Creative Services      []               "Alex Chilton"
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