Piracy - It really is everywhere.

Piracy has always been a factor in movies and music. Trips to markets etc weren't complete without seeing some wideboy trying to flog white-sleeved videos of the latest film, or CD's with covers that looked like they'd been in a washing machine. It was sick, it was wrong - but it was life.

Nowadays, though - is it me, or is piracy more accepted and widespread than ever before? We won't dwell on the "accepted" piracy of "Oh, I just downloaded it onto my MP3 player" and stick with movie piracy. Honestly, how BAD is the situation nowadays?

Maybe I hang around in the wrong circles (or maybe the wrong circles hang around with The Curmudgeon) but I've lost count of the conversations I've had that run along the lines of..

"Saw V For Vendetta last night."
"Oh. Did you go to the cinema?"
"Nah. My mate gave me a copy."

It's always someone's mate. Or someone's dad, or a shady brother or uncle. It's not happening on the marketstalls, with comedy Del Boy characters scooping up their suitcases and running when they see the police. It's happening in people's houses with people we all know. I've been given LISTS of movies that "a friend of a friend" can get at a fiver a throw, all "great quality."

And yet, if you protest, if you say you don't buy pirate movies, YOU'RE looked on as the one in the wrong, the pompous snob, the do-gooder. From people who obviously don't appreciate anything they watch enough to just buy the fucking real thing.

"Oh, it's too expensive to go to the pictures", I get told. Oh yeah? A boat is expensive, you can't afford that, but do you go out and steal one? 'Cos that's what you're doing with the films.

"I don't want to wait for it to come out on DVD." The waiting time now between cinema to DVD is the shortest its ever been. Movies can be bought within a few months (Hell, if you have a region one player you can get brand new movies from the likes of Canada when they're still at the cinema in the UK. That's how much we suck). So scrub that little excuse from your list.

"Well they should lower DVD Prices." Really? Have you SEEN high street DVD prices lately? There's sales and price crashes every single week (Charlie and The Chocolate Factory 2 disc for £5.99?! Wasn't that in the cinema about four months ago?) We live in an age where DVD's are the cheapest they've ever been. Hell, VHS was NEVER this cheap in its heyday.

"What's the difference in buying a copy and buying a real one from ebay? The movie makers aren't making the money from THAT sale." Yes, but the money has already BEEN made. There has been a sale, money has been paid for that product somewhere down the line. Plus it's REAL, not some crappy copied tat.

And yet, what do you do? Report them? No, because, again - it's people you know. So we just have to hold our heads high, walk away from the theft and the ignorance, and pay money for genuine products that WE love and appreciate. That's how it's done in The Fortress.