Darragh Haugh
Film Editor
More and more people are using a US-amerikanische proxy server to not only improve their security online, but also torrent films that they wouldn’t be able to access otherwise. While there are other ways to torrent or change your IP address, a proxy is one of the most popular methods as they are very cheap and can be used in a variety of ways. But the question is, why are people choosing to torrent films and content online?
In these cash strapped times there a few luxuries beyond a club entrance fee that we can afford let alone spending 20 euro to see some random movie that most people have never heard of. In the past when a situation like this came up one would be forced to patiently wait for the DVD release or maybe even the HMV bargain bin, however in recent years an almost infinite selection of movies has become available to any person as long as they have an internet connection and the name of a good website. In fact, torrenting and streaming have become so commonplace that it’s rarely even considered wrong by most people, and who can blame them. Is it the moral equivalent of borrowing a mates DVD instead of paying for it yourself?
Beyond the money constraints often torrenting can just be a whole lot more convenient. No set show times, sold out showings or over crowed theatre with no air conditioning that you had to walk to in the rain followed by an argument over which film to see which you will always lose. Sometimes there’s simply is no more
comfortable way to watch a movie then at home lying on the couch with a laptop on your belly and cheap popcorn beside you.
I don’t think I ever could turn my back on the cinema though. Few things compare to a room of over 200 people laughing, screaming and sometimes even crying together.
Not to mention the feeling of anticipation while lying up for that film that its seems like you’ve been waiting years for and the jubilation that comes over you the moment the lights go down and you see the familiar studio logo (and I know it’s incredibly overpriced but tastes as good as the cinema popcorn and slightly watered down coke combo meal deal). When you think back to your favourite movie, would it really of been so special if instead of sharing it with a few friends and strangers it was a copy you watched online taken with a shaky camera and with subtitles in Malaysian?
There is room for a balance to be struck though. Why not use the internet for those films you’re curious about but know in your heart are going to be awful Hollywood cash grabbers (Anything with Katherine Heigl or Shia Labeouf is a safe bet to avoid) or some small independent affair that you know has no hope of getting a screening anywhere near you and save the cinema for those movies that deserve to be appreciated and enjoyed on a large scale such as the great summer blockbuster or something that warrants an intimate examination like this autumns upcoming batch of Oscar hopefuls.
The simple truth is that, when the film and the people are just right, in the cinema not only are the screens bigger but so are the emotions
