Do you have
a favourite book, video game, movie or T.V. show that you would like to come
back to in the future? Then buy a physical copy before your digital copy
is stolen from your library,
“In a move that will rightfully have people questioning the
advent of an all-digital future, Sony has confirmed that hundreds of Discovery
TV shows will soon be completely removed from PlayStation platforms — even if
you've purchased them through the PS Store.
"As of 31 December 2023, due to our content licensing
arrangements with content providers, you will no longer be able to watch any of
your previously purchased Discovery content and the content will be removed
from your video library," reads the rather sudden announcement. That same
page includes a full list of all the Discovery shows that are being wiped — and
it's a long one.”[1]
Many years
ago the idea of moving all of our bulky cd’s, dvd’s, books and games over to
virtual libraries seemed like a good idea. I remember some time ago culling my
library down because I had moved a few times, but several years ago I realized
that my Kindle Library was far more fragile than I had previously thought,
books can be edited and changed with an update, and the possibility of them
being changed for nefarious reasons is too strong. Or they can be completely deleted. It is becoming increasingly
clear that making everything virtual just sets up the conditions for us to
completely lose those stories and games that we love at some point in the
future. Even if you have purchased them.
Of course, not
only could you lose the things you purchased, but entire shows, episodes or
parts of episodes might end
up being memory-holed,
“A Season 9 episode of The Office, "Dwight
Christmas," is being edited for streaming to remove a scene in which a
character appears in blackface.
According to Variety, the scene will be taken out of the
episode while the series streams on Netflix and remain out when The Office
switches streaming homes, over to NBCUniversal’s platform Peacock, in 2021.
The show’s creator Greg Daniels issued the following
statement:
“The Office is about a group of people trying to work
together with mutual respect despite the inappropriate actions of their boss
and assistant manager,” said Daniels. “The show employed satire to expose
unacceptable behavior and deliver a message of inclusion. Today we cut a shot
of an actor wearing blackface that was used to criticize a specific racist
European practice. Blackface is unacceptable and making the point so
graphically is hurtful and wrong. I am sorry for the pain that caused.”[2]
This same
article notes that another show, Community, had an entire episode canned because
an Asian actor in that episode dressed up like a dark elf from a fantasy lore. The
effect of Americanised globalisation is that very specific American offences
are now being exported to foreign and even fictional characters that have
nothing to do with the same cultural issues. But that is not the key point.
The key
point is digital media is easily “updated” and changed to be made to suit
modern sensibilities and ideologies. This means that old books which teach uncomfortable
truths can be deleted or edited, shows can be deleted or edited, stories which
offend and capture important aspects of our history and traditions can be deleted
or edited. Virtual media is therefore unsecure. And just because you bought it,
does not mean that you own it, or that it is not vulnerable.
Big Brother is not a future potential, it is a present reality. It is encapsulated in modern cancel culture and the amount of things which are said to “offend” modern sensibilities are increasing. Shows even a decade old are now looked at as being “insensitive” by modern media organizations and their ever shifting standards. Book burning is now as simple as pressing delete on a server somewhere.
That person
with the physical DVD or Book collection doesn’t seem so eccentric now, do
they?
List of references
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