Cowardice at the Movies

[exploited]

[Winchester]

[Darkhorse]

I'm starting to wonder whether these actions by the cinemas and Sony are what we should expect now. First, you've got major corporations like Sony which no longer operate with any real principles. They don't even make entertainment anymore so much as they make money for shareholders. They aren't going to make a stand because it's just not worth the financial risk. They've got dozens of other films in the pipeline. They're just going to write off a $50 million loss and try to put this whole hacking ordeal behind them. If one nut job were it shoot up a theater, it would have been game over. Why is that?

Because, second, there so such an enormous amount of whiny, finger-pointing bullshit in our society. It's never just the perpetrator's fault. Our society would have to blame the movie theater for not taking some vague, anonymous threat more seriously. Sony would have acted recklessly by not caving to terrorist demands. They would be trashed for putting profit over people's safety. How could they let this happen?! It's worth taking a financial hit to avoid the endless bitching which would no doubt ensue on the off chance that something did happen.

And third, we're a nation of cowards. The fear tactics used by just about every group in this country has had a side effect. We're afraid of our own shadow. We're so scared that we'll happily consent to full body scans, torture people, and we don't think twice about ruining someone's life for saying something that might be considered offensive. Quarantine people that aren't contagious. We agree to endless wars on the other side of the world. We vote against allowing patients to use harmless, plant-derived medicines. And, we do it all just to feel a tiny bit safer. It's pathetic.

[Kane]

Maybe Sony was informed of a real threat?

Sony isn't in a good position at the moment (Haven't been for a while actually) so for them to pull the movie altogether...well, it gives me pause. At the end of the day they're like you and me and they want to make money off their investments. They need it too. Badly. For them to do this simply as a PR move baffles me.

[Philly]

[Stratego]

[Mr. Shaman]

[micfranklin]

[John Galt]

while the threat of violence could hurt the studio maybe, i think they are more worried about all the other shit. they are looking at a cost over 200 million and counting because of the movie loss (80 million, with advertising) and all the other hacking issues. i think they are attempting to protect against more of the latter in the short term.

[spacemonkey]

On the brighter side, the first cave in is always the hardest. They found our button, and it will be pushed again, again, and again. Although in the real world, you are probably around 1000% more likely to die on the road then from a terror act.