Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Haji Movies

The act of illegally downloading music, movies, software, etc. (known as pirating) is a problem in the United States. I remember being back in college when Napster was the rave and people were always on their computers downloading various songs for free.
Although one is more likely to pay a fine for littering, or go to jail for drugs, than to get busted for piracy, it's still an offense. These illegal acts are also a problem in other countries as well, including (you guessed it) Iraq.
Known as haji movies, these versions are all over the place, sold in dozens of shops and stores all over the place. Here on post, you can walk into a "haji store" and by a "haji version" of your favorite new movie. Most likely, the version you are purchasing is one in which a person took a camera into a theater and set it up on the screen. How do I know this? Because throughout the movie, you can see shadows of people getting up from their seats, or they will have subtitles in a foreign language at the bottom of the screen! Yes, I admit, I have SEEN some of these versions; however, I refuse to BUY them (mainly because they're such bad quality).
These things sell for around $1-3 here, while purchasing the same movie back in the states will cost roughly $20. Thanks to some of my Soldiers, I've seen newly released movies such as Ironman and Batman the Dark Knight, as well as the entire Jason Bourne trilogy on one dvd! I hope this doesn't sound like I'm condoning the act of movie and music piracy, but at least I don't have to wait until they come out on dvd in the States to watch them!
Take care.

2 comments:

[w] said...

nice. i like how you qualify that you won't buy one "mainly because the quality is so bad." So if someone takes an HD cam into a theater and tells everyone "down in front" that's better?

:^)
:^O

Anonymous said...

I got to see Spiderman 2, Shrek 2, 50 First Dates, Bourne Ultimatium, Troy, I Robot, and Harry Potter all before they hit theaters in the States. They were the best fuzzy-and-out-of-focus-shot-with-a--camcorder style movies I've ever seen! It was really annoying when someone got up in the middle of the movie to go to the bathroom or to get more snacks. Honestly didn't they know a pirate was trying to do his work there!?