The Philippines is PACKED with people waiting to make a sale along sidewalks and outside buildings. I wasn't too bothered when people would go around selling cigarettes, lighters, junk food, and the like. But lately, I've noticed how the number of vendors doubled. The new half is now selling pirated DVD's. I know times are tough and financially, people would do anything to make a quick buck. Although, if there's one thing that really ticks me off, it's pirated DVD's. I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't own ANY pirated material. From music to DVD's, I'm sure everyone must have at least one pirated item at home. If you don't, then my hat's off to you. But that's not the point. Fact of the matter is, since I've learned how much time and effort it takes to record a single song and create a decent SEGMENT (not even an entire film, a SEGMENT that lasts less than 7 minutes). Being an aspiring filmmaker, I was beginning to empathize with the people who worked their butts off to produce great movies. Just because I couldn't afford the CD or DVD, it doesn't mean I should rip off the ones who created them.

All I'm saying is, if you're an artist who doesn't like their work being taken without permission, or if you don't like being ripped off in general, I don't think you should do the same to others. What goes around comes around. It's taken a lot out of me to muster up the courage to dispose of all my pirated DVD's. I haven't actually done it yet, but it's only fair, to the industry and the people behind these works of art. Whether the movie sucks or not, a sufficient amount of effort was placed into the production of that piece of work and every single artist deserves to be respected one way or the other.