Sometimes, the geeks go a bit too far. It was announced earlier this week that the DVD for Serenity will be released on December 20. The cover art for the DVD was released at the same time as Amazon began taking preorders.
As it turns out, some die hard fan feels the cover art "neither represents the content of the movie, nor will sell it to either fans or the general population." Now this fan has started a petition to get the cover art changed.
Now I can understand trying to save a show using petitions, but to nit pick over the cover art of the DVD case is just stupid. I don't know about you, but I don't have my DVDs on display. All I see is the edge in my DVD rack until I pull it out to watch it. I'm more interested in watching the movie, not gazing intently at the intricate details of the cover art. However, as covers go, it looks fine to me.
Still I can't deny that some people purchase movies based on cover art. However I believe this is a rather small number of people. Not to mention it is beyond stupid to think that fans would refuse to purchase the movie based on the cover art. If that was the case, I wouldn't have many of the DVDs I own.
Quite frankly, I think this person has a bit too much free time and needs to worry about more important things like stopping George Lucas from making any more Star Wars movies…ever!!! There's a petition I'd sign.
Update:
Well, this entry has touched a nerve with the petition owner and he has felt it necessary to link to it on the Whedonesque forum under the handle gossi. I would post a reply to the board, but quite frankly I don’t want to sign up to do it. I understand their need to keep spammers off, but I doubt I’ll be perusing the forum enough to warrant an account. Call me lazy, I don’t care. Plus all I’d get is a barrage of fans flaming me, so what’s the point? It’s like going to a Mac forum and saying Microsoft is better. You might as well not bother.
I really shouldn’t have said that nit picking the over the cover art was stupid. There are a plethora of words in the English language that could have gotten my point across without the need for negativity. It does not help either side of any debate to start childish name calling. Truthfully, I do admire their commitment to the cause. However, I feel their time could be better spent rallying for something else; like Buffy/Angel movies or a Serenity sequel. I realize that DVD sales will play an important role in getting a sequel, but to debate opinions over artwork is an exercise in futility (just like any good art debate). Some like Van Gough, some like Picasso. I do love the fact that the we fans do have a voice and it’s awesome that we can have an effect.
GVH immediately made a valid argument regarding rentals, which I agree with in principal. Cover art does play a huge role in rentals, but I’m of the opinion the cover art was designed to attract the non-fan. That may explain why some fans don’t seem to like it (seeing as how I’m a fan and don’t care). Of course, his closing stab at my lack of capitalization (which is merely a stylesheet setting) did just as he indicated; it made him look petty and took the focus away from what he had to say. It was off topic and totally unnecessary. Therefore I shall say no more on it.
Later, nixygirl commented that I was a silly person and sarcastically pointed out I had my own website (I guess having your own website is silly to her). She also indicated I was just trying to generate revenue. I can only assume it has something to do with my Google Ad section (something the very message board to which she was posting has right there at the top of the page). I don’t have pop-ups and my Google Ad is buried at the bottom of the page. Also, what kind of revenue am I supposed to generate by disagreeing with fans on an obviously touchy topic?
A comment by theonetruebix poked fun at my closing about stopping George Lucas. I guess it’s my fault for not indicating that I was being sarcastic. I realize that nothing will stop George Lucas from further polluting our cinema with his special effects extravaganzas.
Please note - Due to the ambiguity of the web, I am assuming a commenter is male unless otherwise obvious.