I have always loved movies. I got exposed to them at a young age.
I remember my brother telling me how awesome it was to see Aliens and Die Hard.
I was only 7.
I assume my Mom and Dad fought about him showing my brother and me such violent movies at young ages, but honestly, I had little idea what was happening in the film. I was probably playing with my Transformers. However, seeing Indiana Jones and Last Crusade in theaters reminded me that maybe I was still a little too young for some things.
The Pitch
Create an app that modifies movies based on content restrictions.
So You Like Censorship?
I don’t like censorship, but I do approve of personal choice. If you own a movie and don’t want your kid to see someone chopping off someone else’s head until they are two, I can respect that.
I’m not saying movies or TV shows need to be modified permanently, only to give people a choice. For example, some people may enjoy a pure action cut of Independence Day.
Other people might want to see a version with just the jokes.
How about a scary movie with all the jump scares removed?
I want every movie segment categorized.
I want more data.
I want different ways to watch my movies.
How Does It Work?
Create a crowd-sourced tool that allows people to label films via a timestamp.
It would be great if the MPAA took on this responsibility. They could create a data-based score for a movie. Generate data points for all profanity and what words and context. Imagine going to a theater and knowing that your PG-13 film is only labeled that way because of a single scene that you know won’t bother your younger child.
commonsensemedia.org can help, but it doesn’t provide time information or any data, just a general overview of the movie.
The future will be full of more diverse ways to watch movies. So let’s make it happen.
