Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2016 July 12

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July 12

Downloading recent films for free

Is or are there websites that allow you to download films for free like for example Zootopia, Pixels, Big Hero 6 and etc? Donmust90 (talk) 02:10, 12 July 2016 (UTC)Donmust90Donmust90 (talk) 02:10, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

They're illegal as heck, so we're not going to help you find them. Clarityfiend (talk) 03:18, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Every illegally downloaded film helps to fund terrorists. I'm not going to allow ISIS to gain another rocket launcher, thank you very much. Lugnuts ^{Dick Laurent is dead} 09:16, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

If you get them for free then nobody makes any money from you, terrorists included. They would have to sell the pirated moves for some small amount to fund anything. StuRat (talk) 15:59, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

They would make money through advertising on the website, and malware/ransomware bundled with the downloads. Definitely possible to make money. But the statement that terrorists are funded by illegal film downloads is of course complete codswallop. 131.251.254.154 (talk) 16:47, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

How do you know? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 16:49, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I would agree with the above IP. Where is the evidence that film piracy funds terrorism? Fgf10 (talk) 17:19, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

It's funny that 131 shows up where you do - and with the same attitude. Or is that typical for all you residents of Cardiff? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:41, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

I can't speak for the ip above (or all 300,000+ residents of Cardiff), but I don't have an attitude, I just expect people to present facts. I guess people here in Wales (and the wider UK) aren't as gullible as Americans. Or maybe it's just you that has a problem presenting facts/has an attitude. And if you're accusing me of sockpuppetry, just say it. Fgf10 (talk) 17:55, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Well, you're both at Cardiff University, and seem to be tag-teaming each other. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:58, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Oh god, someone else at an institution of 50,000+ people shares my opinion. Drats, you've discovered my secret identity! To the batmobile! Fgf10 (talk) 18:30, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

And at nearly the exact same times, yet. Possibly coincidental. But you're now on the radar. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:40, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

I am quaking in my boots. You've really reached rarified heights of trolling. It's almost entertaining. Fgf10 (talk) 18:49, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

(edit conflict)The sources I'm seeing for the claim that downloading funds turr'ism! are only merely suggesting that terrorists are selling pirated DVDs (not uploading movies for download in general) or making vague insinuations regarding counterfeiting in general. It honestly sounds like "9-11 was bad" style propaganda started by the entertainment industry ("We want to shatter the illusion of DVD pirates as harmless 'Del Boy' characters," said a spokesman for the Industry Trust for Intellectual Property Awareness). The idea that every illegally downloaded film helps fund terrorists has to be a joking exaggeration. You'd have to prove that all the sites out there (some of which predate Daesh, many started in western nations, and most of which are rather proud of attitudes that terrorists hate in westerners) were started by terrorists, that all advertisements on those sites were effective (people who are tech savvy enough to pirate are generally smart enough to use adblocker or at least know to not click the ads), and that every movie out there comes with ransomware (which would be a plain lie). Ian.thomson (talk) 18:10, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Piracy is its own kind of terrorism. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:13, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Yeah, marginally reducing corporate profits by seeing if a movie is worth buying before spending money is totally comparable to murdering poor children because they didn't swear fealty loudly enough. Ian.thomson (talk) 18:16, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

I'm assuming you are aware there is actually a definition of terrorism: "the use or threatened use of violence (terror) in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim". Which of cource in no way covers film/software piracy. But of course feel free to ignore reality as it pleases you. Fgf10 (talk) 18:30, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

And you likewise, Mr. "For great fusstice". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 18:41, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

Dr actually. But I'll let that pass. Since you've given no factual reply, I'll just assume you've retracted your ridiculous statement as the nonsense that it is. Fgf10 (talk) 18:49, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

No, I stand by my suspicion that the IP is you in disguise. But he could also just be someone trying to get you into trouble. So we'll see. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 19:00, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

If you are in the UK, you can download the BBC iPlayer desktop application from the BBC website, and then download a small number of films and a much larger selection of other BBC TV programmes from the iPlayer section of the Website. This is free (and one is not required to have a UK TV Licence), but the downloads have to be watched within a set period (varying for each item, but typically up to a month) before they expire. The choices are mostly limited to recent new or repeated broadcast programmes. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.123.26.60 (talk) 15:14, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

You would have to ask yourself why they would offer their movies for free, since they wouldn't make any money that way. The one exception I could think of is if they might offer one of a series of movies (like Harry Potter), hoping you would be hooked and pay for the rest. StuRat (talk) 15:56, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

You wouldn't download a car, would you? ;) Kurtis ^(talk) 21:14, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

There is a usual answer to the claim that "Copying movies is like stealing a car, and you wouldn't do that, would you ?" ... "If I could make a copy of my friend's car for free, and not cause anyone to lose their car, then damn right I would !". Of course, in both cases that would mean we would no longer get new movies or new car designs, if everyone just kept copying the old ones for free. At least this is true under the capitalist model, but we could have taxpayer funding to produce new content. As 3D printers get better and better, we may eventually need to consider such alternatives (I understand it's already possible to "print" a gun). In the Star Trek universe, where they had replicators, they were apparently in a post-capitalist era, but they never really discussed how people made a living (those onboard the ship were presumably paid from taxes, but who paid those taxes, from what source of income ?) . StuRat (talk) 12:50, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Ironically, I was going to mention 3D printers, but I opted against it because I couldn't think of a clever enough way to tie it in.

For the record, I'm a sneaky SOB who does get things for free all the time, and I do so shamelessly. So sue me. ;) Kurtis ^(talk) 15:59, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

I would, but I'm the same, so it will have to wait until I find a lawyer willing to take the case pro bono. :-) StuRat (talk) 21:30, 15 July 2016 (UTC)

Comic book database

I'm looking for a particular science fiction comic book series from the late '60s or early '70s. I've already asked here a couple of times, but nobody could help based on my description. Is there an image database online that I can search by genre AND era? Second choice: a book covering this particular area. Clarityfiend (talk) 22:33, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

This seems to be what you need; (free) registration required to access some features: ComicBookDB.

Note: Googling your title reveals several other 'comic book databases', but not sure if there are any based on images. --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:A073:98E5:BA6B:E905 (talk) 23:46, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

P.s.: A google image search for: science fiction comic book series from the late '60s or early '70s -→ [1] --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:A073:98E5:BA6B:E905 (talk) 23:55, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

The Grand Comics Database is free and has a high percentage of covers scanned, but searching may be tricky. Use the advanced search function to fill in as much as you can. Even knowing the publisher (or even the country) could help. I'm not a expert, but I've been a comic fan for decades. Could you link to previous questions or re-ask it here? Another avenue to explore are the various Facebook groups dedicated to various genres and publishers of comics; I've sometimes had my questions answered by them. Matt Deres (talk) 01:28, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

I'd already tried the Grand Comics Database and the advanced search. The entries I was able to retrieve weren't what I was looking for. There were friendly aliens with disc-shaped heads (horizontally oriented), wearing transparent helmets(?), with ribbon-like hands and feet. Clarityfiend (talk) 01:50, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

This image sort-of fits your description (but they don't seem friendly) → File:Wonder stories 193202.jpg --2606:A000:4C0C:E200:A073:98E5:BA6B:E905 (talk) 02:42, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Umm, no. Those are dome heads and mechanical appendages. Plus they're about 30 years older. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:15, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

Could you specify a country? Even within the Anglosphere, material often gets republished (with different covers, natch) for different countries. (Current magazines, of course, may use different covers for different regions within a country, but that probably wouldn't apply in this case). This may seem trivial, but it could significantly narrow the search: do you recall whether it was a comic book or a pulp magazine (or possibly a slick magazine)? It's kind of an arbitrary distinction in some cases, but within the fandom, it would be considered significant and could lead to you using the incorrect search terms. Just as an example, if you searched for horror comic in Google, it would not return (m)any hits for items like Creepy or Eerie because - despite them featuring comic-style artwork printed on comic-style pulp pages - those are consider pulp magazines. Matt Deres (talk) 15:12, 14 July 2016 (UTC)

Canadian comic book, not a magazine. It was around the same time as Space Family Robinson and Magnus, Robot Fighter. Clarityfiend (talk) 23:02, 14 July 2016 (UTC)