Volume 4: 2022
Author:
Muhammad Faizan Ul Haq
Abstract:
Though DVD stores are in decline today, historically they have been and, for many people, continue to be the dominant mode through which Pakistani consumers access films and other media. In Shadow Economies of Cinema, which this paper draws heavily upon, Lobato analyzes informal distribution systems for film and other media by approaching them “as a complex of networks with their logics, strategies, and ambitions” (3). This paper attempts to analyze the system through which film and other media is distributed in Pakistan – its structure, working, and limitations – by closely examining the role played by Pakistani CD and DVD store owners in producing and distributing pirated content, as well as the practices adopted in the Pakistani film industry to respond to the widespread presence of piracy. Using interviews with Pakistani DVD store owners and a case study of a videogame modification available in Pakistan called “GTA Karachi,” this paper studies piracy in Pakistan by examining the extent to which it is a formalized system, and its legal status. It analyzes how pirated content is transformed through the distribution process as it suffers audio and visual degradation, and as additional paratextual elements inform the ways in which it is interpreted. Finally, the paper looks at the potential for content to be created uniquely in the Pakistani pirate distribution system through a case study of GTA Karachi.
Keywords
Piracy, Paratext, GTA, Karachi, Localizing, Audio, Distribution
