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Wanna screenshot? Not a chance, not any more. (Image: Archi Banal)
Wanna screenshot? Not a chance, not any more. (Image: Archi Banal)

OPINIONPop CultureJune 4, 2022

Let me screenshot your shows, cowards

Wanna screenshot? Not a chance, not any more. (Image: Archi Banal)
Wanna screenshot? Not a chance, not any more. (Image: Archi Banal)

Both ThreeNow and TVNZ on Demand no longer let users screenshot images from their programmes. Sam Brooks, for one, is raging.

A few weeks ago I was watching Dancing with the Stars, as I am obligated to do, and I saw a dear friend appear on the screen. As one does whenever you see something unusual while watching video on your laptop or phone, I screenshotted it multiple times so I could send them to her, in order to inform her that she was on TV, as if her being on the set of a television show hadn’t already made her aware of this possibility.

When I went to look at the screenshots later on – when I tell you that I was shocked, I was appalled, I was enraged, I’m not even scraping the tip of the iceberg. Rather than various unflattering images of a dear friend, what I saw were black screens. ThreeNow had disabled the ability to take screenshots. 

It’s not the first platform to do this, of course. Netflix has disabled screenshots on phones and other apps for some time now. Even TVNZ on Demand doesn’t allow them, a shocking development for those strange people who want to screenshot Shortland Street or the 6pm news (some colleagues have found this to be browser-dependent, so your mileage may vary).

I am not exaggerating when I say this is a catastrophic hit to my ability to communicate with my loved ones. More crucially for these services, it’s also a dumb business decision.

A grade-A screenshot, courtesy of one of our writers.

I am a big screenshotter. As of this writing, I have 2419 screenshots on my laptop, which I’ve had for just under two years. It’s a core part of my communication style. Screenshots are a quick way to send information, be it a joke, a “did you see this tweet” or even something remotely useful.

Screenshots are a language in their own right now. I can send a screenshot of say, Nicole Kidman’s Virginia Woolf walking into the river at the start of The Hours to any of my friends and they understand immediately what I’m feeling in that moment: just a little aggrieved. They’re a core part of the growing memefication of culture – which is not necessarily a bad thing. 

At their best, memes are a language unto themselves. A picture of a drag queen sitting alone in a bar, a startled Pikachu or a crow holding a knife means something specific to a certain community, and absolutely nothing to another. At their worst, memes flatten out art (see how fast Marriage Story became a collection of memes) or allows dangerous ideas to be communicated quickly, with little resistance (see: parliament grounds, February 2022).

I understand why streaming services want to restrict users from screenshotting their content. They have intellectual property rights to deal with, and personally I can’t say I would unequivocally love it if content I’d poured my heart and soul into was sent across the internet, context-free, existing in perpetuity outside of my control or my ability to make an income from that content. 

But I still don’t understand the business reason for it.

Memes are a way for a product or a piece of art to live on, to have another life. I don’t exaggerate when I say that by stopping screenshots, you’re stopping culture. Do you think Chris Warner’s iconic penis-line would have travelled so far had one savvy viewer not clipped it? Hell, if you trawl back to this very site’s early TV coverage, you’ll find more screenshots than official, sanctioned, photos. And look how far we’ve come!

There’s a very good reason why Netflix’s social content is essentially screenshotting and reproducing its own content. Or look at its hit web series I Like To Watch, in which drag queens Trixie Mattel and Katya watch Netflix content and riff on it. Aside from being hilarious in its own right, I Like To Watch is essentially  corporate-endorsed memefication.

But corporate memes can only go so far. Culture tends to move at its own pace, though increasingly assisted by social media algorithms with a mind of their own. Screenshots are the simplest, cheapest and most user-friendly way to accelerate that process. With a few button presses, a moment from a show can go viral, getting more eyes on it than it would have otherwise.

Sure, it might open that show up for more ridicule, but a click is a watch. Streaming services don’t know if you’re watching something ironically. Just that you’re watching at all.

So be brave, [insert name of streaming service here]. Let us screenshot. It’s for your own good (and also mine, personally, please and thank you).

Keep going!
Image: Archi Banal
Image: Archi Banal

Pop CultureJune 3, 2022

Breakfast keeps calm and carries on

Image: Archi Banal
Image: Archi Banal

It’s been a hell of a week for TVNZ, but what about Breakfast, the show at the centre of it all? Tara Ward watched this morning’s episode to find out how the show is faring. 

Breakfast has been in the spotlight this week, after the departure of new presenter Kamahl Santamaria after 32 days in the role. TVNZ initially explained Santamaria’s absence as a “family emergency”, but it was later revealed he quit after a TVNZ staffer made a complaint of inappropriate behaviour. Since then, concerns have been raised about Santamaria’s recruitment process, the TVNZ CEO has apologised, and TVNZ head of news and current affairs Paul Yurisich has gone on leave.

Breakfast presenters Matty McLean, Jenny-May Clarkson and Indira Stewart (Photo: TVNZ)

After such a nightmare week for TVNZ, I wanted to see how Breakfast was faring. Nothing wakes you up quicker than a bit of breaking news, and Breakfast got me good this morning: Elvis has left the building. Presenters Jenny-May Clarkson, Indira Stewart and Matty McLean began Friday’s episode with the news that Elvis Presley themed weddings are now banned in Las Vegas, due to licensing issues.

Breakfast was shook. Matty’s favourite Elvis song is ‘Hound Dog’ and Indira likes ‘Love Me Tender’ and it’s going to rain all day, New Zealand, so don’t forget your jacket. Then they all danced, ever so slightly, as ‘Suspicious Minds’ played them out to the first ad break. See? Breakfast is fine. Everything is fine. It’s cloudy in Gore with a high of 9 degrees, and later we’ll be tackling gun violence and the war in Ukraine, all before the seven o’clock news.

The Breakfast team seemed determined to be upbeat, despite needing to cover a shitstorm of depressing events. There were interviews about China’s presence in the South Pacific and social and cultural inequalities in health, but throughout, the team kept calm and carried on. There were moments when it seemed tough. During an interview about how to solve community gun violence, Jenny-May simply sighed mid-sentence and left her question hanging, summing up how many of us feel about a lot of different things at the moment.

But there was brighter news too, like the Queen’s platinum jubilee. TVNZ’s Europe correspondent Daniel Faitaua crossed live from London to announce he was putting on his skinny jeans to enjoy the jubilee concert, and we met excited royalists camping along The Mall. “It’s a very special occasion,” said one. “It’s a very special occasion,” said another. It was clearly a special occasion, one that could only be improved by an Elvis impersonator renewing Charles and Camilla’s vows on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

The ghost of The King lingered through the morning. Viewer Lisa emailed in to tell the nation her husband’s favourite Elvis song, while another sent in photos of their own Las Vegas Elvis wedding. “It’s iconic,” Matty said. There’ll be heavy rainfall in Wellington and sunshine in Nelson, so walk your dog before lunchtime, Indira advised. “Just stay home,” said Jenny-May, sighing again.

After eight o’clock, Breakfast seemed more at ease as it left heavier issues behind, focusing instead on beer tasting and cars that look like rockets. Matty interviewed ZM’s Bree and Clint, the proud new owners of a unique space rocket vehicle. “I was never able to afford a house in Auckland anyway,” said Bree, who’s an astronaut now. They’ve planned a rocket road trip around Aotearoa. “I want to go to Mars, he’s more of a Uranus man,” Bree said of Clint. “You and me both, Clint,” Matty replied.

After roving reporter Matt Gibb jokingly complained about his rough week travelling the country visiting Sofitel hotels (“you’ve had a rough week,” Jenny-May sighed), Breakfast signed off for another week. “We made it to Friday,” a relieved Matty said, as the three presenters sat together and thanked their viewers for their support and “good vibes”.

They were a united trio, brought together by a love of Elvis and Daniel Faitaua’s skinny jeans. The Breakfast presenters spoke earlier in the week about the changes on the show, and it’s obvious they don’t want to let their viewers down. So far, so good. Breakfast has always danced a fine line between big banter and big news, but this morning they proved they can do both under the toughest of circumstances. Elvis might have left the building, but Breakfast is here to stay.

Breakfast screens on TVNZ 1 on weekdays from 6am, and on TVNZ OnDemand.

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