Pirate Cinema by
Cory Doctorow is set in the near future in England where those caught illegally
downloading movies can face punishments such as losing their internet service
or time in jail. Trent, the book’s main character, is one of those caught
illegally downloading. He loses internet access for himself and his family.
This has disastrous results for his sister, who has trouble doing her school
work without the internet, and Trent’s sickly mother, who has difficulties
setting up doctor’s appointments without being able to go online.
Disgraced and feeling guilty, Trent leaves his family for
London and falls in with a group of squatters, freegans, and general
non-conformists. He learns ways to resume downloading films without getting
caught, but Trent, who starts going by the nickname Cecil B. Devil, never
downloads films in order to sell them. Trent makes no money off his films,
which consist of clips from other films he cuts together. His films are funny
and sometimes poignant. Soon, Trent and his London friends find themselves
fighting to change Britain’s laws on downloading.
Pirate Cinema has
slow pacing compared to Little Brother, one
of Docotorow’s earlier YA novels. Too much time is spent on all the wild
characters Trent runs into in London as well as on details about the technology
they are using. But if you’re patient, Pirate
Cinema is worth sticking with. It is also a somewhat frightening novel in
that some of the laws the characters fight in the book have already been
proposed or implemented.
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