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Old September 20th, 2006, 09:36 AM
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Off the Chain

3 very prominent videos stores in the Cornwall area rent out a movie titled "off the chain" written by Bobby J Brown, it's a disgusting movie all about the underworld of pit bull fighting, we asked the 3 to remove it from their shelves and they complied, it's plot is to show how the pitbull went from the sweet loving Petey to the vicious killer it is now, please, next time you visit your rental store, check to see if it's on the shelf, ask that it to be removed, two teens told our SPCA guy (not knowing who he was) that he should "totally see that movie, greatest dog fights ever"!!, I wrote to the three companies corporate offices, I know I'm not allowed to post what stores, but you can email if you would like their names and would like to send them an email.
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Old September 20th, 2006, 02:54 PM
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Good for you Shelley. Can you email me it?
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Old September 21st, 2006, 08:21 PM
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Quote:
it's a disgusting movie all about the underworld of pit bull fighting
Have you actually watched it?
Although I agree that it has some horrible scenes that are incrediably hard to watch, the thesis statement of the film, so to speak, is actually extremely critical of dog fighters. The interviews with ACOs and people involved in pitbull rescue clearly illustrate how detremental dog fighting is to the individual dogs and the breed as a whole.

I certainly could write pages worth of criticism on the film, and I realize the potential for some individuals to get some horrible ideas in their heads, as they could with any number of films, video games, music or tv shows, but it's certainly not a pro fighting film. I'm actually a bit surprised to see this post as it's one of the more popular resources amogst many uber- responsible, extremely anti-fighting, pitbull owners.

ETA: does the copy in the video stores have some cover graphic saying 'america's #1 killer' or some such thing? I can absolutely see a problem with the marketing if that is the case everywhere, but it's an award winner documentary and all the links on their website is to pitbull rescue and humane societies.....

Last edited by pitgrrl; September 21st, 2006 at 08:30 PM.
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Old September 21st, 2006, 09:37 PM
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Quote:
ETA: does the copy in the video stores have some cover graphic saying 'america's #1 killer' or some such thing?
All the covers on the net and the cover of the one at my own video store actually says:

Quote:
The Humane Society of the United States says: This video is a must see - exposing the ultimate betrayal of man's best friend
and from what I've gathered the writer is NOT trying to glorify dog fighting, quite the opposite actually.

I haven't watched this video, but all the reviews I've seen are positive, and I was under the impression that the film pretty much condemns dog fighters and tries to show how pit bulls aren't born killers. It's also supposed to show the cruelty of dog fighting, without sugar coating it.

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The documentary OFF THE CHAIN exposes the disturbing, criminal world of underground dog fighting. In this realm, the pit bull is the
favored breed because of its power and amenability to training. The film explores how the pit bull went from a breed considered ideal
as a family pet to one of the most feared animals in America. Interviews with law enforcement and animal protection agents attempting to curtail the practice of dog fighting are contrasted with footage of the fights and discussions with the animals' trainers. OFF THE CHAIN condemns this disreputable activity while at the same time examining its history and the motivations of its practitioners.

Last edited by MyBirdIsEvil; September 21st, 2006 at 09:46 PM.
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Old September 21st, 2006, 09:43 PM
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I had heard that the video store releases have some new cover that says something sketchy, like I posted above. I have yet to see one though, so I can't be sure.
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Old September 21st, 2006, 09:51 PM
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I'll have to look at it again next time I'm there, but the last time I saw it was a couple weeks ago, and it still said the humane society thing.
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Old September 22nd, 2006, 06:38 AM
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As in anything intent is what matters. This is definitely an expose of the dog fighting community and it does not support dog fighting and although I can’t find the link now I swear the first time I saw a reference to the film it was at the HSUS site.

However there is graphic footage and if that is what people are renting it for it is both sick and against the intent of the film. Similarly if I rented a documentary on the September 11 attacks simply to cheer as people jumped out of windows to escape the hell inside I would be the sick individual not the filmmaker.

If the store has repackaged the movie to glorifying the dog fighting then they also are sick and deserve to lose some business.

A blurb from a review of the movie:
“The really chilling stuff, though, comes from the actual dog fighting footage. Undercover video reveals truly brutal goings-on. The viewer is pelted with unsettling imagery of people gathered around a pit, cheering like they're at their son's tee-ball game, while two dogs nuke each other to ribbons. Be warned: it's pretty graphic stuff, with the animals shown chomping on each other's necks, or lying prone in pools of blood. To Brown's credit he doesn't linger on these shots, but the footage is grisly enough to affect younger viewers. Heck, I had a hard time watching it.”

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/offchain.php
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Old September 22nd, 2006, 07:55 AM
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the movie was suppose to discourage dog fighting, it's done quite the opposite, kids have been renting it as a learning tool, Blockbuster Canada has decided to pull it off of their shelves nationwide after reviewing it.
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Old September 22nd, 2006, 10:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Melinda
the movie was suppose to discourage dog fighting, it's done quite the opposite, kids have been renting it as a learning tool, Blockbuster Canada has decided to pull it off of their shelves nationwide after reviewing it.
Couldn't that be said of alot of films though? They're made with the intention of educating, but some people will watch them to get info on exactly that which was being criticized or exposed?

I'm really of two minds about it. One the one hand I think it a good tool for people to see just how horrible dog fighting is, that there is no honor or love of dogs involved, contrary to much of the romanticization of "dog men" and the history, and present, of pitulls.

On the other though, I think maybe it adds fuel to the fire and I'm not sure the general public, in the current social atmosphere, can watch it and get beyond the gruesome images without a having a knee jerk reaction.

I'd be interested to know what others think about this though. I do think it's important not to gloss over things, and I think there is harm to be done in constantly presenting pitbulls, or any animal for that matter, as all fuzzy wuzzy sugar coated disney-esque cuteness, but maybe now is not the time for this film to be widely distributed either.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 03:46 PM
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IF kids are using this video to learn how to do dogfighting, don't you think that's more the parents fault than the video? It's up to the parents to teach their kids values and teach them about proper treatment of their animals. Someone who taught their kid that dogs deserve respect probably doesn't have a child who is going to go fight their dog.
I don't suggest video rentals and retailers remove videos from their shelves just because a kid might get bad ideas from it
-It's up to parents to teach their kids right and wrong, and if a kid is renting this video to find out how to do dog fighting it's already clear they haven't been taught the right values.

It seems people would rather ignore or hide issues instead of dealing with them. Removing some video off a shelf doesn't solve the fact that there's kids that apparently want to fight their dogs, and it doesn't stop them from figuring out how to do it anyway, since this isn't a how-to video on dogfighting. It does however keep a lot of people from seeing how horrible dog fighting is, judging from how many positive reviews the movie got and how many people actually appear to have learned something.
The video is supposed to show how cruel dog fighting is, and how people take nice dogs and turn them into fighters, but it seems many people have missed the point and would rather concentrate on the few misguided people who use the video for their own agenda.

Quote:
the movie was suppose to discourage dog fighting, it's done quite the opposite
How did you decide that the video caused more people to fight their dogs? Were you under the impression that people (yes including kids) weren't doing this in the first place? Do you have any statistics that show how many people were fighting their dogs before and after the video came out or a correlation between the video's release and an increase in dogfighting? That quote is on the verge of being propaganda.

IMO, the fact that people who want to fight their dogs are buying the video leads me to believe that:
1. There are a disturbing amount of misguided people who already had this idea and were willing to carry it out.
and
2. People who fight their dogs will probably buy videos about dog fighting.

And that's still just a guess, since as far as I know there's no statistical analysis on how many people were deterred from fighting their dogs or caused to by this video.

How many of you against the video have actually watched it?
As I stated in one of my previous posts, I haven't, but now I think I'm going to have to go rent it just to see if it's as bad as some of you think. Who knows, maybe I'll change my view after actually watching it.

Last edited by MyBirdIsEvil; September 23rd, 2006 at 03:59 PM.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 04:15 PM
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I can't see people renting this movie for educational purposes, for one who doesn't know of pit bull rings and two it's really a gruesome movie where I can't imagine anyone being able to sit through it unless your made of steel?

Anyone who think pit bulls are mean just because then they should educate themselves about the breed not watch what man has done to them. Their misundestood by the ignorant and not because of their strenght. So IMO this documentary is useless for educational purposes and probably the reason it got pulled! I also think this movie could do the opposite and just add more fuel to the fire

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/offchain.php
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 04:47 PM
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Quote:
So IMO this documentary is useless for educational purposes and probably the reason it got pulled! I also think this movie could do the opposite and just add more fuel to the fire
I'm not going by my personal opinion, I'm going by the many reviews on websites, in newspapers, etc. where people say the movie helped open their eyes to the cruelty of dogfighting, and recommend it to other people. Anyone could look at a movie or read about it's plot and think "This movie isn't useful at all!", but if most of the people who watch it disagree, it would lead me to believe that it possibly is.

However, I haven't seen the movie, and until I watch it I don't know how much of the movie is comprised of dogfighting, and how much of it is comprised of other info. From what I've read the whole movie isn't scenes of dogfighting like some people seem to think.

Out of curiosity, have you watched it?

Quote:
Anyone who think pit bulls are mean just because then they should educate themselves about the breed not watch what man has done to them.
What's going to lead them to educate themselves? If they watch a movie and think "Wow, that's wrong", maybe they'll go read more info about pitbulls and find out they're not vicious killers.
They're not just going to get up in the morning and think "Hmmm, I should really read more about pitbulls!"
What someone should do and what they actually end up doing are 2 different things.

Last edited by MyBirdIsEvil; September 23rd, 2006 at 04:52 PM.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 04:51 PM
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Absolutely not but I heard alot about it and also read many reviews.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 05:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Girls
I can't see people renting this movie for educational purposes, for one who doesn't know of pit bull rings and two it's really a gruesome movie where I can't imagine anyone being able to sit through it unless your made of steel?
I sat through it, not because I'm made of steel, far from it, but because it's a challenging film which forces you to really understand what these dogs live through. What's gained by turning a blind eye to things because they're too unsettling or upsetting? I actually don't know of a single person who's watched it and not been horrified, upset, covered their eyes, but glad that they where exposed to what we're really talking about when we say "dog fighters" or "dog men".

Out of curiousity, have you seen it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Girls
Anyone who think pit bulls are mean just because then they should educate themselves about the breed not watch what man has done to them. Their misundestood by the ignorant and not because of their strenght. So IMO this documentary is useless for educational purposes and probably the reason it got pulled! I also think this movie could do the opposite and just add more fuel to the fire

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/offchain.php
I don't think this breed can be understood, at the present, seperate from what people have done to them. How does one begin to understand the situation that pitbulls are in if they do not educate themselves on what they were historically used for and what that looks like today?
How is it useless for educational purposes? To me censoring what information one has access to is much more counter to education than making exposing one's self to things we don't agree with.

Much like what MyBirdIsEvil posted, I think it's all in how you come to it. If you want to fight your dog chances are you're going to do that anyway, if you're not I can't imagine that this movie is going to convince you.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Golden Girls
Absolutely not but I heard alot about it and also read many reviews.
Is this not much like hating pitbulls, having never met one?
How can you so adamantly oppose something you haven't watched?
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 05:23 PM
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It's quite simple, I will not watch anything that shows harm to animals. It's not to say I wear blinders. I will read about it, educate myself but not watch something that will keep me up at night.

I don't think watching this documentary will make one want to fight their dog just because they seen it - no. But I do think that people who already look at pitbulls as some kind of killing machine I just don't know Like I said it could go either way? IMO

On another level though your probably right about the educational part depending on the person viewing it. I like you know the stigma attached to them but I don't see them in that sense. I see them as I see any other ... just lovable dogs.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 05:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pitgrrl
Is this not much like hating pitbulls, having never met one?
pardon?
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 05:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Golden Girls
pardon?
I just meant that either way it is pre-judging something without having experienced it, I didn't in any way mean that you dislike pitbulls, rather making a comparison. Kind of like how I was sure I hated pastachio ice cream, refused to try it for 25 years, only to find out I really love it once I was convinced to eat some.

I totally respect not wanting to watch the particular film, it is certainly difficult to stomach. I'm also not entirerly convinced it's the time to have it in every video store, BUT I do think it's really valueable, should be available and does a good job bringing to light a horrific practice.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 06:04 PM
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oh. I'll just be repeating myself but all's I meant was it could also backfire for the ones who don't really know ... and would only see their strenght (re-inforcing the fear) rather than seeing their loyalty

I suppose there is many who don't know about how they've been used ... I just don't know of any. And I'm from Quebec where there is just no laws of anything. Alot of pitbull fights around and alot of thugs so if I were to see this document in our video stores I'd have no doubt I'd ask for the removal of it.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 07:40 PM
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I don't think it's that there's lots of people who don't know about pitbull fighting, but there seems to be a lot of people that don't think it's as gruesome as it actually is.
I've talked to several people that seem to think it's like boxing or something, the dogs go in and fight a bit and one backs down and they pick a winner. They don't want to believe that these dogs are actually mauled half to death or killed .
You'd be surprised how many people think like that.
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Old September 23rd, 2006, 10:23 PM
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Thumbs down

I bought this movie way before it even came out in video stores. I think its amazing. I think the producer has done a great job at exposing the truth of dog fighting, and really does make the pit bulls appear as the victims. There is also a bunch of cartoon clips after the main documentary that show pit bulls from different films such as the lil' rascals and betty boop's pit bull in the cartoon.

I think its very educational, and I would actually recommend that it be used as an educational material, because it definately does get the point across the dog fighting is sick and the people that do it are completely brainless sickos. It has some good interviews with AC officers and with dogmen alike, where they have counter arguments and trust me, the dogmen always look like the idiots that they are!

True, it is quite graphic and not for the faint at heart..but its the truth, and why should we hide from it? I'm sorry but pit bulls are the victims, and I would love for those that hate these dogs to watch this video and see what they have to say afterwards.

I'm all for it in video stores...as for kids using it as a learning tool for dog fighting? I never got that once from the video...they make it clear that its a punishable crime, that the dogs suffer, etc etc etc.

If kids think dog fighting is "cool" they would have thought so before the video, and if anything, this movie would have changed their minds in my opinion. It makes no sense to censor anything thats the god honest truth...why? Its rated, parents should know its not meant for a younger audience anyways..and if you have sick freaks that are going to watch it for that pleasure, the same can be said for any movie with violence, killing, rape, etc...........those films are all over the shelves..and just because they're "HOLLYWOOD" they're fine? There will always be stupid people ruining it for everyone else....

Ok..I'm done now

*steps off soap box*
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Old September 24th, 2006, 08:18 AM
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That is really an excellent post pitbulliest.
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