Don't let money change ya...
Don't let money change ya...
I am gonna go out on a limb and venture to guess that Costa never asked for the fanboism he has. Cannot hold all of it against him.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
Don't hate the playa hate the game?Originally Posted by orionz06
Evil requires the sanction of the victim. - Ayn Rand
More or less. Trust me, I am the very first person to make a joke out of any of this crap that I can but at the end of the day it us just that, don't hate the playa hate the game.
The other aspect of it is that some of the fanbois turn into what we want to call "shooters" and that is good. For every stupid fanboi out there trying to see how far they can throw a magazine because YouTube there is a girlfriend who goes shooting too. That is good. Laugh at it, have fun with it, ignore it, but it ain't going away, no matter how hard you try.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
Honestly, if just a few more shooters are exposed to the rules of firearms safety and shown the proper way to hold and shoot a firearm, this series will be positive. I like zombie movies, and have been known to make zombie jokes, but generally dislike the zombie craze in the firearms industry. I do think we tend to expect everyone to make the jump from "shooting a gun would be cool" to "how do I shave .0005 seconds of my draw" right away though. There are many steps a lot of people take in the journey to being a competent shooter. These videos could very well provide the impetuous for some new shooter to seek out someone to teach them that "supersickawesome reload" and they could get quality training as a result. Are they a little stupid? Yes. Are they as bad as a zombie themed Taurus judge? No.
Also, as an unrepentant free market capitalist, I am all for someone making as much money off of their skill set as possible. Costa is a great shooter and a charismatic teacher and should take advantage of the fact that he has achieved a small amount of fame in an industry that doesn't have household names. If he can get people to buy it, good for him.
Evil requires the sanction of the victim. - Ayn Rand
Agree with Orionz; it's not my bag but neither was buying the latest Jordans 10 years in a row while sticking my damn tongue out every time I jumped.
Imitation is the highest form of a compliment and the guy didn't get to where he is by being a shitty shot.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk; coherency may be in jeopardy.
<Matthew 10:28>
So today I had an interesting phone call. I had left a message on Costa Ludus' answering machine concerning the footage, and Chris Costa felt it important enough to call me back about it. He was genuinely concerned.
He assured me that the footage has been removed (or is in the process of being removed). He also told me that they already had the advertisement edited once, as the advertisement originally had graphic footage of a police officer being shot. Apparently there was confusion from staff thinking it wasn't real, and when they realized it was indeed real they obviously knew it should be removed since it was out of context and in poor taste. Ditto the footage of massacre victims when the office/he got my message.
Then he asked me what my opinion was on how to use the footage for its original purpose (teaching and to add levity/context to the medical lesson DVD). I explained, and he seemed to understand where I was coming from, that the use of the footage is perfectly acceptable for inside the DVD medical lessons when used for teaching or to make an impression on the viewer that bad shit DOES happen, and here's real world examples of why it's good for you to learn. The part I explained was that in showing that same footage in the advertisement, it doesn't appear to be used for that purpose/context but rather for pure advertisement. Instead, I suggested the advertisement be more along the lines of his Art of the Rifle DVD's, where instead of footage of actual massacre victims in their undignified state the content/message of the DVD could be advertised with short out-takes of the actual lessons; the advertisement for Operation Z did this, but not with the medical section and instead used the massacre footage along with other footage of civil unrest in a docudrama sort of advertisement strategy. In short, making the advertisement a mini-docudrama as they've done can be an effective selling technique, but shouldn't be done using some of the footage that was chosen simply for respect to those humans and their families who've suffered.
I'm pretty impressed with Mr. Costa for calling me back, and moreso for asking my opinion on how this could be more effectively executed. He ended up on the phone with me for a good half hour.
For everyone who boohoo'd humanity and how cruel the gun community is when Jerry Tsai/Recoil Magazine was eaten alive, I think this is living proof that isn't the case. Your career will not be needlessly destroyed by mob-mentality public opinion in the gun community just because of one honest mistake. Rather, when you rectify it and drive on, the results are much different.
TGS,
Thank you for leaving him a message and for expressing your concerns to him when he called back. I also appreciate you sharing the story here.
I was also put off by the images used in the trailer, and am glad to hear that your concerns were given consideration.
Good on him for talking to you. Sure beats what others have done.
Think for yourself. Question authority.
Great point TGS. Someone in the gun community was involved in something that was in poor taste and worked to rectify it and addressed it honestly instead of with bluster and denial. In doing so he ended the issue. What a contrast with the actions of Jerry Tsai.
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