Apple Honors Robin Williams With iTunes Store Section Featuring More than 40 Movies, Comedy Routines [Updated]

[Peace]

Oh, and just so you very cynical people know. Apple never said they are honoring Robin Williams. That was the OP saying that. It says "Remembering Robin Williams". So go ahead and keep twisting this until you get what you want out of it..

That happened a long time ago.

Yup.. Apple is going for the few thousand extra bucks..They figured it would boost their profits from 175 billion to 175 billion plus two thousand.


/dripping sarcasm

 

[Trapezoid]

That happened a long time ago.

Yup.. Apple is going for the few thousand extra bucks..They figured it would boost their profits from 175 billion to 175 billion plus two thousand.


/dripping sarcasm

Those greedy pigs!

 

[charlituna]

Really cool that they did this.

Yes and no. The page on the site is definitely cool, but the iTunes Store thing is going to come up with a marketing stunt and a poor taste one at that.

Now if they pledged to donate apples sharpe to charity, say something like suicide prevention or Depression awareness or one of the charities Robin supported, then that would lessen the tasteless part.

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"You're free Genie"

This was very emotional to see.

There are an lot of suicide prevention groups highly displeased about that comment. They feel it encourages the act of suicide.

 

[CelestialToys]

For all of the idiots that feel the need to post that suicide is a cowardly and selfish act, you do realise that it's attitudes like this that prevent many people getting the very help that they need to prevent their suicide?

No of course you don't, because all you're actually doing is showing your own selfishness and fear of something you don't understand.

 

[Z400Racer37]

Yes and no. The page on the site is definitely cool, but the iTunes Store thing is going to come up with a marketing stunt and a poor taste one at that.

Now if they pledged to donate apples sharpe to charity, say something like suicide prevention or Depression awareness or one of the charities Robin supported, then that would lessen the tasteless part.

----------



There are an lot of suicide prevention groups highly displeased about that comment. They feel it encourages the act of suicide.

Apple made over $10B from iTunes sales last year, netting a few more Robin Williams movie sales than they otherwise would have wouldn't really justify the effort, labor, space in the UI etc. If they decide to donate the proceeds of that benefit to a charity, that's fine. If not, that's fine too. They've already provided value just by doing this in the first place. They isn't do this because they're nefarious and exploitative, they provided this value to fans of Robin Williams because they care.

 

[dec.]

There are an lot of suicide prevention groups highly displeased about that comment. They feel it encourages the act of suicide.

Personally I also don't like the esoteric/mythological ("religious") touch that it has - as it implies some afterlife. If not they'd basically be saying "he's better off dead".

 

[sammaffei]

That might be overstating things a little...




http://spinoff.comicbookresources.c...oster/?action=subscribe&email=asda@ssfdsd.com

No, you're understating things, and I'm quoting from the LA times and not some comic book site:

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-11-25/entertainment/ca-60882_1_robin-williams

 

[jonbravo77]

Why honor a person who took the coward's way out? To end your life may end your problems, but it transfers and creates new problems for the people you leave behind. Such a cowardly act.

I'm glad to see your life is so perfect and you know no depression and sorrow. May you live a long happy life in your bubble. Just hope it doesn't get popped some day.

 

[JobsGang]

Some people are idiots.When a actor or musician dies people go out and buy their music or films.Every retail outlet does this.Four of his movies are in the top 10 on netflix streaming.Idk understand what the problem is.

 

[sammaffei]

Apple made over $10B from iTunes sales last year, netting a few more Robin Williams movie sales than they otherwise would have wouldn't really justify the effort, labor, space in the UI etc. If they decide to donate the proceeds of that benefit to a charity, that's fine. If not, that's fine too. They've already provided value just by doing this in the first place. They isn't do this because they're nefarious and exploitative, they provided this value to fans of Robin Williams because they care.

How can you say that? You have no idea how much Apple is going to make.

If you bothered to check... "Dead Poets Society" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" are in the top 5 movie downloads on iTunes today. That's nothing to sneeze at and definitely not minor profit.

Apple is profiting big time off of this and they are definitely capitalizing on Robin's death by making / promoting a special section of the store. But, you keep talking out of your hat if it makes you feel better about some of the crappy stuff Apple does.

 

[mw360]

How can you say that? You have no idea how much Apple is going to make.

If you bothered to check... "Dead Poets Society" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" are in the top 5 movie downloads on iTunes today. That's nothing to sneeze at and definitely not minor profit.

Apple is profiting big time off of this and they are definitely capitalizing on Robin's death by making / promoting a special section of the store. But, you keep talking out of your hat if it makes you feel better about some of the crappy stuff Apple does.

Big time? :roll eyes: Nobody knows what the money is, but come on.

iTunes is a storefront. That isn't going to change because somebody died. It will always be a storefront, and it will only be a storefront. Within what iTunes is, a small page and a few words is about as much as to be expected. It's an acknowledgement, with some gentle sentiment and nothing more. "We knew you were coming, here's what you're looking for, and we're sad too." Altering the prices, up or down, would have been tasteless. Ignoring what happened and leaving the product in their respective bargain isles would have been sad and disappointing to many customers and fans. His work is put together so you can appreciate the scope of it. Yes, you can buy it too, but of course you can, iTunes is a storefront and nothing more.

If you want Apple's actual opinion, visit Apple's website, which has much more scope for freeform commentary from the company as a whole. There you will find no mention of products or encouragement to spend.

 

[jedifaka]

One Vote Against

While I don't pretend to be anyone's moral compass, I find the iTunes tie-in to be vulgar.
If you find it a worthy memorial, good on ya. But to me, it reeks of opportunism.

 

[dec.]

How can you say that? You have no idea how much Apple is going to make.

If you bothered to check... "Dead Poets Society" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" are in the top 5 movie downloads on iTunes today. That's nothing to sneeze at and definitely not minor profit.

Apple is profiting big time off of this and they are definitely capitalizing on Robin's death by making / promoting a special section of the store. But, you keep talking out of your hat if it makes you feel better about some of the crappy stuff Apple does.

Well yes, of course they are popular, that is the way it goes when a celebrity passes away, the interest in the content rises - everywhere:

> https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-lights-up-with-robin-williams-downloads-140813/

 

[aristotle]

This is opportunistic and crass IMHO. Also, to call someone a great human being immediately after they just ended their own life seems a bit questionable at best. That is something you might say at a memorial service when you are trying to remember the "good" about that person but suicide is not something that should be glossed over because it is essentially "self-murder" and causes a great deal of pain to those closest to that person. Some would even characterize it as selfish and cowardly.

We should separate the person from their act certainly when it comes time to memorialise them but we should not try to whitewash the act itself. Doing so not only devalues the pain inflicted on the family but also glosses over the emotional struggle that pushed that person do do what they did.

I worked with someone who committed suicide over a decade ago and I can tell you that it leaves an indelible mark on those loved ones they leave behind. It leaves them in shock searching for answers and even questioning if there was something they could have done differently.

If I was on the executive team, I would have simply left it as offering condolences and prayers for the family of the deceased and leave it as that.

 

[nostresshere]

Making money from someone's death. Disgusting Apple, totally disgusting.

This quote is disgusting.

They have offered these items for years. Nobody is "making money from death".

So sad that some folks can not see the big picture.

 

[kobalap]

I disagree. Suicide often is described as "cowardly" or "easy way out" but really I think it takes an extremely desperate mindset to decide that "suicide" is the better choice than 'life" (leaving motivations like euthanasia or """religion""" aside). A rational thinking person would suggest that a suicide never can be a solution but mental illnesses affect the decisions a person makes in a way where rationality is blown out of the window and therefore I don't think that terms like "cowardly" can apply at all in these situations - which of course consequentially means that it doesn't take courage either as it's part of the mental illness.

I posted this earlier but I will mention it again.

Last year alone, 350 members of the U.S. military, many being veterans of war and some being highly decorated veterans, committed suicide. You can probably accuse these 350 people of many things but being cowards and being selfish - sounds like a stretch to me.

I am no expert but I would image that the topic of suicide is quite complex. Anyone who speaks to the topic in black and white terms is most likely the most ignorant about the subject.

 

[continuity]

I know that suicide stirs up a lot of powerful emotions in some people, but I'm sure if you calm down and come back to this topic later, and actually read what I'm saying in a logical way, my intentions are quite good, and nothing I'm saying is false or harmful. I am advocating for fewer deaths and less pain in the world. I don't imagine you're actually opposed to that idea.

Really? Are you sure about that? You honestly believe you're not harming anyone when you say things like

Sure, let's celebrate suicide with a big sale, and turn him into some kind of role model by spending weeks talking about how great he was.


Suicide, however, is the absolutely stupidest, most cowardly, and selfish thing a person can do. It fits every definition of evil I can think of. He should be vilified, instead of celebrated. As somebody who has suffered through repeated bouts of depression myself, I have empathy with his considering it, but no empathy for his choice to actually do it. My thoughts are with his family and the other people he utterly destroyed with his action. I can only imagine what horror they are going through now in his wake. He didn't merely take the easy way out, he strapped dynamite to his chest and blew himself up taking everyone else out around him.

Don't be stupid like Robin Williams.

You have just said that people who commit suicide are evil, selfish, cowardly and stupid and deserve to be vilified. Where is the "good intention" in this? How is anyone who is suffering from crippling depression going to feel motivated to improve their lives after reading this hateful diatribe? If anything, your lack of empathy and total disregard for their suffering would be enough to push them over the edge. Do me a favor and never work at a suicide hotline, you would only accomplish the exact opposite of such an organization's goals with your mentality. I also don't quite believe that you've really suffered from depression to such an extent, otherwise you wouldn't even dream of saying what you've just said. You really have no idea of just what depression entails, and what's worse is you seem opposed to anyone educating you about it. You're too egotistical to admit that you're wrong.

This is opportunistic and crass IMHO. Also, to call someone a great human being immediately after they just ended their own life seems a bit questionable at best. That is something you might say at a memorial service when you are trying to remember the "good" about that person but suicide is not something that should be glossed over because it is essentially "self-murder" and causes a great deal of pain to those closest to that person. Some would even characterize it as selfish and cowardly.

We should separate the person from their act certainly when it comes time to memorialise them but we should not try to whitewash the act itself. Doing so not only devalues the pain inflicted on the family but also glosses over the emotional struggle that pushed that person do do what they did.

I worked with someone who committed suicide over a decade ago and I can tell you that it leaves an indelible mark on those loved ones they leave behind. It leaves them in shock searching for answers and even questioning if there was something they could have done differently.

If I was on the executive team, I would have simply left it as offering condolences and prayers for the family of the deceased and leave it as that.

You're right, I feel the same way about people who die of cancer. They didn't fight as hard as those who survived, so obviously they're awful people and shouldn't be glorified. Let's not celebrate cowardice.

Do you hear yourself? You're basically saying that people who suffer from mental illness aren't worthy of being deemed good people because they succumbed to something they had no control over. You can't have a username like "aristotle" and be this embarrassingly ignorant.

The posts I've read in this thread a thousand times more disgusting and disrespectful to Robin Williams than Apple taking advantage of his death to rake in a profit.

 

[kobalap]

Sure, let's celebrate suicide with a big sale, and turn him into some kind of role model by spending weeks talking about how great he was.
........
Suicide, however, is the absolutely stupidest, most cowardly, and selfish thing a person can do. It fits every definition of evil I can think of. He should be vilified, instead of celebrated.

You have absolutely no ****ing idea what you're talking about. I don't think you quite understand the gravitas of the mind when it shifts from severe depression to being suicidal. ...

Since when did people let the fact that they have no clue what they are talking about stop them from pontificating about a subject in the internet?

 

[ericinboston]

Are all these RW movies free? If not, that's not "honoring" someone...that's marketing all the movies in front of your face in hopes you will buy/rent it....which is quite appalling. This type of "hey, he's dead" marketing is done all the time with movie companies and record labels (how many Michael Jackson compilations and re-issues were released WEEKS after his death?!)

If they are free, Apple should state so. I don't see anything on this website article or the Apple homepage stating the movies are free for X amount of time.

According to the CNET website, "The comedian and actor is being remembered through a dedicated iTunes page that showcases several of his most popular and celebrated films, all available for purchase and some for rental." Apple now makes me want to vomit.

 

[PraisiX-windows]

The ones who speak badly about suiciders, get over yourselves.
Mental illness although it seems iffy, is an actual thing. And it certainly isn't iffy to the people directly affected by it. It seems odd to me, to speak down upon someone who felt so horrible, that they killed themselves (even though, believe me, I've done it myself). None of us have ever been in the situation where we have really (really!) considered suicide the only solution. Otherwise we probably wouldn't be here.

About the Robin Williams section.
They could basically do three things:
- not honor him
- quantifiably honor him
- unquantifiably honor him
They chose option number three and I would never think worse of them for that. The money they might make on this is nothing to them, why would they be doing this, to make money? It's like drops of rain in the ocean, it's nothing. I wouldn't question their motives on this one.

They could also have chosen option two. One of the ways to do this would be to discount his videos. They could only do this by covering the price difference as it's probably not Apple that is in charge of that movie.

They could certainly do this, but now the question stands: how much should they discount it with? The "most honorable" way would be to make it entirely free, right?
Well, now the question stands: for how long should they keep it free?
If it's only free for a week, what does that say? Wouldn't they have honored him more if they kept it free for a month and the ultimate honor if it was forever?

However, they could also do option two by donating a percentage of the money made by his movies to a charity of either his or someone else's preference.
But how high a percentage? 100% sounds more honorable, doesn't it? But for how long? The same thing applies.
They chose to just feature his films, and that is the only way to do honor his movies in an unquantifiable way.

If they quantify their love for him (which is kind of horrible if it's less than infinity), they will either sell him short or endure massive costs which you can't expect from them.

 

[CartoonCat]

What a ****ing disturbing comment.

Honouring him by donating to his charity in NO WAY CONDEMNS SUICIDE! How dare you say such a disgusting thing?

I think you mean "Condones"? I dare because it's the truth. If you are disturbed by the truth it's a sign that it's time to wake up from your dream state.

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Honoring him is not selling more of his stuff. They always want to sell more of his stuff.

honoring him would be bringing attention to his things by making them more accessible (i.e. sale or free rental where they strip the profits out of his sales as the "honoring" part) or by using the profits for a non-commercial cause.

I think you are missing my point. I'm saying that no matter what Apple does someone will find fault with it. "Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

 

[CartoonCat]

Donating to a charity that tries to prevent people from committing suicide isn't condoning suicide. It's trying to prevent the hundreds of people that die the same way as Robin Williams from doing so.

Yes, that's fine, but if they donate to charity to prevent suicide only after each important celebrity commits suicide it looks pretty strange. If that's really a cause they care about, they should already be donating to that cause whether there's a suicide or not.

 

[Ethosik]

Apple is not a democracy. Cook can do just about anything he wants and deal with any board fallout later if that's an issue.

If you honestly believe that, you have no idea how businesses work.

So Tim Cook and go against the movie industry and release a free Robin Williams movie, break contracts, and get Apple sued without ANYBODY else involved? Yeah right.

So Tim Cook can only make employees earn $1 / hour maximum and breaking laws without ANYBODY else in the company knowing?

So Tim Cook can go against all the shareholders, CFO and others by setting up a charity in secret and coding where all Robin Williams movies go to that charity? Get real.

 

[Z400Racer37]

How can you say that? You have no idea how much Apple is going to make.

If you bothered to check... "Dead Poets Society" and "Mrs. Doubtfire" are in the top 5 movie downloads on iTunes today. That's nothing to sneeze at and definitely not minor profit.

Apple is profiting big time off of this and they are definitely capitalizing on Robin's death by making / promoting a special section of the store. But, you keep talking out of your hat if it makes you feel better about some of the crappy stuff Apple does.

Of course they are. For the last few days. Partly because they made this special section.

What does it mean when a company makes a profit? It means that they have provided value to a customer in in the form of a good or service that exceed the cost of creating that good or service. The customer was willing to buy the product because it was more valuable to them than the cash they were giving up for it, and the company was willing to sell it to them because they valued the money more than the good or service they created.

Therefore, they have net provided value to the world. The more people who voluntarily exchange their cash in return for some Robin Williams movies, the more value they have inherently provided by creating this special section. The more they sell the better for everyone involved; Apple makes more money, and viewers get to enjoy more movies from an actor that they admired than otherwise would have, had they not assembled his movies into a specialized collection.

Stop bashing companies, and criticizing their motives, basing those criticisms solely on the notion that you think it's nefarious, or otherwise somehow wrong that they have made a profit. The amount of profit they make is directly proportional to the net value that they provide to their customers. You are wrong to be criticizing them for this.

 

[Ethosik]

Okay guys enough with the suicide debate. Those of you that have dealt with suicide and recovered are lucky. Do you honestly believe everybody deals with depression the same way? Do you honestly believe what you went through is the worst and there is NO POSSIBLY WAY anybody can have worse depression? Everybody's mental illness is different. Sometimes it is fast, slow, intense, mild, and more.

Also, for the last time, Apple is NOT.....NOT in charge of movie prices. They cannot make all Robin Williams movies free, or cheap. That is up to the contracts, movie studios, and movie industry. Apple doing this will break contracts, have movies pulled, and probably get a major fine/sued.