I first began writing this column to promote the value of physical media in a digital world. None of that has changed, but we’re about to lose the last major distributor of DVDs-for-rent. A few local brick-and-mortar shops remain, lighthouses in a hurricane, but for most of us DVD Netflix was all we had left. I lost my last local (read: non-Blockbuster) rental shop more than ten years ago.
Many of you noticed the reduced title availability. Some of you even complained rather vehemently. Unfortunately, that was the cost of keeping the lights on. Replacing certain lost or damaged titles wasn’t part of the budget. The service made cuts and sacrifices to keep any DVDs flowing hither and thither. They kept the lights on because they believed in the importance of the service.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you did too. We’re all a little sad – and we should take a moment to mourn the end of an era, a quarter century in fact. I first began renting by mail around 2001 when I received movies from both Netflix and GreenCine (remember them and their green envelopes?). But after we’re done being a little sad, it’s time to get busy living and movie-watching.
Real talk. How long is your queue? Mine currently resides at 162 and that’s about to increase while I start to add some deep cuts for upcoming “Only on DVD” columns and potentially some episodes of the Cinema Shame podcast. Let’s watch the hell out of these last few months while we still can. Go deep into those rabbit holes. Find stuff you didn’t know existed, obscurities that are still available because nobody thought to rent them in the first place. It’s time to initiate the #GetThroughMyQueue campaign.
#Part #DVD #Fallacy #Time
