Do Not Go Gently

I’ve watched a lot –a lot a lot- of the Olympics this year, so I’ve seen a lot of the “the future of awesome” xfinity commercials during the Olympics.  One of my favorite parts to be annoyed by is the one which features a clip of a couple sitting in the back of a truck on the beach, backs to the surf, watching a movie.  The future of being an idiot.  What is wrong with you if you want to watch a movie on the beach?  Is there any bigger natural bombardment to your senses than being at the beach?  I’m realizing more and more that the reason I resist technology (and I’ve said this before) is because I’m afraid no one is thinking these thing through.  Is it really is a good idea, gain vs. loss?

My first ever job was at a local movie rental chain called the Video Center, later to become the Blockbuster where I worked over Christmas break during college.  My summer between high school and college was spent restocking VHS tapes, asking for membership cards, and meeting people at the door with their movies.  I would leave at midnight with a movie and Kate, who worked at Marble Slab, would sometimes bring a pint of cinnamon ice cream and we would watch together.  I can still name most of the new releases from the summer of 1999. 

Although I didn’t get to know him until college, I technically first met Trent at the Video Center.  When we were dating and newly married, we –like so many other people in America- spent countless hours wandering the perimeter of Blockbuster after dinner, looking for a movie to watch.  After our rehearsal dinner, my bridesmaids and I stopped in to rent Can't Buy Me Love so I could stay up late watching an 80’s high school romantic comedy and eating potato chips, then not fit into my wedding dress the next day, splitting the zipper and having to ditch the petticoat and be sewn into the dress.

So yeah, I’m sad about the slow death of the video rental store.  I’ve been mourning it for awhile.  Until today, I hadn’t been in a Blockbuster in years.  They were fumbling so much in the early days of Netflix popularity and paying $10 for two non-new release movies shortly after Rush was born was the point where I realized it was over for me.  We became Redbox people, not really renting enough movies monthly to support a Netflix account, but occasionally mooching Netfilx instant off our friends. 

But Rush saw a few commercials for The Lorax while watching the Olympics and can’t stop talking about wanting to watch it, so we went to Blockbuster this afternoon to look for a copy.  His movie was all checked out, so we spent some time looking through the kids and family movies before he picked out something else.  I can’t stress this enough- deciding to watch a movie on demand is not the same.

I understand that I have an emotional attachment to the video store, that’s why I typed out my whole song and dance of a history with renting movies.  But really, try it.  Go to a Blockbuster with another person that you like and/or love, and walk around selecting a movie together.  It’s sad to realize that we have lost a social and emotional connection in exchange for the convenience of not having to leave home to pick out a movie, or (and I stole this from an article I read in TIME a few years ago) being “passive, inert consumers” when we purchase something to watch on our computers.  Sometimes I like being a passive, inert consumer, like seeing a book mentioned on a Tom Brokaw bit during the Olympics, remembering that I wanted to read it, and immediately find a copy for a few dollars on Amazon.  But today, oh how I realized how much I missed the video store.

So I decided that I’m going back to Blockbuster and I’ll go until they go out of business.  It was too much fun talking to Rush and looking at movies. We’ll all eventually be streaming movies, but I’m going to enjoy the video rental store for as long as I can.