TheOctopus
Banned
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- Apr 4, 2013
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- 1,622
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- #1
Watched the Last Blockbuster on Netflix the other evening. Brought back many memories. We obviously had one locally, who didn't back in those days? They were everywhere with over 9000 stores. 
It was definitely a good feeling walking in there at any time of day or night and walking out with the latest new blockbuster/new release. Coming home with a movie in you hand that the kids and wifey have been wanting to see was almost being SUPERMAN 
The emotional reaction from the kids/family was priceless!
It was not an easy task to get that latest and greatest release and definitely required great eyes, good hunting intuition and strategies as well as lightning speed and reaction times to grab that box out of the blockbuster clerk's hands as he/she was trying to put the returned movies back on the shelf... where you have strategically positioned yourself as soon as you see him/her heading in that direction.
I do agree that there is a very big "human interaction" component in renting a movie and renting movies was definitely a big part of culture in those decades. The documentary covers all those aspects well I thought. Talking about your favorite actors and newest Hollywood blockbusters as well as discovering new titles that the clerk would suggest was a big plus in those days.
One can easily understand the nostalgic component of the VHS, from the weight of the box, to the the mechanical interaction with the VCR, to kindly rewinding it before you returned it or pay a fee... It trained people to be disciplined! :congrats: The DVD phase lost a bit of that charm but was still largely a part of the movie rental culture. I only participated in the Laser Disc phase for a few years very early on with an independent video rental store and they were not cheap to rent or own!
So the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon still stands. It has a chance of surviving due to all the attention it has gotten from the various tv shows and media and the loyal customers that keep it afloat but the business model itself is obviously dead as far as that goes.. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc... it is all so much more convenient from your own couch and without having to go anywhere and try your luck at finding the movie you want to see any time of day or night...
I for one surely feel nostalgic about it and will miss those days but nothing ever stands still and especially in these days of ever evolving technology and cultural shifts, trends and preferences.
The future generations may never even understand but I suppose it is no different than not being able to understand having your milk or a block of ice delivered to your house either. I still miss the newspaper delivery days. It's just not the same trying to read up on the news on the computer or watching the all too biased media with all their hysterics no matter what channel or source... ...
Something about the things we grew up with that will never be forgotten and will always have that nostalgic tug... I certainly understand the vinyl and CD enthusiasts that still like to collect and interact with their physical media, although I myself will perhaps spin an SACD once a month or so while listening to 5-8 hrs of music daily through streaming these days.
Would be so cool to visit Tower Records just one more time... Something about music mega stores that I also really miss
It was definitely a good feeling walking in there at any time of day or night and walking out with the latest new blockbuster/new release. Coming home with a movie in you hand that the kids and wifey have been wanting to see was almost being SUPERMAN The emotional reaction from the kids/family was priceless! It was not an easy task to get that latest and greatest release and definitely required great eyes, good hunting intuition and strategies as well as lightning speed and reaction times to grab that box out of the blockbuster clerk's hands as he/she was trying to put the returned movies back on the shelf... where you have strategically positioned yourself as soon as you see him/her heading in that direction.
I do agree that there is a very big "human interaction" component in renting a movie and renting movies was definitely a big part of culture in those decades. The documentary covers all those aspects well I thought. Talking about your favorite actors and newest Hollywood blockbusters as well as discovering new titles that the clerk would suggest was a big plus in those days.
One can easily understand the nostalgic component of the VHS, from the weight of the box, to the the mechanical interaction with the VCR, to kindly rewinding it before you returned it or pay a fee... It trained people to be disciplined! :congrats: The DVD phase lost a bit of that charm but was still largely a part of the movie rental culture. I only participated in the Laser Disc phase for a few years very early on with an independent video rental store and they were not cheap to rent or own!
So the last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon still stands. It has a chance of surviving due to all the attention it has gotten from the various tv shows and media and the loyal customers that keep it afloat but the business model itself is obviously dead as far as that goes.. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc... it is all so much more convenient from your own couch and without having to go anywhere and try your luck at finding the movie you want to see any time of day or night...
I for one surely feel nostalgic about it and will miss those days but nothing ever stands still and especially in these days of ever evolving technology and cultural shifts, trends and preferences.
The future generations may never even understand but I suppose it is no different than not being able to understand having your milk or a block of ice delivered to your house either. I still miss the newspaper delivery days. It's just not the same trying to read up on the news on the computer or watching the all too biased media with all their hysterics no matter what channel or source... ...
Something about the things we grew up with that will never be forgotten and will always have that nostalgic tug... I certainly understand the vinyl and CD enthusiasts that still like to collect and interact with their physical media, although I myself will perhaps spin an SACD once a month or so while listening to 5-8 hrs of music daily through streaming these days.
Would be so cool to visit Tower Records just one more time... Something about music mega stores that I also really miss
