I recently was at an event with STAY VOCAL and got into a conversation about movies with another vendor. He was telling me how he doesn't stream any movies, but instead goes to one of the only remaining videos stores in the Boston area called The Vu. Hearing his passion for the store got me thinking about something that I am reminded of a lot: I really miss video stores!
Sure, streaming is cheaper, convenient, and it offers endless choices, but video stores brought way more value. The weekend would come and you'd go out with your family or friend to the store after dinner. You'd walk around talking about movies, laughing at funny covers, flip potential winners over and read what they're all about. Then you'd decide upon a few and maybe grab some snacks. Depending on the person working, you might have a great conversation about the movies you rented, upcoming releases, life, etc. And how about that excitement at the counter when the new release that was out of stock was in the "Just Returned" section?
These days, it's just click and watch. We gain convenience, but we lose connection, communication and community. And honestly, with more choices and more streaming services, it just adds more confusion. How many times have you endlessly scrolled trying to find something and you just end up watching your favorite show or movie again? It's OK for us to admit that not every innovation will be better.
I've felt this way for a while, which is why a video store was one of the places that I had to film for REUSE. Because You Can't Recycle The Planet. The image above is from when I was filming at Videoport in Portland, Maine. Rental is a major component of reuse. In addition to the ones I listed above, the benefits of rental include less resources used when items are shared and businesses can be created around rentals.
In the future, I'd like to see video stores make a comeback. Maybe they don't have to have all of the current movies, as streaming does prevent a lot of waste and packaging. But like many public libraries already do, they could be a place to share all of the millions of DVDs, videos, laser discs, and coordinating players that are already in existence; keeping those items and films alive for future generations.
What is your favorite thing about a video store?
Got a favorite memory?
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