Blockbuster is gone, but are its replacements truly better?

Blockbusted

With Blockbuster recently announcing the closure of its remaining 300 American stores, the book has finally closed on one long chapter of cinematic history. Just as DVDs killed VHS, the legion of digital streaming services has annihilated the physical movie rental store.

‘Tis a sad, pitiful end for such an influential and important company.

Many from our generation have fond memories of video stores. Where I grew up in Canada, Blockbusters and Rogers Videos dominated the market. We lived near one of each and alternated between the humbler, low-key Rogers and the ostentatious, flashy Blockbuster.

There are some viewing habits I still haven’t managed to shake. More often than not, I impulsively rewind DVDs and Blu-rays after watching them because as a child, I was terrified of getting yelled at by one of the cranky Rogers employees. Somehow, they’d always know if you were the bastard who didn’t rewind the Mulan VHS.

Even if I’m going to rent something specific, I still enjoy flipping through the digital catalog at a Redbox or on Netflix. It’s not quite the same as picking up a case on a shelf and reading the cheesy summary on the back, but it’s something.

I always rent one film at a time. Redbox is far, far cheaper than Rogers used to be, but I still can’t bring myself to take home more than one movie at a time. It’s always one movie per trip.

Part of me wonders if life really is better with Blockbuster’s digital heirs. Some Blockbusters were awful, either because of terrible employees or constant lack of new releases, but some were fantastic, staffed by knowledgeable and friendly people.

With the Redboxes and Netflixes of the world, there is only a cold, sterile user interface. No employee to talk to or resist punching. No checking the shelf to see if the newest Hunger Games DVD is in. (It isn’t.) No waiting in line behind beleaguered parents of obnoxious children.

And yet I can’t help but miss all of that. It’s been a few years since I’ve stepped into a Blockbuster, but every time I check something out at a Redbox or digitally rent something from Amazon, I feel like I’m missing something.

There are a few legitimate grievances. After the nearest Blockbuster closed down, Redbox became the only place to rent video games, and they always keep a paltry, anemic supply at any given machine. Certain movies, such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, are borderline impossible to rent instantly now that Blockbuster and its healthy supply of old classics are gone.

Then again, these constitute minor quibbles compared to how awful going to a Blockbuster could be. Maybe I’m blinded by nostalgia when I say I miss going to Blockbuster. These stores were vital back then, and now they’re not.

It’s a terribly cruel irony that Blockbuster, one of the most innovative ideas of the late 20th century, didn’t have the vision or foresight needed to beat its digital successors, all of which were massively inspired by Blockbuster.

So long, Blockbuster. For all your terrible, terrible flaws, you still deserved a better fate than this ignominious death.