Are we retrogressing when it comes to where and how we get our movies?
Everything has become at hand and available to consumers. It seems as if it always has been. But with most big name movie stores closing all around, frequent movie renters are lost as to where they can rent movies for a low rate.
In the past, if you wanted to see the newest releases, you would go to the local Blockbuster, look around at the seemingly infinite possibilities, rent the movie, and go home and watch it. Now, we can stream and download right to our computers and game consoles. Services like Red Box, Hulu, Amazon and Netflix are offered to us and they make watching films and TV shows easier. But it seems that even though these services are highly convenient, they don’t offer everything. Unfortunately, the online streaming sites, while convenient but limited, have wiped out almost every video rental store in the country and caused retail stores to severely downsize their stock. If a movie isn’t available online, it sure will be hard to find it in time before the microwave popcorn is done popping.
When Netflix first started out, the company only sent movies in the mail. Renters watched the movie and returned it in order to get another. Although the idea of not having to leave the house was convenient, the inconvenient eight weeks of anxiety that came along with the purchase left most renters rethinking that maybe they should have just walked to the local movie store instead. But with most Blockbusters and Hollywood Videos closing due to bankruptcy, the renting options that film fanatics depended on are limited.
A short time after Netflix, Red Box, a movie vendor, started placing more of their kiosks in and around grocery stores and drug stores. Still an option for renting, it offers a limited amount of newly released movies.
“The Red Box at Strack and Van Til’s in Whiting has a lot of movie options,” says Kaitlin Grubesic, a junior. “It doesn’t have a lot of classics I like, though. I don’t really have any other options when I want to watch an older movie because all of the other movie rental places are closed.”
“When I can’t find a movie I like, sure, there’s Netflix, but they don’t always have everything. If I want to order a movie, it takes a few weeks to get in the mail,” freshman Courtney Kielbania says.
And the lack of convenience isn’t the only issue with movie buffs everywhere. Many consumers dislike a futuristic world where everything is digital and material goods are minimal.
“It’s scary to think about,” says sophomore Anthony Esparza. “The possibility of not having everything we want to watch available to us could become a huge problem sooner or later.”
Instant, on-demand, movies that cable services like Dish, WOW!, and Comcast offer are convenient to those who can afford the package. The upgraded Netflix can stream movies and TV shows through a computer and modern game consoles like Wii, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. But again, these services are only available to those who can afford them. It seems that watching and renting movies has become less simplistic and more costly.
“If there was a movie service that offered everything at a very low rate, I think everyone would be satisfied,” says sophomore Abbey Dybel.