Love|Hate: Is Blockbuster’s end an opening act or curtains for an era?

After battling avidly for the last couple of years but notably growing in desperation, Blockbuster LLC has finally announced its closure, ceasing their domestic retail chain by closing its approximately 300 remaining stores. Though Blockbuster will continue to support stores run by franchises and some digital services, the discontinuation of a chain that once practically had a monopoly in its methods of home media distribution marks the end of an era.

Blockbuster’s demise leaves the field open to competitors with an emphasis on digital and streaming media, such as Netflix, which were heavily responsible for its downward spiral over the years. In this week’s Love|Hate, the two columnists debate the value of these services as opposed to the old physicality of Blockbuster. Sebastian Torrelio ultimately doesn’t mind the transition to an emphasis on digital, while Tony Huang dislikes the phasing out of physical discs for streaming.

BY SEBASTIAN TORRELIO
A&E; senior staff
[email protected]

The closure of Blockbuster, and what appears to be the silencing note on video stores in general, is definitely not a positive occasion – the loss of thousands of jobs, as well as the end of video and gaming resources that many more hold dear, is a terrible shame. But it’s not an announcement that we didn’t see coming. Blockbuster’s dominating growth has been notably impeded over the past few years by Netflix, which brought films into everyone’s home for regular payments, and Redbox, which easily distributed films for a cheap price.

My hometown, last I checked, still had a Blockbuster store in the center of a large shopping plaza – its existence wasn’t much of an anomaly to everyone who lived nearby as opposed to those who visited from the outside world. It was a quaint place, but never appeared to validate the friendliness and antiquity of having media in the palm of your hands as well as mom-and-pop video stores do.

Whether that particular Blockbuster still operates at the current moment remains to be seen, but I don’t plan on making much note about it if it does. I’ve found myself defaulting to digital media more and more in the recent years, only increasing with the number of easy-to-use services at my disposal. Netflix and Hulu allow me to watch old and new television shows and movies using a computer or gaming console; Spotify allows me to listen to endless music on the go; Steam and GameFly provide a bonafide accessibility to video gaming in quick time, etc.

Digital media is easy to find, easy to organize and easy to play with, a lot of it stored in very neatly organized files on my computer and memory space. I appreciate the vintage style of a disc, keeping many Criterion film collections and vinyls of the media I value most, but in the present day, the emphasis on physicality seems to be waning.

Somewhat unfortunately, it doesn’t appear necessary to me anymore – especially not necessary enough for a major retail chain to handle. Sorry, Blockbuster. It was good to know you.

BY TONY HUANG
A&E; contributor
[email protected]

I can’t say I hold too much nostalgia for Blockbuster – I only really got into movies after Netflix was already a thing. But with Netflix primed to cut away at its disc service and brick-and-mortar video stores headed for extinction, I’m starting to become less than optimistic about an all-streaming future. Convenience is great, but it’s going to be a long time before streaming is the best option for those like me who thrive on the fringe areas of culture.

I guess this coincides with a sea change in film and television. Analog as a whole is dying out. Digital filmmaking is here to stay as 35mm film projection becomes a thing of the past. I’m not one to speak against progress, but there’s a wistful feeling accompanying these changes; there’s even a sense of danger, especially given the rumors that film vaults are being downsized to hold only a pitiful few copies of classic films.

I’m worried that the age of accessibility will be nothing of the sort, and that other than the most mass-demanded products, not much else will be paid attention to. Blockbuster was certainly a commercial enterprise, but it brought obscurities to the public eye – Quentin Tarantino used to recommend Louis Malle movies from a video rental store. I don’t know if Netflix or Hulu has that consumer base in mind. Already it’s been difficult for me to find classic films that were available before on Netflix – even the venerable Alfred Hitchcock only has a few low-quality films for viewing.

Of course, I’m not enough of a pessimist to think that there isn’t a viable future in streaming. But with services like Redbox with its pitiful selection of soon-to-be-forgotten top-grossers acting as the last bastion of physical media, I can’t help but worry about my options. Once upon a time, Netflix carried boutique items like Criterion blu-rays of “Belle de Jour.” I doubt that’ll be the case ever again.