rebecca LANDO

evangotlib:

un:

Blockbuster is closing.

Good riddance.

Is this official?  I have not seen any news on this yet.  If it is true watch out for Karma dude.  Lots of people are going to lose their jobs.  It’s part of the painful process of our economy changing and new technologies rendering old business obsolete.  It’s a much needed but very difficult process.  Especially if you work for a company like Blockbuster.

I worked for Blockbuster for a short time after college. It was humiliating, because I was 22 and had a BFA and was probably somewhat full of myself, but it was not a bad job. I was paid well above minimum wage. I was treated with respect by my bosses, coworkers, and customers. I worked regular hours in a clean, safe environment. I rented a ton of movies and video games for free, spent my days talking about movies, and was able to write an entire screenplay in my stressless free time. I have had plenty of jobs since then that look more prestigious on paper but were far less accommodating. 

Beyond the job losses, this means a significant loss to communities and culture. I certainly wasn’t the only kid in high school who hung out at the video store. And even with Netflix, Epix, Hulu, iTunes, and GameFly, there are times when a walk to the corner Blockbuster is not only necessary, but pleasurable. 

Yes, streaming collections will only get bigger and better. But I can’t ask Netflix to surprise me with its favorite new release. I could do that at Blockbuster, when I wanted to watch something but couldn’t narrow down my choices. Nearly every other video store has closed, from chains like Hollywood Video to indie or arthouse mom’n’pops. I may be in the minority, but I’ll miss having Blockbuster stores to pop into at 10 to midnight to grab a movie at random and see where it takes me.