Cranky douche hates Netflix
From the overgrown wilds of my RSS reader, I found this column from Richard Corliss entitled Why Netflix Stinks: A Critic’s Complaint. I read the piece and, honestly, I don’t think this guy makes a single valid point. Sure, I have run into the frustrating “Very Long Wait” thing a few times, but it’s not as if the brick-and-mortar stores have infinite copies of everything, either. And get a load of this quote…
I have misgivings about the service’s usefulness, especially compared with that of a real, well-stocked video store, and about the possibly harmful effect that Netflix and other online retail outfits may have on American society.
Really? Netflix is bad for American society?
Sure, I have fond memories of browsing around my favorite brick-and-mortar video stores in the past, but that’s an experience that’s fading away as the world changes. Let’s be really honest: Netflix is almost certainly superior to your favorite brick-and-mortar video store. Set your nostalgia aside and I think you’ll have to agree.
Filed under: Commentary, Movies
MaT said:
nobody has a gun to that guys head saying “You CAN’T visit a brick and mortar store”
Teen*Idol said:
LOL @ Mat’s comment.
born2kill said:
His criticisms are valid. I’ve subscribed, canceled and resubscribbed to Netflix like 5 times. And in between those i’d visit a real video store and there is almost this feeling of relief when I do. When you havent gone in a while, its really fun to browse thru the shelves, find a interesting box and show it to your friend/fam and then leave w/ a bag of movies and snacks. And then on the way home you look at the boxes and wonder which you’ll see first. Thats something that you really lose out on w/ netflix. Yes its cheaper and more convientient, especially if your trying to buff up on alot of films quickly. But I still think its worth going out to a real store from time to time for that experience.
I will say though that I dont miss Kims video store. The place was always stuffy and dusty and disorganzed. Looking for a movie there was like looking thru a mountain of random vhs tapes in someones attic. No thanks.
MaT said:
brick and mortar stores are becoming totally obsolete. They aren’t necessary anymore. It sucks, for nostalgia purposes, but in the end, my life isn’t adversely affected in any way if I never get to go to a brick and mortar in my life again.
It’s like old people lamenting the fact that newspapers are dying. The world changes, life goes on.
born2kill said:
Thats not an apt comparison because unlike newspapers, dvds/blu rays arent being lamented here. Youre still getting a “newspaper” from netlix, only its delivered to your door step, so you lose out on the walk to the store; the chat w/ the clerk, sitting on a park bench and reading, etc. Thats what would be lamented in the newpaper analogy.
I’d compare it more so to ordering food to be delivered vs. going out and eating at the restaurant . Sure its more expensive and you have to travel, but occasionally its nice to go out and have a more social experience. Going to the movies, going out to eat, going to an arcade, etc. are not just for the sake of consuming the product but the experience that goes along with it.
Lee Sands said:
Interesting how there’s no comment section on that site. Just saying.
mits777 said:
Fuck brick and mortar. Netflix ftw. You can browse covers even easier online than in a f-ing store. I rather spend more time watching movies then driving and looking for them. Also Netflix streaming is awesome. Cant wait for the party mode on 360.
Jeff said:
A lot of us never had the opportunity to visit a really kick-ass video store that had “everything.” Sure, I’ve got my two or three stores from my younger years that I loved visiting, but none of them had an amazing selection. There were always plenty of gaps. I never had the experience of chatting with a cinephile clerk who pointed me towards gems I wouldn’t have found on my own.
So, on those points, I’ll concede that a person who’s fortunate enough to have access to a high-quality video store might have a really positive experience. Me, I just don’t have that experience as a comparison. I loved picking up a stack of VHS from Nebraskaland Video back in the day, but Netflix objectively blows them away in every category.
The complaint is sort of not even about movie rental specifically, but rather online vs brick-and-mortar shopping in general. The same column could be written about “what you lose” when you shop at Amazon.com instead of at a real-world book store.
MaT said:
It appears the overwhelming majority of people don’t care about the “video store experience”. Not saying it isn’t fun to browse around a store every once in a while, but some of the magic is definitely lost when you quickly realize that you have a much better chance of finding an unseen flick browsing your netflix queue than you do wasting time wandering around a store.
You used to be able to get a thrill reading catalogs like Blackest Heart Media, using that to find movies no brick and mortar store would ever carry. Then the digital age destroyed those underground catalog stores.
You sacrifice “experience” for “ease”. Frankly, there isn’t anything THAT great about going to a video store. In fact, in my experience I’ve found it annoying as fuck. I used to go to a local video store named Spindle just to say “ok, I don’t need to go, but I’ll support a local business”. They specialized in obscure film and had the entire Criterion collection available to rent. Every single time I would go in there and rent, the dude behind the counter felt the need to bless me with his “knowledge” of every film I rented. The “experience” became annoying as hell.
So I got Netflix and have never been back. This magical brick and mortar experience picture that you are painting isn’t really accurate for many people. It might work for you, then again you’ve admitted that you keep coming back to Netflix, so the B&M can’t be THAT untouchable for you.
Besides, just because someone has Netflix doesn’t mean they can’t just walk down to a video store every now and then to get that “experience”. The two things are not mutually exclusive.
Jeff said:
Speaking of which, I really should pop into Audio/Visual World once in a while, since I live so close. I’ve only been in there once since I moved to Griffith St, to check on the VHS movies they were clearing out.
I wonder how that place stays in business; always seems pretty dead to me.
MaT said:
They used to sell Magic decks, don’t know if they still do.
5 movies, 5 days, 5 dollars…that’s a great promotion.
Fake Larry said:
The only thing I think that is superior about the brick and mortars (4 of which are within a few miles of my home) is instant gratification and random experience.
I can pull into a store on a whim with no other thought than “I wanna see a few cheap horror movies, a classic, and something new”, I go in and find stuff I never would have remembered I wanted to see if I hadn’t seen it on a shelf (the original Shaft was last week’s) check it out and go straight home and watch what I want when I want to without waiting.
If something isn’t available, I just choose something else. Most of the time I wait until I feel like seeing a film anyway, after the rabid masses have emptied the shelves for a few weeks. I like the idea of letting fate decide for me, a true gamble. Who knows what movies I’ll see today?
People said print was dead since way before I was even born, and it’s still around. It’s not what it was, but this whole notion of the new replacing the old is a lot of hooey too. There’s nothing so great or valuable about doing stuff just because it’s new either, and rants to that effect are as silly as those who refuse to try things simply because they are new. Which is better, old and cranky, or young and cranky? It’s personal taste and comfort and nothing more, unless you’re incurably pretentious.
Codey said:
The fact that the two aren’t mutually exclusive, is really the only point that makes any difference. Life is “Choose Your Own Adventure”.
MaT said:
I hope I don’t choose the path that makes me fall forever down a dark chasm.