Great article and experience. The documentary The Last Blockbuster that was on Netflix is what brought this store to my attention. I buy merchandise from their website to support what they stand for. The documentary blu-ray is definably a pickup as well as a keychain and membership card replica. Mug is my go to mug currently.
Nice to support them. I made sure to buy some merchandise while there. They have a lot of variety. The t-shirts were especially nice, I like a soft t-shirt and they chose some good brands to print on.
Excellent piece. I watched the documentary about this store and enjoyed it. My memories are also of independent stores more that Blockbuster. The only Blockbuster near where I grew up was in the next town over and we didn't start going there until I was in my last years of high school. My best memory of Blockbuster was from a family vacation in Hilton Head SC. My mother rented a condo from a friend and it was fully furnished including a TV and VCR. While we were there for a week a good way to keep my brother and I occupied (instead of begging to play miniature golf or go to the arcade EVERY night) was to rent a couple movies. I think the people who we rented from had a membership that renters could use. We rented Harlem Nights, I know for sure and I think Cacoon (not entirely sure). It was an excellent vacation, and I have some great memories of it, partially thanks to Blockbuster.
There was something about holding a movie in your hands that made me more invested in the movie. When I go on a streaming service to browse the movies, I'm doing the same thing - Checking out the actors and the plot. And I'll often spend a fair few minutes working out what I'm going to watch. But after starting it, if it doesn't interest me in the first 5-10 minutes, I usually go back and see what else there is. You didn't do that in the Blockbuster era. That was the movie you chose and you were going to watch it all - good or bad. It made me give things more of a chance than streaming does today.
Yes! I think about this a lot. How many shows and movies I really enjoy that I watched because I had nothing else to watch. Out on-demand world has some nice things, but it has cut down a lot on random exposure to things out of our normal tastes or comfort zone unless we work at it.
Great article! That's so cool you got to visit the Last Blockbuster. Totally nostalgic for me in the way you described. Friday nights with family or friends were the bomb - especially if you didn't get there early enough to snag one-of-only-several-copies of New Releases - for then your night exploded in slightly subdued excitement. You just had to then scour the aisles waiting for that especially awesome VHS sleeve cover art to grab your attention and accompany you to the checkout line, while you picked up some old heavily-rented & discarded tapes from the sales bin to add to your permanent collection.
Blockbuster was definitely a cultural institution and served as several of my friends' (and millions of other peoples') 1st jobs. I do remember when they came along and drove out most of the Mom & Pop video stores. That was sad for sure, and it is a bit ironic as you stated:
"It’s an interesting twist that the Last Blockbuster, while mimicking the original chain, is now a standalone store. It is now the very thing that it help drive out of business."
Now that the Last Blockbuster is a Mom & Pop, I can't help but wonder if it too maintains a tucked away beaded curtained-off area . . .
HA! I worked in a Mom & Pop that had the "backroom." I was young, so I was told to not go back there. Then the first night I worked there, my manager who was maybe 20 had me go in there and organize the space.
Great article and experience. The documentary The Last Blockbuster that was on Netflix is what brought this store to my attention. I buy merchandise from their website to support what they stand for. The documentary blu-ray is definably a pickup as well as a keychain and membership card replica. Mug is my go to mug currently.
Nice to support them. I made sure to buy some merchandise while there. They have a lot of variety. The t-shirts were especially nice, I like a soft t-shirt and they chose some good brands to print on.
Excellent piece. I watched the documentary about this store and enjoyed it. My memories are also of independent stores more that Blockbuster. The only Blockbuster near where I grew up was in the next town over and we didn't start going there until I was in my last years of high school. My best memory of Blockbuster was from a family vacation in Hilton Head SC. My mother rented a condo from a friend and it was fully furnished including a TV and VCR. While we were there for a week a good way to keep my brother and I occupied (instead of begging to play miniature golf or go to the arcade EVERY night) was to rent a couple movies. I think the people who we rented from had a membership that renters could use. We rented Harlem Nights, I know for sure and I think Cacoon (not entirely sure). It was an excellent vacation, and I have some great memories of it, partially thanks to Blockbuster.
Great memory! I hadn't thought about the few times we rented videos on vacation. Getting to explore an exotic video store was a gift.
There was something about holding a movie in your hands that made me more invested in the movie. When I go on a streaming service to browse the movies, I'm doing the same thing - Checking out the actors and the plot. And I'll often spend a fair few minutes working out what I'm going to watch. But after starting it, if it doesn't interest me in the first 5-10 minutes, I usually go back and see what else there is. You didn't do that in the Blockbuster era. That was the movie you chose and you were going to watch it all - good or bad. It made me give things more of a chance than streaming does today.
Yes! I think about this a lot. How many shows and movies I really enjoy that I watched because I had nothing else to watch. Out on-demand world has some nice things, but it has cut down a lot on random exposure to things out of our normal tastes or comfort zone unless we work at it.
Blockbuster and chill.
The marketing opportunity they missed out on when they were a chain.
Great article! That's so cool you got to visit the Last Blockbuster. Totally nostalgic for me in the way you described. Friday nights with family or friends were the bomb - especially if you didn't get there early enough to snag one-of-only-several-copies of New Releases - for then your night exploded in slightly subdued excitement. You just had to then scour the aisles waiting for that especially awesome VHS sleeve cover art to grab your attention and accompany you to the checkout line, while you picked up some old heavily-rented & discarded tapes from the sales bin to add to your permanent collection.
Blockbuster was definitely a cultural institution and served as several of my friends' (and millions of other peoples') 1st jobs. I do remember when they came along and drove out most of the Mom & Pop video stores. That was sad for sure, and it is a bit ironic as you stated:
"It’s an interesting twist that the Last Blockbuster, while mimicking the original chain, is now a standalone store. It is now the very thing that it help drive out of business."
Now that the Last Blockbuster is a Mom & Pop, I can't help but wonder if it too maintains a tucked away beaded curtained-off area . . .
HA! I worked in a Mom & Pop that had the "backroom." I was young, so I was told to not go back there. Then the first night I worked there, my manager who was maybe 20 had me go in there and organize the space.
oh my gosh, that's too funny!