It was better in the mail.
There was all sorts of art, indie, world, and classic cinema. I actually proactively watched things because I wanted to sit down, put the disc in, and then send them back quickly for thr excitement of the next thing coming. Also there were new video games. Perfect for the sort of thing I wanted to play through once or check out without buying. Plus getting nice post is exciting.
It was basically like having a really really good video store wherever you lived when 99% of places didn't. Much better than an endless scroll of shit made for tax dodges that they won't bother to finish making anyway.
Godless was the last thing I watched and liked on there I think, but then I cancelled it a year or so back and only had it that long because other (mostly smaller) people in my house watched it.
I've found a compromise: digital media without paying for it 🏴☠️ :party-parrot-popcorn:
Knowing how things are now we’d get the return of more physical media but it’s a subscription. Fuck, that already exists with those boxes doesn’t it?
DVD Netflix, but with the subscription box with limited choices model (i.e. digital Netflix selection), sounds like the most cursed thing.
Something about media not being infinite made it seem more real somehow. Maybe it's just our attention span.
If you've ever scrolled through Netflix it starts repeating pretty quickly. There's not that much on there. They just expect you to start watching something before you hit the end of the list.
I used to love flipping through stacks at record stores. In college, I would go to the three record stores downtown and burn a whole afternoon doing it. Now, when I do come across an actual record store, I just can't be bothered to do it. I've been ruined by instant gratification of online shopping or streaming.
But I do enjoy browsing my physical collection when trying to decide what to play. So the idea situation would be a local store with good mail order and knowledgeable staff so I don't have to support Bezos.
