By: Todd Wheatley

COVID TAKES ANOTHER VICTIM ... VIDEO RENTAL ... the Family Video retail chain closed down this past weekend. They were more than the last source of inexpensive DVDs in North Texas, they were a window into the entertainment world where 5 to 10 movies per week could be released. Without that window it will be hard to keep up. With that in mind I may post my movie search.

In regard to the latest COVID VICTIM, perhaps you caught the nuisance in the use of retail rather than rental chain. While I haven't rented a video in over 30 years my collection of 3000+ used VHS tapes & DVDs was built using sources like Family Video. Hence the use of retail over rental. So while I did not rent, Family Video received a substantial amount for my video expenditures.

For the past 10 years Family Video has offered used DVDs for as low as 2-for-$3 and 2-for-$5 with a 30-day return guarantee. The NEW "must-see" movies, Marie & I would get at the 3-for-$21 price. Even then it would require some patience for the "new movies" to come up for sale. Now our wait (post-DVD release) will increase from 2 months to at least six for affordable "new movies".

Finally there's the issue of QUALITY. For some years the Hollywood profit model has substituted mindless action for story to appeal to non-English speaking audiences. Now with the COVID CRISIS extending into a second year it seems very likely that movie quality will degrade further as a pandemic repressed greed kicks into overdrive. Following that in the long-term, the concept of STORYLINE may become a faint memory as the TikTok generation matures. So much for entertainment in my "golden years" :-(

....I just noticed I'm sitting across from an empty movie theater while writing this.... and realize the demise of QUALITY movies may be sooner than expected.

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