Yesterday walking through Adam's Morgan on the way to a porch party, I came upon a vision of absolute horror. I literally stood on the sidewalk with a my jaw dropped in pure disbelief.
18th Street Video (or as it was formerly called) Video Americain was closed. I don't mean closed as in it would open up the next morning I mean it was closed for good.
I HATE YOU NETFLIX!!!! I HATE YOU WITH A HATRED MOST PEOPLE NORMALLY RESERVE FOR RAPISTS AND CHILD MOLESTERS!!!!!!
Okay, that may be going a bit far but I really do blame Netflix for this loss. This is truly a devastating loss for me. I'm not genetically cut out for Netflix. I only watch movies when I feel like watching them and I like the immediate satisfaction of going out to the movie store and not knowing what I'm even going to check out.
I really hate the entire concept of Netflix. Call me old-fashioned, call me a caveman, call me what you will. Netflix is evil and I hate it. To me, Netflix is the equivalent of having your dinner delivered to you. Sounds like a good idea but what happens when you're in the mood for burritos but what you get is Chinese food? That's my biggest source of my anti-Netflix stance. I have movie moods. It is pretty much impossible for me to sit down and watch whatever movie is on (or delivered.)
Yes, if I want to watch all of Woody Allen's films I suppose I could arrange my non-existent queue so that all I get are Woody Allen films but what happens when I get those Woody Allen movies in the mail but I've had a bad day and what I really want is Peckinpah?
Do you see my dilemma? And I'm definitely not going to Blockbuster. Do you think Blockbuster is going to have the F is for Fake or the Complete Mr. Arkadin? Well, maybe they will but I'm not going to a company known for handing out edited versions of some films or flat out refusing to carry other movies because of "questionable content."
I'm completely at a loss. Maybe these are signs that my time in DC is at an end. No more Visions. No more Americain. No more DCCD. What next? Will they shut down the Uptown and turn it into a furniture store? Maybe Luna Grill will close and become a Caribou Coffee. Maybe Melody Records will be shut down and turned into yet another Dupont Circle shoe store.
This sucks. I don't know what to do now. Josh, Kara n Abby, are there good video stores in your hood? The last time I felt this was bad as a certain night back in November of '04 when a certain Texas son of a former president was re-elected. SPEAKING OF THAT I also discovered yesterday that my anti-Bush button on my bookbag is gone!!!!!!
reggie [email] said at 10:50 AM 06-21-2006: There's also the distinct possibility that maybe the owner just wasn't a great businessperson. Perhaps Matthieu Borlique could fill me in?
reggie [email] said at 11:39 AM 06-21-2006: Agreed, although that may be kinda like saying we prefer having our toenails pulled out with a pair of rusty pliers rather than having our fingernails pulled out with a pair of rusty pliers.
kiche [email] said at 12:34 PM 06-21-2006: what i'm trying to say is that while wal-mart is definitely more evil than blockbuster, i hate blockbuster more.
i think it's because blockbuster takes truth and beauty and shits all over it.
josh [email] said at 10:53 AM 06-21-2006: Well, I get 5 movies at a time from Netflix, and new movies arrive about a day after I send in one, so I never have a problem. With 5 movies at a time, it's never really a big deal having something to watch.
And I can fill in the gaps with purchases at Target if I know i'm gonna watch a movie more than once, or with bittorrent if it's a TV show or something that not on DVD yet.
reggie [email] said at 10:58 AM 06-21-2006: I know all this. It's not the same. I liked asking the clerks, most of whom had my exact same sensibilities for recommendations.
Netflix just ain't as spontaneous. There's no argument for my food analogy is there?
josh [email] said at 2:14 PM 06-21-2006: netflix isn't as spontaneous, but the clerk analogy is handled by the friends system, which lets you see what all your friends thought of a movie, from stars to small reviews, AND lets you send/recieve suggestions to/from friends, etc.
this can be even better than a clerk, assumming you know your friends taste, because say you know your friend likes really cheesy comedies that you generally hate, and you see them give 5 stars to a comedy, while another friend whose taste you share gave it 1 star.. you know to maybe avoid that movie.
i like the friends system because it also helps me find movie i never would have otherwise found because, say, kiche added it to his queue.
another thing i like about netflix is that it has a new release section that literally lists EVERY DVD that came out this week. all of them. no matter how niche or indie the movie is, it's on there, which i like. that's helped me find several movies i'd otherwise never have noticed.
josh [email] said at 2:40 PM 06-21-2006: i just used the friends system & the comprehensive new release page (which i review every week to check out new stuff) in the following manner:
1. i saw two burlesque related movies on the list, so i suggested them to kara in case she is interested.
2. i saw that night watch came out, so i added it to the top of my queue
3. i found a couple smaller movies that sound interesting but i've never heard of and added them to my "maybe watch later" list.
4. i saw that syriania had come out so i added that to my queue so i can see it again.
5. netflix reminded me that i recently returned match point, so i went ahead and rated it so my friends can see my rating, and so netflix can use that rating to refine the movies it recommends me.
6. in doing all this i discovered by looking at my queue that the 3 movies i returned yesterday arrived this morning, so i'll be getting 3 more movies tomorrow (the hulk, chopper, & the spaghetti west - a documentary about italian westerns).
all this was accomplished in far less time than it took me to type this.
josh [email] said at 3:16 PM 06-21-2006: another fun thing i like abot netflix is exploring friend's ratings.
you can look at a friend (or all friends at once) ratings, and do things like: "show me all movies any friend rated 5 stars that i haven't rated". or "show me all of my friends' 'unique favorites' that i haven't rated" (unique favorites are when someone rates a movie highly when it's overall netflix rating is low... so if i rated, say, Final Destination II 5 stars, it would likely be a unique favorite for me because it's average rating on netflix is probably low.
i find this to be yet another cool way to explore movies and find movie i may never have considered watching
myriam [email] said at 11:48 AM 06-21-2006: I loved DCCD. Also, I am entirely in agreement about Netflix. Also, I don't seem to watch movies enough to warrant it in the first place. I was JUST thinking all these exact same thoughts as you (about the experience, my needs as a video consumer, parrellels to other experiences like eating out, etc etc etc) the other day when I went to the independent video store by my house. I sympathize TOTALLY.
josh [email] said at 2:20 PM 06-21-2006: i cancelled netflix for awhile when i was really busy because i was like "i don't use it enough to justify it". then one weekend i rented 3 movies and forgot i had them for a week or two. the late fee was like $90! after that, i realized it was worth it to me to just have netflix. i'm not the kind of person that remembers to return my movies on time. if you are that kind of person, that's cool, good for you. but for me, i have learned about myself that i will almost always fail to get those suckers in on time.
craig [email] said at 11:54 AM 06-21-2006: I don't understand the netflix hate at all. I try to watch at least one movie a week and Netflix is beautifully organized and consistent. If I want to watch more than what I have from Netflix, I will either buy a movie or check one out from the local library. The library here has movies on dvd and lots of bizaare things on vhs.
craig [email] said at 12:24 PM 06-21-2006: How much spontaneity do you need in movie watching? I make a list of books and movies that I want to read and watch and I pretty muchgo down the list. If I had a bad day, I will go out with some friends and have a beer for fuck's sake. I think you expect too much out of a video store.
reggie [email] said at 12:42 PM 06-21-2006: Did you even read the post? Have you ever read any of my posts? Do you not understand that I'm a bit of a cinephile?
I think you expect too much out of a video store
It's not expecting too much if what I'm expecting is what I've already experienced!
If I had a bad day, I will go out with some friends and have a beer for fuck's sake
Maybe that's not the answer for everybody Craig.
Look, obviously you turn to movies as a distraction. I don't. I turn to movies normally as sources of inspiration or as homework/research. So the spontaneity that I'm looking for is the idea that whatever movie(s) I pick up off the shelf will contain some little nugget from either a editing, writing, photographic or storytelling standpoint that I can build on in the future.
reggie [email] said at 8:18 AM 06-22-2006: I don't think so. It may be false in specific cases but if you're talking about renting videos that's one thing. If you're talking about relationships that's another thing and if you're talking about food that's yet another thing.
In this case, we're talking about an independently run video store that provided a wide range of choices, knowledgeable staff and convenient hours/location. That's not really that big a list of demands if you live in a major metropolitan city such as say DC, Philly or B'more.
craig [email] said at 1:28 PM 06-21-2006: If you are a cinephile, then you would understand the beauty of Netflix which is forward thinking and has eliminated the hassle of having to go to the video store and also late fees. They also have a ratings system as well as their own recommendations based on your own ratings. You can also see what your friends are watching or have watched and see what they recommend.
And I know you drink, so don't give me, "Maybe that's not the answer for everybody Craig."
If you think I turn to movies for distratcion, then you are wrong. I look for ideas in movies that will inspire my art. My ideas and moods are not so fickle that they change daily.
dave [email] said at 3:09 PM 06-21-2006: sometimes I go in wanting to watch Double Dragon, but end up getting Hard Target instead. If only netflix knew at every minute what sort of VanDamme mood I was in.
reggie [email] said at 12:01 AM 06-22-2006: And I know you drink, so don't give me, "Maybe that's not the answer for everybody Craig."
I can give you that if I want dude. Just because I drink doesn't mean that's the only option I have to recover from a cruddy day.
A) Going to a bar and getting plastered is way more expensive than renting a flick.
B) Sometimes you just don't want to be around anybody when you're mad at the world.
C) What if it's the middle of the week and you have to work in the morning so you don't want to get hungover.
If you think I turn to movies for distratcion, then you are wrong. I look for ideas in movies that will inspire my art. My ideas and moods are not so fickle that they change daily.
If I'm wrong about that then I'm man enough to say "my bad." Nevertheless, you say your moods aren't so fickle that they change daily. Isn't that what "moods" do? They change. I'm only speaking from actual experiences where I've gone out with the intention picking up movie X but once I arrived there I suddenly felt like Movie Z. My moods DO change like that. I can't do lists. I'm not going to sit down and make a freaking list of movies I want to see because I see that as pointless.
I like random. I leave my mp3 player on shuffle. Sometimes it'll land on a specific song and I'll be like "hey I want to listen to the rest of this album" then I'll take it off shuffle and let it play.
My pancake recipes are all in my head. I don't write anything down. I go to the grocery store, walk up and down the aisle and that's where the recipes take shape.
You have no idea how many times I've flipped a coin to decide what course of action I'm going to take in any given situation. So as you see, spontaneity plays a pretty signficant role in my life. You are you, I am me. If you're comfortable renting your movies off a freaking list then I'm happy for you. But that don't work for me.
And I don't want to see anything about how you can set up your Netflix queue so that you randomly receive movies. I'm talking about instant gratification here. I'm talking about "hmm I want to watch a movie right now so that's what I'm going to do" as opposed to "I want to watch a movie right now but my Netflix movies don't come for another day."
I hate Netflix. Period. I also hate when people eat hamburgers bottom side up, I hate when people say "I could care less" and I hate the sound of pencils writing on paper. That's just the way it is dude. Don't take it as a personal affront because I hate Netflix.
josh [email] said at 9:14 AM 06-22-2006: i can accept (some) of this spontaneity criticism IF you never rent 3 videos at once, with the other 2 to be watched over the next few days.
because, if you do that, it's the same as netflix - you can quite literally get your movies the next day after you choose them. yesterday i picked out chopper and the spaghetti west and they should both be waiting for me when i get home from work today.
honestly though, i think you are thinking about the way to use netflix in a wrong way. it doesn't replace all other forms of movie watching - it's more like an enhancement. i know i will always have 5 movies lying around i want to see. if i dont want to watch any of them today, or even this week, that's fine - there's no late fees. i'm free to go to a video store, or use bittorrent, or buy a dvd. but if i don't want to do those things, those 5 DVDs that i know i want to see are waiting for me. and in those 5, i can get access to titles that are both brand new, and way too obscure for even a video americain to carry (this is important for me, since VA is strong on indie stuff and criterion-esque stuff that indie folks like, but weak on horror and just plain weird stuff). that's the strength of a netflix.
reggie [email] said at 12:09 AM 06-23-2006: because, if you do that, it's the same as netflix - you can quite literally get your movies the next day after you choose them. yesterday i picked out chopper and the spaghetti west and they should both be waiting for me when i get home from work today.
honestly though, i think you are thinking about the way to use netflix in a wrong way. it doesn't replace all other forms of movie watching
What you're not getting is I don't care about that. I like the experience of GOING TO THE VIDEO STORE, WANDERING AROUND FOR A REALLY LONG TIME AND PICKING OUT WHATEVER TICKLES MY FANCY. It's relaxing, it's therapeutic.
With Netflix there is no RITUAL. You can watch the Orioles play on TV but you can't convince me that's better than going to Camden yards.
So, Craig, going to a good video store IS for the TRUE cinephile because it's one of the few environments where you're literally physically surrounded by nothing but movies. You don't even have to talk to people. You don't even have to acknowledge that outside that door there even is a rest of the world.
josh [email] said at 12:02 PM 06-24-2006: Well, I would guess that even Netflix's business model will be over in ten years at most, so get ready to say good bye to video stores.
I would be very suprised if home movie rental wasn''t totally an "on-demand" model in a decade.
reggie [email] said at 8:27 AM 06-22-2006: If you are a cinephile, then you would understand the beauty of Netflix which is forward thinking and has eliminated the hassle of having to go to the video store and also late fees. They also have a ratings system as well as their own recommendations based on your own ratings. You can also see what your friends are watching or have watched and see what they recommend.
Or you can just WALK down to the local independent video store and say, "you know what I got reemed out by my boss today, some customer complained about some stupid nitpicky thing, two of my co-workers called out today and my girlfriend and I just broke up. Got any recommendations?...Ahh, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Straw Dogs? That's just perfect, thanks man."
jake [email] said at 11:59 AM 06-21-2006: Reggie, I'm like you--I have an idea of movies I want to watch in the future, but on any given day, I can't predict what I'll want to pop in.
So instead of 30$ a month for netflix, I spend about that much buying used dvds from my local independent video stores (and Hollywood Video). I've got a very tall stack, they're always around, I can recycle them as gifts, or return them for some resale value. It works out. I don't have to know in advance whether I'm going to be hankering for Mamet, or one of the Cube movies, or a romance about eccentric people from the future with Vincent D'Onofrio and Marisa Tomei.
reggie [email] said at 12:09 PM 06-21-2006: Yeah man, I mean I do buy my fair share of DVD's (how can I not when I get an emmployee discount?)
But renting is cheaper than buying. I suppose I could try a library. It's still not the same.
Don't forget the fact that a good indie video store usually has a knowledgeable staff that one can, theoretically, interact with and ask for recommendations.
If it wasn't for the staff at Americain I never would have seen Battle Royale or Versus.
reggie [email] said at 12:12 PM 06-21-2006: And the other thing that's buggin' the bejeezus out of me is...why did I put an apostrophe in Adams Morgan?
brandonA [email] said at 12:40 PM 06-21-2006: i solve this dilemma by storing movies from netflix and the library on my hard drive - then I can be spontaneous three weeks later when I have 30-50 choices to watch.
I also don't think Netflix is 100% to blame in these situations, for the exact reason you give - there are plenty of people like you who don't like queueing up movies and waiting for them to come. Not to mention still more people who are computer averse, and/or want the local store.
At least until we all have video on demand at home, any middling to large city will be able to support at least one 'good' video store, since there are plenty of things you can't get on netflix, and there are tons of people that want to rent a new release the day of or after it comes out.
And of course, Blockbuster killed the independent video store market long before Netflix was even a faint dream, so you should throw some vitriol their way...
abby [email] said at 12:48 PM 06-21-2006: i solve this dilemma by storing movies from netflix and the library on my hard drive - then I can be spontaneous three weeks later when I have 30-50 choices to watch.
man, i really need to do this more often! i could be doing it right now. anyway, digital answers for your real-time problems!
reggie [email] said at 12:53 PM 06-21-2006: Yeah except A) I don't even know how to do any of that and B) I doubt my computer has the memory to do that and there's C) eventually, I'd like to use that space to store footage that I've shot of...whatever it is I wind up shooting.
reggie [email] said at 12:51 PM 06-21-2006: You're probably right. I just hate Netflix. It probably had more to do with bad business practices than anything.
Okay, I will no longer blame Netflix for the death of my Video Americain...I'll just blame Dubya.
ed [email] said at 1:40 PM 06-21-2006: I blame Wayne.
He (Blockbuster) did the mom 'n pop shops in.
Yes, he's a philanthropist now and does all sorts of wonderful things (my kittens were adopted from an animal shelter that bears his name) but he was the nail in the coffin of indie video stores long before Netflix was born - as Art has already pointed out.
And I have the rest of Lost Season 1 coming from Netflix, so I ain't saying a damned thing against Netflix. I am officially a junkie.
christian [email] said at 1:27 PM 06-21-2006: matt says all the other video americains (baltimore, delaware, jersey) are doing well and its just this one that for some reason was doing poorly. the staff a little too friendly perhaps? who knows.
i rarely ever rent movies but its a bummer not having this place there anymore. it was nice knowing you had it just in case.
being at the closing party was fun though (and beneficial ;)!
brandonA [email] said at 2:51 PM 06-21-2006: The greatest thing about netflix (and the library) is that I can finally get around to watching all those hundreds of movies that I've passed up a hundred times in the video store because there was something I wanted to see a little more, or because I was with someone who wasn't into it - stuff like the less well known kurosawa movies, other samurai films, random horror movies, and documentaries. The queueing system is a natural for doing this, because all I have to do is spend 20 minutes reprioritizing each month, and stuff keeps coming. I do wish they'd expand the maximum queue size, because I'm constantly hitting the limit of 500.
I've thoguht about canceling in the last couple of months since I can get so much stuff from the library, but there's still a good number of things that can't be found there, and the library hold system is more limited and erratic.
josh [email] said at 2:55 PM 06-21-2006: if you post 3 reviews of movies, you get access to the lists system.
i did this and now i have a list called "other movies i want to see" or something where i put movies i would like to maybe watch later.
i've seen people who used this to make specific lists for different genres of queue overflow.
i also made a list called "HP Lovecraft movies" and i use this to catagorize any movie based on a lovecraft story.. i did that because the lists are public. if you go look at dagon, or re-animator you should see a link to my list
reggie [email] said at 12:09 AM 06-22-2006: The queueing system is a natural for doing this, because all I have to do is spend 20 minutes reprioritizing each month
This SO would not work for me I'd serioiusly be reprioritizing every day.
julie [email] said at 6:04 PM 06-21-2006: You are aware, I trust, that there is another branch of Video American in Takoma Park? I mean, it's a little bit of a drive, but if you really loved it that much...
I'm not surprised to hear this news, because I'm sure rents in AdMorg are increasing exponentially as I type this... I loved that place too, but to be honest I haven't rented a movie from them since about 2002. So maybe it's MY fault.
reggie [email] said at 12:07 AM 06-22-2006: That's all the way in Takoma Park!!!! This one was like a five minute drive. Eff that. I could hit this one on the days I walked home from work or am just kickin' around Adams Morgan.
julie [email] said at 12:37 AM 06-22-2006: Okay, now I just have to say: Quit yer whinin'! Takoma Park was only halfway to the Dirtfarm, and certain people who shall remain nameless used to try to convince me that the Dirtfarm was REALLY close to Petworth. Ahem.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled cranky-pants-ness.
reggie [email] said at 12:59 AM 06-22-2006: Wait you're comparin' Video Americain to the Dirtfarm? Video Americain, fine establish though it may be, does not compare to all the wonderful memories, friendships, van-pools and atomic wedgies experienced at the Dirtfarm. If I go to this other V.A. and they've got a trampoline in the back, then we can talk.
Ya see, if you were really on top of your game, you would have mentioned how certain people, who shall remain nameless, drudge ALL THE WAY DOWN TO CLARENDON, VA to hang out with a certain other nameless person who may or may not be a bartender at a certain nameless bar.
josh [email] said at 11:36 AM 06-22-2006: To further break it down, it's 6.3 miles (less than from petworth metro to the galaxy hut) from the black cat to the dirtfarm, which google maps says should take you 17 minutes. In reality, closer to 12-15.
So, let's finally put an end to your protestations of how far away it was to the Dirtfarm - if it took you 30-45 minutes to drive there, it's simply because you took a long way!
reggie [email] said at 12:15 AM 06-23-2006: I drive like a normal person and I normally got there at about an average of 15 minutes given traffic lights and random traffic delays. If I took longer then it was 'cuz I may've stopped for some grub or something on the way.
Julie, you just didn't want to go the Dirtfarm. Just admit it yo.
julie [email] said at 1:11 PM 07-09-2006: Of course I didn't! I'm not trying to hide that-- that house was nasty. It was like regressing back to dirty group house college years to go there. But the residents know that, and anyway it's a moot point now.
julie [email] said at 1:13 PM 07-09-2006: I hate Maryland, Josh. Any drive into Maryland automatically feels 100 miles longer than it actually is, because I can't stand driving in Maryland. Why are you still trying to convince me that I live close to the Dirtfarm?!? The Dirtfarm is gone, and I no longer live at Georgia Ave/Petworth. And I still never drive into Maryland if I can help it.
Steph said at 10:55 AM 07-09-2006: Bummed it's gone. They had the best selection and the best advice. Always great suggestions for obscure but excellent movies, especially foreign films. Boo hoo . . .
marcia [email] said at 2:50 PM 07-09-2006: video american closed? huh? i just saw alex on the stoop smoking a cigarette last week and waved to him while riding by! ...maybe it was 2 weeks ago. whoa. i've sure been out of loop since giving away my TV...
