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To be or not to be.

2
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That is the question.

3
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Whether it is nobler in the
mind to suffer the slings

4
00:00:32,494 --> 00:00:35,538
and arrows of outrageous fortune,

5
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or to take arms against a sea of troubles

6
00:00:38,708 --> 00:00:41,628
and by opposing end them.

7
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This modern telling
of Hamlet depicts the character

8
00:00:44,172 --> 00:00:45,423
as a sullen Gen Xer

9
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who spends his time
making abstract video art.

10
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He delivers the to be
or not to be soliloquy

11
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while wandering the aisles
of a Blockbuster video store.

12
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The store is nearly deserted,

13
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and Hamlet does not look
closely at any of the films.

14
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He has infinite choices in life

15
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and here at the video
store of movies to rent,

16
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but he cannot make a decision.

17
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The video store is a place of hope,

18
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and anxiety about the future.

19
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It is a place where people
pass from one condition

20
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into another, where their
minds wander at the same pace

21
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as their bodies, browsing.

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By the time "Hamlet" was
released in May of 2000,

23
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there were over 20,000 video
stores in the United States,

24
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5,000 of which were Blockbusters.

25
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The year 2000 is a
midpoint in the lifespan

26
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of the video store, roughly
halfway between its beginnings

27
00:01:39,769 --> 00:01:42,272
in the late 1970's and its near extinction

28
00:01:42,272 --> 00:01:44,441
by the late 2010's.

29
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This 40 year cycle saw a rise and fall

30
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where video stores became
as synonymous with films

31
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as movie theaters had been for
the previous seven decades.

32
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Every image from inside a store is from,

33
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or about the past.

34
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As a physical space,

35
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the video store exists only in the past.

36
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The only way to visit these stores now

37
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is through their depictions on screen,

38
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commonplace in American films and TV shows

39
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from the mid 1980's to the early 2010's.

40
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There's no obvious reason why video stores

41
00:02:15,805 --> 00:02:17,974
are less frequently seen in foreign films,

42
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perhaps because video stores
tend to traffic in the idea

43
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of capital M movies.

44
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And the idea of capital M movies
typically means Hollywood.

45
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And enterprises of great
pitch and moment in this regard.

46
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Their currents turn awry.

47
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The to be or not
to be speech also ponders

48
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the possibility of the afterlife.

49
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This is the condition of the
video rental store today.

50
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It has been nearly erased
from the landscape.

51
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Looking at this scene now from the future,

52
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we feel how it is haunted
by the eventual death

53
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of the video store.

54
00:03:04,145 --> 00:03:07,273
Video stores made distribution
of media a face-to-face,

55
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hand-to-hand process, physically tangible,

56
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concretely special and intimately social.

57
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Moreover, these interactions
distributed ideas

58
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and values about movies.

59
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The taste values of individual
clerks become enmeshed

60
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with the socially oriented
tastes of browsers and customers,

61
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which would vary wildly
from store to store.

62
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Depending on whether it was corporate,

63
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or independently owned.

64
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Not to mention the personal taste

65
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and spending power of the owners.

66
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You always bring 'em back like this.

67
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I mean, I can usually figure people out.

68
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I try to build up a character profile,

69
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watching what customers take out.

70
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The thing about you is,
there's no consistency.

71
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I mean, look at these titles.

72
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You got horror, drama,
comedy, even a bit of porn,

73
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and you've taken most of
these out at least 20 times.

74
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I'm in deep trouble folks.

75
00:04:03,163 --> 00:04:05,165
They've started the video
revolution without me,

76
00:04:05,165 --> 00:04:06,457
now I gotta play catch up.

77
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Here I am, 750 hard earned bucks,

78
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clutched firmly in my tight little paw.

79
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I'm at a neighborhood video store,

80
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typical of the ones

81
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that are cropping up all over the country,

82
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and in three minutes, you and
I are gonna get an education.

83
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The first video rental stores appeared in 1977.

84
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Shortly after Hollywood
films were first licensed

85
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for release on magnetic tape.

86
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Whereas there were only 1.9
million American households

87
00:04:30,773 --> 00:04:32,609
with a VCR in 1980.

88
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10 years later, they were 64.5 million,

89
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a shift from about 2% of
the population to over 70.

90
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They've become
one of the hottest items

91
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of the 80's, and forecasters
say that by the end

92
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of the year, one out of every four homes

93
00:04:47,415 --> 00:04:50,168
in the U.S. will have a VCR.

94
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Is it a fad or for real?

95
00:04:52,378 --> 00:04:53,588
It's for real.

96
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In 1985, video
stores had an average

97
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of 2,395 videos.

98
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People have to have a
minimum of a thousand titles.

99
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This number increased to 3,600 in 1989,

100
00:05:05,725 --> 00:05:08,228
by which point revenue from home video releases

101
00:05:08,228 --> 00:05:11,147
had overtaken the theatrical box office.

102
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All this competition may be
great for the VCR industry,

103
00:05:14,108 --> 00:05:16,569
but it is starting to scare some others.

104
00:05:16,569 --> 00:05:19,864
Specifically, the paid
television industry like HBO

105
00:05:19,864 --> 00:05:22,158
and Cinemax are starting
to feel the effects

106
00:05:22,158 --> 00:05:23,284
and so are the movie theaters.

107
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Some have been forced
outta business as a result

108
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of all the VCR viewership.

109
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All of this
represents nothing less

110
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than a profound change in the landscape

111
00:05:31,834 --> 00:05:35,463
of American movie culture
over the course of the 1980's.

112
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Because the video industry is booming,

113
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the future of the movie
theater is not known,

114
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but there are some who are not
giving it a very high rating.

115
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By the 1990's

116
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with video rental becoming
a standard practice,

117
00:05:48,184 --> 00:05:50,395
corporate retail chains like Blockbuster,

118
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Hollywood Video and Movie
Gallery standardized the space

119
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and experience of the video store.

120
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In contrast with the unregulated

121
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and idiosyncratic aesthetic associated

122
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with independent video stores,

123
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chain stores were large, brightly lit,

124
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had wide aisles and put videotapes,

125
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not just the cover boxes on the shelves

126
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throughout the store.

127
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They did not offer adult videos,

128
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nor did they rent VCRs,

129
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providing instead a large
uncluttered, family friendly space

130
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for the easy perusal of movies.

131
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You know, we have a
lot of different movies

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you might not have seen before.

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Can I help you find
anything in particular?

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Oh, thanks. I'll just look around.

135
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I'm sure I'll find something.
- Okay.

136
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Typically, each Blockbuster

137
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would have around 10,000
tapes available for rent,

138
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by far surpassing the holdings

139
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of the average independently owned store.

140
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I've never seen 10,000
tapes in one store.

141
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There's so much kids stuff.

142
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This number was cited frequently

143
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in nearly every blockbuster
commercial of the era.

144
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I mean, we have over 10,000 videos.

145
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Wow.

146
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Associating Blockbuster

147
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in the average customer's mind

148
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with near limitless selection.

149
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Wow.
- Wow.

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00:06:54,667 --> 00:06:55,543
Wow!

151
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♪ What a difference ♪

152
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♪ Blockbuster Video ♪

153
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Blockbuster commercials at this time

154
00:07:01,174 --> 00:07:05,011
also leaned heavily into
their family friendly image.

155
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♪ We're the blockbuster kids ♪

156
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♪ And we're always up for fun ♪

157
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This served to
further set the growing market

158
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of corporate video rental stores apart

159
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from whatever notions were previously held

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of intimate mom and pop
stores of the 1980's.

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Why is West Coast Video number one?

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Today, we'll talk

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to another famous West
Coast Video customer

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to find out why he rents
movies from West Coast Video.

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Video snatchers
have invaded your area.

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They're coming to Queens of Long Island,

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Royal Video Superstores grand opening.

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By the end of the 1990's,

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there were roughly 18,000 video stores,

170
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a decline of over 30%
from a decade earlier.

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Now you can rent all new releases

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or anything else

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for five days.
- Really?

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Of these, Blockbuster had 5,000,

175
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Hollywood Video had 1800
and Movie Gallery had 1300.

176
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Additionally, well over
8,000 grocery stores

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provided cheaply priced video rentals.

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He's got a phone there anyway.

179
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Somebody came in here,

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and blew a good chunk of
Farrell Hovis’s brains

181
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all over the video tape,

182
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that's what happened.
- Come on.

183
00:08:15,248 --> 00:08:16,374
We're DVD freaks.
- We're DVD crazy.

184
00:08:16,374 --> 00:08:18,376
Freaks.
- We live our lives 1 DVD

185
00:08:18,376 --> 00:08:19,210
at a time.

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The arrival of DVD at the end

187
00:08:20,670 --> 00:08:22,839
of the 90's shifted video consumption

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and shopping habits away
from the video store,

189
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diffusing movies throughout
the general retail landscape

190
00:08:28,719 --> 00:08:31,139
into stores such as Best Buy and Walmart.

191
00:08:31,139 --> 00:08:33,474
Greatly increasing the
geographic convenience

192
00:08:33,474 --> 00:08:34,517
of movie shopping.

193
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"Dental School."

194
00:08:42,191 --> 00:08:45,903
Me and Veggie Dick
rented that shit in 1994,

195
00:08:45,903 --> 00:08:48,531
but we never watched it
'cause we didn't have a VCR.

196
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But now you could put it on
the shelf in the video store.

197
00:08:52,785 --> 00:08:53,828
Oh yeah!

198
00:08:55,121 --> 00:08:57,331
The video store closed 10 years ago.

199
00:08:59,250 --> 00:09:00,543
It did?

200
00:09:00,543 --> 00:09:02,420
This was the video store.

201
00:09:04,213 --> 00:09:05,923
Unable to overhaul their stock

202
00:09:05,923 --> 00:09:09,010
by repurchasing titles
they already held on VHS,

203
00:09:09,010 --> 00:09:11,888
many independently owned
video stores began to close

204
00:09:11,888 --> 00:09:14,599
during the late 1990's and early 2000's.

205
00:09:14,599 --> 00:09:16,350
Subject to a financial dilemma

206
00:09:16,350 --> 00:09:18,561
that larger chains did not face.

207
00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:23,024
The video store has been an
onscreen mainstay of movies

208
00:09:23,024 --> 00:09:24,942
and television for decades.

209
00:09:24,942 --> 00:09:27,361
From the early 1980's to today,

210
00:09:27,361 --> 00:09:31,157
when it's more a counterculture
emblem in period pieces.

211
00:09:36,621 --> 00:09:37,872
We've seen all these comedies.

212
00:09:37,872 --> 00:09:40,249
The horse which is the main expert.

213
00:09:40,249 --> 00:09:41,584
We have to get a new one.

214
00:09:43,044 --> 00:09:45,213
The video store
went from being mysterious

215
00:09:45,213 --> 00:09:49,133
and dangerous, to representing
a broad, unremarkable part

216
00:09:49,133 --> 00:09:50,801
of daily life.

217
00:09:50,801 --> 00:09:52,053
"Cannibal Man."

218
00:10:13,824 --> 00:10:14,951
Um.

219
00:10:14,951 --> 00:10:17,912
Do you have the "Texas
Chainsaw Mascara?"

220
00:10:17,912 --> 00:10:19,914
We watched them transform

221
00:10:19,914 --> 00:10:22,542
from rarefied museums
of knowledge lorded over

222
00:10:22,542 --> 00:10:24,043
by protective clerks,

223
00:10:24,043 --> 00:10:27,380
to a commonly understood cinematic space.

224
00:10:27,380 --> 00:10:31,801
"Free Willy" back yet?
- Still out.

225
00:10:34,053 --> 00:10:35,721
People are pigs!

226
00:10:35,721 --> 00:10:37,431
Sit on movies like they own them!

227
00:10:39,016 --> 00:10:40,476
Freak.

228
00:10:40,476 --> 00:10:43,062
As time passed,
we watched them get erased

229
00:10:43,062 --> 00:10:45,940
from our lives and from our screens.

230
00:10:45,940 --> 00:10:48,609
Depictions of video stores became dull,

231
00:10:48,609 --> 00:10:50,278
mundane, and unremarkable.

232
00:10:51,988 --> 00:10:56,242
Jack. Oh, Jack.

233
00:10:58,369 --> 00:11:01,038
Can I help you?
- Get your loser ass away

234
00:11:01,038 --> 00:11:01,872
from me!

235
00:11:19,390 --> 00:11:21,851
I cannot believe I almost
sucked my dad's dick.

236
00:11:23,394 --> 00:11:25,938
Desperate times call for
desperate measures, kid.

237
00:11:29,817 --> 00:11:32,528
Just as VHS once gave way to DVD,

238
00:11:32,528 --> 00:11:36,115
a new format emerged to once
again lose customers unwilling

239
00:11:36,115 --> 00:11:39,076
to adapt and penalize
stores unable to upgrade.

240
00:11:45,207 --> 00:11:47,835
See you, Joanna.

241
00:11:47,835 --> 00:11:49,337
Just cover myself and sleep.

242
00:11:50,212 --> 00:11:52,965
Slowly, video
stores scenes shrank,

243
00:11:52,965 --> 00:11:55,426
both in duration and importance.

244
00:11:55,426 --> 00:11:57,219
They became transitional spaces,

245
00:11:57,219 --> 00:12:00,514
briefly occupied by the
characters, but unremarked upon.

246
00:12:03,809 --> 00:12:07,355
♪ When he's out betrayin ♪

247
00:12:07,355 --> 00:12:10,816
♪ You'll hear people sayin ♪

248
00:12:10,816 --> 00:12:14,320
♪ Look out for the cheater ♪

249
00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,073
And then they were gone.

250
00:12:26,290 --> 00:12:28,709
Video stores have become unfamiliar,

251
00:12:28,709 --> 00:12:31,462
as antiquated as a family
gathered around the radio,

252
00:12:31,462 --> 00:12:33,798
or the sound of a dial up modem.

253
00:12:33,798 --> 00:12:36,634
But unlike broadcast
signals in the internet,

254
00:12:36,634 --> 00:12:38,427
the video store's brief existence

255
00:12:38,427 --> 00:12:41,472
as a physical space has
evolved into nothing.

256
00:12:42,556 --> 00:12:44,600
Every image from inside a video store

257
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:48,229
is from or about the past.

258
00:12:48,229 --> 00:12:50,523
These spaces became extinct.

259
00:12:50,523 --> 00:12:52,400
Current and future depictions

260
00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,361
are set entirely in the past.

261
00:12:55,361 --> 00:12:57,697
A small number of video stores still do

262
00:12:57,697 --> 00:13:01,117
and always will exist, but for many of us,

263
00:13:01,117 --> 00:13:04,203
our only opportunity to
visit a video store now

264
00:13:04,203 --> 00:13:05,663
is to see one on screen.

265
00:13:17,633 --> 00:13:19,093
In the mid 1970's,

266
00:13:19,093 --> 00:13:21,887
the VCR appeared and like radio and TV

267
00:13:21,887 --> 00:13:23,556
The price was extremely high

268
00:13:23,556 --> 00:13:24,640
when they first came out.

269
00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:28,519
Very unaffordable and only
you know the ones that really,

270
00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:30,020
you know, wanted them as the toy

271
00:13:30,020 --> 00:13:32,356
and to be the first one
on the block to get them,

272
00:13:32,356 --> 00:13:35,526
but they were in the
neighborhood of 13 to $1,600.

273
00:13:45,494 --> 00:13:47,079
♪ And on that night ♪

274
00:13:47,079 --> 00:13:48,706
♪ I'm all alone ♪

275
00:13:48,706 --> 00:13:52,543
♪ Watching the TV screen ♪

276
00:13:52,543 --> 00:13:56,922
♪ And all at once, she appears to me ♪

277
00:13:56,922 --> 00:14:00,468
♪ Girl of my dreams ♪

278
00:14:00,468 --> 00:14:04,597
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

279
00:14:04,597 --> 00:14:08,517
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

280
00:14:08,517 --> 00:14:12,897
♪ Watching my video ♪

281
00:14:12,897 --> 00:14:16,901
♪ It sure looks good to me ♪

282
00:14:16,901 --> 00:14:17,860
♪ Video ♪

283
00:14:17,860 --> 00:14:19,653
Videotape had existed as a means

284
00:14:19,653 --> 00:14:23,532
for recording filmed
entertainment since 1956.

285
00:14:23,532 --> 00:14:25,451
And by 1957 would be used

286
00:14:25,451 --> 00:14:28,996
to present West Coast
broadcasts of live events.

287
00:14:28,996 --> 00:14:32,416
Sony's Beta Max would appear in 1975,

288
00:14:32,416 --> 00:14:34,794
bringing the promise of
transforming production

289
00:14:34,794 --> 00:14:36,170
or viewing habits.

290
00:14:40,549 --> 00:14:43,427
Now, some of the best
movies on television

291
00:14:43,427 --> 00:14:46,096
aren't on television,
they're on Selectavision.

292
00:14:46,096 --> 00:14:49,850
The four hour video
cassette recorder from RCA.

293
00:14:49,850 --> 00:14:52,102
Because now you can buy
full length uncut movies

294
00:14:52,102 --> 00:14:54,313
on cassettes, movies like
"Pat" and "Hello Dolly."

295
00:14:54,313 --> 00:14:55,731
And lots more.

296
00:14:55,731 --> 00:14:57,858
Hello.
- With Selectavision,

297
00:14:57,858 --> 00:15:00,486
you can go to the movies at your house.

298
00:15:00,486 --> 00:15:02,863
In 1978, 20th Century Fox

299
00:15:02,863 --> 00:15:05,366
was the first major studio
to release its product

300
00:15:05,366 --> 00:15:06,617
on video cassette.

301
00:15:06,617 --> 00:15:09,537
Starting with such popular
titles as Patton, Mash,

302
00:15:09,537 --> 00:15:10,830
and the French Connection.

303
00:15:13,123 --> 00:15:16,418
In 1979, Paramount Pictures
formed a partnership

304
00:15:16,418 --> 00:15:19,338
with the film developing
chain, Fotomat to rent

305
00:15:19,338 --> 00:15:21,215
and sell their films on videotape,

306
00:15:21,215 --> 00:15:24,343
thus solidifying the
relationship between home video

307
00:15:24,343 --> 00:15:26,387
and the booming electronics retail market.

308
00:15:26,387 --> 00:15:27,263
When can I pick up

309
00:15:27,263 --> 00:15:28,305
the pictures?
- Thursday.

310
00:15:28,305 --> 00:15:29,890
Thursday, okay, lemme
make a note of that.

311
00:15:29,890 --> 00:15:32,268
By aligning itself
with the familiar routine

312
00:15:32,268 --> 00:15:35,187
of dropping off film, which
necessitated a second visit

313
00:15:35,187 --> 00:15:36,355
to pick up the prints,

314
00:15:36,355 --> 00:15:39,567
the relationship between renting
movies and social routines

315
00:15:39,567 --> 00:15:42,194
is already taking shape
around existing habits.

316
00:15:58,127 --> 00:15:59,253
Before it became ubiquitous

317
00:15:59,253 --> 00:16:01,547
in the American consumer consciousness,

318
00:16:01,547 --> 00:16:03,924
the videotape was a locus of suspicion

319
00:16:03,924 --> 00:16:05,593
and violence in movies.

320
00:16:05,593 --> 00:16:08,262
With films in the early
80's exploiting its ability

321
00:16:08,262 --> 00:16:11,390
to penetrate the minds and
even bodies of viewers.

322
00:16:12,850 --> 00:16:15,227
Video as a recognizable consumer medium

323
00:16:15,227 --> 00:16:17,771
was only about five years
old when the image of a tape

324
00:16:17,771 --> 00:16:21,066
as sinister and evil was
imprinted on viewers' imaginations

325
00:16:21,066 --> 00:16:24,320
in David Cronenberg's
1983 film, "Videodrome."

326
00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:27,031
Running with a concept that
consumer electronics were coming

327
00:16:27,031 --> 00:16:29,658
to occupy overly parasitic
and dangerous roles

328
00:16:29,658 --> 00:16:31,535
in our lives and homes.

329
00:16:31,535 --> 00:16:35,289
This was first seen in
1977's, "Demon Seed."

330
00:16:47,635 --> 00:16:52,640
Is this an experiment, something?

331
00:16:53,140 --> 00:16:55,643
I have extended
my consciousness to this house

332
00:16:55,643 --> 00:16:58,604
by activating my terminal in the basement.

333
00:16:58,604 --> 00:17:00,940
All electrical and mechanical systems here

334
00:17:00,940 --> 00:17:02,900
are now under my control.

335
00:17:05,235 --> 00:17:07,279
Okay, here we go.

336
00:17:07,279 --> 00:17:08,238
At this point,

337
00:17:08,238 --> 00:17:11,659
videotape was still regarded
largely as a professional tool.

338
00:17:11,659 --> 00:17:14,203
However, Cronenberg was
able to create the notion

339
00:17:14,203 --> 00:17:16,246
of tape as entity,

340
00:17:16,246 --> 00:17:18,874
despite these tapes not
containing commercial films.

341
00:17:24,463 --> 00:17:25,381
What is that wall behind her?

342
00:17:25,381 --> 00:17:29,343
What is that clay?
- Yeah. Wet clay.

343
00:17:29,343 --> 00:17:31,345
I think it's electrified.

344
00:17:31,345 --> 00:17:34,431
Instead, they
capture elicit broadcasts,

345
00:17:34,431 --> 00:17:37,726
transmitting images of such
extreme sex and violence

346
00:17:37,726 --> 00:17:41,814
that they drive the viewer to
the brink of lust and madness.

347
00:17:41,814 --> 00:17:43,482
Got any porno?

348
00:17:43,482 --> 00:17:46,276
You serious?
- Yeah. Gets me in the mood.

349
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,242
What's this "Videodrome?"

350
00:17:53,242 --> 00:17:56,662
Torture, murder.
- Sounds great.

351
00:17:57,579 --> 00:17:59,331
For viewers in 1983,

352
00:17:59,331 --> 00:18:02,334
the process of identifying
videotape with danger,

353
00:18:02,334 --> 00:18:05,504
sexuality and violence had
already begun well before

354
00:18:05,504 --> 00:18:08,298
the concept of easily accessible
video stores had become

355
00:18:08,298 --> 00:18:10,009
a part of the retail landscape.

356
00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:15,305
In the words of Eros Magazine,

357
00:18:15,305 --> 00:18:17,850
"The Gone With the Wind of Adult Films."

358
00:18:17,850 --> 00:18:20,561
"Holly Does Hollywood"
in a Hedonist Heaven."

359
00:18:22,271 --> 00:18:24,565
The first onscreen
depiction of a video store

360
00:18:24,565 --> 00:18:27,985
in a Hollywood film came
one year later in 1984

361
00:18:27,985 --> 00:18:29,987
in Brian De Palma's "Body Double."

362
00:18:31,572 --> 00:18:35,242
It is easy to imagine the
fervently cinephilic De Palma

363
00:18:35,242 --> 00:18:39,163
being an early proponent of
video technology and ownership,

364
00:18:39,163 --> 00:18:42,499
which seemed in 1984 as
the natural evolution

365
00:18:42,499 --> 00:18:45,294
of consuming and possessing
the films you loved.

366
00:18:49,673 --> 00:18:51,842
"Holly Does Hollywood,"

367
00:18:51,842 --> 00:18:54,386
now playing at the X Cinema.

368
00:18:54,386 --> 00:18:56,555
And for you home viewers,
you can pick it up right now

369
00:18:56,555 --> 00:18:59,099
at Tower Records all night video sale.

370
00:18:59,099 --> 00:19:01,602
Jake Scully enters
the Sunset Boulevard location

371
00:19:01,602 --> 00:19:05,022
of Tower Video, searching for
a specific pornographic film

372
00:19:05,022 --> 00:19:09,026
starring Holly Body with
whom he's growing obsessed.

373
00:19:10,694 --> 00:19:14,156
Excuse me, do you have
"Holly Does Hollywood?"

374
00:19:15,282 --> 00:19:17,451
Yeah, we do.
It's in our adult section.

375
00:19:17,451 --> 00:19:18,285
Follow me.

376
00:19:20,037 --> 00:19:22,039
On VHS?
- Yeah, VHS.

377
00:19:22,039 --> 00:19:25,125
Whatever you want, half
inch, three quarter, beta.

378
00:19:26,293 --> 00:19:27,711
The public space

379
00:19:27,711 --> 00:19:30,297
of the video store had
not yet been familiarized

380
00:19:30,297 --> 00:19:31,924
to the average viewer.

381
00:19:31,924 --> 00:19:35,552
De Palma introduced audiences
to the very idea of them.

382
00:19:35,552 --> 00:19:38,305
He created the template
that two subsequent decades

383
00:19:38,305 --> 00:19:42,101
of video store interactions
on screen will follow.

384
00:19:42,101 --> 00:19:44,269
First, the store is seen as an archive

385
00:19:44,269 --> 00:19:45,771
of unfathomable death,

386
00:19:45,771 --> 00:19:48,107
as evidenced by the
knowledgeable clerk offering

387
00:19:48,107 --> 00:19:49,858
that they have the film in several,

388
00:19:49,858 --> 00:19:53,028
albeit historically improbable
and unlikely formats.

389
00:19:54,613 --> 00:19:57,199
Second, "Body Double"
presented the very notion

390
00:19:57,199 --> 00:20:00,619
of video acquisition as
elicit, sexual and dangerous,

391
00:20:00,619 --> 00:20:04,289
years away from the sanitized
safety of blockbuster video.

392
00:20:04,289 --> 00:20:08,252
Here in the early 1980's, the
format is still the domain

393
00:20:08,252 --> 00:20:10,003
of sex and violence.

394
00:20:10,003 --> 00:20:11,380
The colorful moody lighting

395
00:20:11,380 --> 00:20:14,716
of the Tower Video location
augments this feeling.

396
00:20:14,716 --> 00:20:17,010
The store is atmospheric and alluring,

397
00:20:17,010 --> 00:20:18,971
suggesting mystery and excitement

398
00:20:18,971 --> 00:20:21,014
rather than bland consumerism.

399
00:20:22,224 --> 00:20:25,519
"Videodrome" and "Body Double"
built upon videos beginnings

400
00:20:25,519 --> 00:20:28,105
in the late 70's as a
technological advancement

401
00:20:28,105 --> 00:20:30,941
for capturing images,
connecting consumption,

402
00:20:30,941 --> 00:20:34,486
and production of movies
or images on videotape.

403
00:20:34,486 --> 00:20:35,737
Hello, I was wondering
if you could help me.

404
00:20:35,737 --> 00:20:36,864
Are you the company

405
00:20:36,864 --> 00:20:38,699
that distributes "Holly Does Hollywood"?

406
00:20:38,699 --> 00:20:39,533
Yes.

407
00:20:39,533 --> 00:20:41,326
Both films
connected this production

408
00:20:41,326 --> 00:20:44,580
to pornography rather than
say, family home movies,

409
00:20:44,580 --> 00:20:47,749
or aspirations of
mainstream film production.

410
00:20:47,749 --> 00:20:51,545
Pleasure to meet you.
- Stand over there.

411
00:20:53,422 --> 00:20:55,007
I'm sorry. Mr. Chris...

412
00:20:55,007 --> 00:20:57,342
You ready?
- Yeah.

413
00:20:57,342 --> 00:20:58,177
Go ahead.

414
00:21:03,223 --> 00:21:04,516
I like to watch.

415
00:21:11,231 --> 00:21:14,401
"Disconnected"
also from 1984 features

416
00:21:14,401 --> 00:21:17,362
the video store as an intrinsic
part of the social landscape

417
00:21:17,362 --> 00:21:19,489
with a remarkable ease in casualness,

418
00:21:19,489 --> 00:21:22,159
considering how relatively new they were.

419
00:21:22,159 --> 00:21:23,660
What are you doing here?

420
00:21:24,745 --> 00:21:28,040
Well, I was gonna call but
I decided to stop by instead

421
00:21:29,291 --> 00:21:31,460
and well, frankly, I thought
the store opened up earlier

422
00:21:31,460 --> 00:21:32,753
than it did.

423
00:21:32,753 --> 00:21:34,922
The film presents
a video store as a place

424
00:21:34,922 --> 00:21:37,257
of ordinary romantic fixation,

425
00:21:37,257 --> 00:21:39,009
the same year "Body Double" treats it

426
00:21:39,009 --> 00:21:42,221
as an entrance into the
underworld of pornography.

427
00:21:42,221 --> 00:21:46,266
God, all these movies. Hmm.

428
00:21:47,267 --> 00:21:49,770
You don't seem to have too
many porn films though.

429
00:21:51,146 --> 00:21:54,191
Well, you got a lot of horror
and a lot of new stuff.

430
00:21:54,191 --> 00:21:55,692
In "Disconnected"
when the character

431
00:21:55,692 --> 00:21:57,694
of Franklin first visits the video store,

432
00:21:57,694 --> 00:22:00,072
he makes casual observations
about the selection

433
00:22:00,072 --> 00:22:03,617
while admitting that he
himself does not own a VCR.

434
00:22:03,617 --> 00:22:05,869
He's there only to flirt with Alicia,

435
00:22:05,869 --> 00:22:08,205
seemingly the store's lone employee.

436
00:22:08,205 --> 00:22:11,166
However, his banter
reveals several key aspects

437
00:22:11,166 --> 00:22:13,126
of video retail at this time.

438
00:22:13,126 --> 00:22:15,796
You know, this is the
third store I was in today.

439
00:22:15,796 --> 00:22:17,381
You weren't in the other two.

440
00:22:17,381 --> 00:22:19,424
This tossed off
comment contextualizes

441
00:22:19,424 --> 00:22:22,010
the abundance of video
rental stores in this town.

442
00:22:22,010 --> 00:22:25,264
In 1985, more than half of
video store owners stated

443
00:22:25,264 --> 00:22:27,307
that their nearest competition was less

444
00:22:27,307 --> 00:22:29,559
than a quarter mile away and this level

445
00:22:29,559 --> 00:22:32,854
of saturation held steady
throughout the rest of the decade.

446
00:22:32,854 --> 00:22:35,357
His preference for foreign
films, and description

447
00:22:35,357 --> 00:22:37,276
of the size of the subtitles on videotape

448
00:22:37,276 --> 00:22:40,821
and seeming distaste for
horror are also in opposition

449
00:22:40,821 --> 00:22:43,156
to nearly all other
depictions of video stores

450
00:22:43,156 --> 00:22:44,324
in films of this era.

451
00:22:48,578 --> 00:22:49,413
Hi.

452
00:22:49,413 --> 00:22:50,831
Rather than the intended function

453
00:22:50,831 --> 00:22:53,625
of a video rental store,
bringing a movie to the privacy

454
00:22:53,625 --> 00:22:56,545
of one's own home, we see
here the first instance

455
00:22:56,545 --> 00:22:58,297
of a trend that will remain ubiquitous

456
00:22:58,297 --> 00:23:00,132
for the next two decades.

457
00:23:00,132 --> 00:23:02,676
Bringing one's private life
and romantic entanglements

458
00:23:02,676 --> 00:23:04,886
into the public space of the video store.

459
00:23:05,929 --> 00:23:08,140
I thought... I was gonna get
something to eat and drink,

460
00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:11,810
I thought maybe on my way I
could get some food for you.

461
00:23:11,810 --> 00:23:13,812
How would that be?
- That's good.

462
00:23:13,812 --> 00:23:14,646
Because I fear, you know,

463
00:23:14,646 --> 00:23:16,356
you're in the store all by
yourself that, you know,

464
00:23:16,356 --> 00:23:19,359
you probably have to
lock up the whole place

465
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:20,193
just to get something to eat.

466
00:23:20,193 --> 00:23:22,029
What do you got new in porn?

467
00:23:22,029 --> 00:23:24,156
Well, I have two binders at the end

468
00:23:24,156 --> 00:23:25,615
of the counter.
- Fuck that list, honey,

469
00:23:25,615 --> 00:23:26,950
just tell me what's new and hot.

470
00:23:26,950 --> 00:23:27,784
You know what I mean.

471
00:23:27,784 --> 00:23:29,536
Well, I can't tell you how they are.

472
00:23:29,536 --> 00:23:31,121
I don't watch them.
- Yeah, sure, sure.

473
00:23:31,121 --> 00:23:33,415
The way you look, I bet
you could be in 'em.

474
00:23:33,415 --> 00:23:34,458
Excuse me?

475
00:23:34,458 --> 00:23:37,502
Do you really think that's
appropriate behavior?

476
00:23:37,502 --> 00:23:38,962
Who is this asshole?

477
00:23:38,962 --> 00:23:42,257
Look, why don't you just
go, okay, just please.

478
00:23:42,257 --> 00:23:43,216
Fuck this shit!

479
00:23:54,019 --> 00:23:55,103
Psst! Psst!

480
00:23:59,524 --> 00:24:02,069
The 1987 sketch
comedy omnibus film,

481
00:24:02,069 --> 00:24:05,155
"Amazon Women on the Moon"
played the growing cultural

482
00:24:05,155 --> 00:24:07,282
obsession with videotape for laughs.

483
00:24:08,450 --> 00:24:09,951
Yeah.

484
00:24:09,951 --> 00:24:10,827
Saturday night.

485
00:24:14,581 --> 00:24:15,582
Yeah.

486
00:24:15,582 --> 00:24:16,500
Ain't got a date?

487
00:24:18,001 --> 00:24:21,254
In the segment video
date directed by John Landis,

488
00:24:21,254 --> 00:24:24,049
a young man finds himself
inside a Tower Video

489
00:24:24,049 --> 00:24:26,385
as brightly lit and accessible as the one

490
00:24:26,385 --> 00:24:29,221
in "Body Double" is atmospheric.

491
00:24:29,221 --> 00:24:32,641
The presence of a poster
for Russ Meyer's 1975 film,

492
00:24:32,641 --> 00:24:35,811
"Super Vixens" nestled
between contemporary hits,

493
00:24:35,811 --> 00:24:38,355
"Beverly Hills Cop" and "Ghostbusters"

494
00:24:38,355 --> 00:24:39,731
would seem to be a sly joke

495
00:24:39,731 --> 00:24:41,650
about the store's vast selection,

496
00:24:41,650 --> 00:24:44,820
but for the fact that Meyer
himself appears moments later

497
00:24:44,820 --> 00:24:46,613
as the sole clerk and proprietor.

498
00:24:47,864 --> 00:24:50,242
The Lovelorn character is bestowed a tape,

499
00:24:50,242 --> 00:24:53,328
ominously bearing his own
name from a wall full of them.

500
00:24:55,414 --> 00:24:57,916
We are then shown that the
video in question contains

501
00:24:57,916 --> 00:25:00,669
what appears to be an
inexplicably personalized

502
00:25:00,669 --> 00:25:02,421
and interactive videotape.

503
00:25:02,421 --> 00:25:05,590
The contents of which bestow
a pornographic fantasy

504
00:25:05,590 --> 00:25:07,551
much like the videos of Holly Body

505
00:25:07,551 --> 00:25:10,762
that Jake Scully obsesses
over in "Body Double."

506
00:25:12,222 --> 00:25:13,765
You the best, Frank!

507
00:25:18,812 --> 00:25:20,272
You dirty slut!

508
00:25:20,272 --> 00:25:22,357
Frankie! What are you doing here?

509
00:25:22,357 --> 00:25:23,859
I thought you were out of town.

510
00:25:23,859 --> 00:25:26,820
That's what I wanted you to think,

511
00:25:26,820 --> 00:25:30,157
and I expected a little
more from you, Ray.

512
00:25:31,867 --> 00:25:34,035
Numerous arrests for pimping,

513
00:25:34,035 --> 00:25:39,040
child pornography, drug
dealing, murder, no convictions.

514
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:43,044
Witnesses against Max have
a habit of disappearing.

515
00:25:44,004 --> 00:25:47,757
He is a resident of Vegas, but when in LA,

516
00:25:47,757 --> 00:25:51,011
he operates out of a video
rental store on the west side.

517
00:25:52,721 --> 00:25:55,056
The video store's
identification with violence

518
00:25:55,056 --> 00:25:57,517
is once again on display in 1987's,

519
00:25:57,517 --> 00:26:00,770
"Death Wish 4: The Crackdown."

520
00:26:00,770 --> 00:26:03,482
Charles Bronson's vigilante,
Paul Kiersey discovers

521
00:26:03,482 --> 00:26:06,401
a drug racket operation in
the back of a video store,

522
00:26:06,401 --> 00:26:08,778
perhaps chosen as a front
due to the consistent

523
00:26:08,778 --> 00:26:11,114
and inconspicuous volume of
foot traffic it would see

524
00:26:11,114 --> 00:26:12,199
on any given day.

525
00:26:13,283 --> 00:26:15,827
The back of the video store
is wallpapered with posters,

526
00:26:15,827 --> 00:26:17,412
and ephemera for other titles

527
00:26:17,412 --> 00:26:19,915
from this film studio, Canon films

528
00:26:19,915 --> 00:26:22,459
such as "Forced Testimony,"
"The Naked Face,"

529
00:26:22,459 --> 00:26:23,710
the "Story of O Part 2,"

530
00:26:23,710 --> 00:26:26,546
and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2."

531
00:26:26,546 --> 00:26:29,007
Their prominence on
screen is an early example

532
00:26:29,007 --> 00:26:31,343
of synergy between a
studio producing a film,

533
00:26:31,343 --> 00:26:33,970
and the video shown in the movie itself.

534
00:26:36,097 --> 00:26:37,849
What do you want?
- You.

535
00:26:37,849 --> 00:26:40,101
Hey, I didn't do nothing.

536
00:26:40,101 --> 00:26:42,896
No, you just sell drugs to children.

537
00:26:42,896 --> 00:26:44,439
Now, come on. It's a business man.

538
00:26:44,439 --> 00:26:46,775
I'm only a supplier, you
know what I'm saying?

539
00:26:46,775 --> 00:26:47,609
I mean, I don't make the kids use drugs,

540
00:26:47,609 --> 00:26:48,443
it's their choice.

541
00:26:48,443 --> 00:26:50,529
Additionally, Cannon's association

542
00:26:50,529 --> 00:26:53,323
with precisely these types
of low budget genre films

543
00:26:53,323 --> 00:26:56,117
further classifies the video
store as a space trafficking

544
00:26:56,117 --> 00:26:59,246
in cheap thrills, sexuality and horror.

545
00:26:59,246 --> 00:27:01,998
How many children have
you killed with this shit?

546
00:27:15,136 --> 00:27:16,555
This relationship with horror

547
00:27:16,555 --> 00:27:19,099
and the identity of the
video store as a captivating

548
00:27:19,099 --> 00:27:22,852
and dangerous space continued
with "The Lost Boys."

549
00:27:22,852 --> 00:27:24,688
Mom!
- But I know this is...

550
00:27:24,688 --> 00:27:26,231
Sam, what are you doing with the bike...

551
00:27:26,231 --> 00:27:27,566
Mom, listen, I gotta tell you something.

552
00:27:27,566 --> 00:27:28,692
It's real important. Shhh!

553
00:27:28,692 --> 00:27:31,069
Santa Carlas's crawling
with vampires, mom.

554
00:27:31,069 --> 00:27:32,612
Excuse me.
- Mom, I'm serious.

555
00:27:32,612 --> 00:27:35,490
As the 80's saw
precipitous increase of video

556
00:27:35,490 --> 00:27:37,033
as a consumer format,

557
00:27:37,033 --> 00:27:39,911
it evolved from complex
technology reserved for

558
00:27:39,911 --> 00:27:41,746
and understood only by the savvy,

559
00:27:41,746 --> 00:27:44,624
and became synonymous with
accessible entertainment.

560
00:27:44,624 --> 00:27:47,586
Stop it right now, just stop it!

561
00:27:47,586 --> 00:27:49,129
And whereas "Body Double"

562
00:27:49,129 --> 00:27:51,715
with its Hitchcock homages
and pornographic imagery

563
00:27:51,715 --> 00:27:54,884
was targeted at adults, the
sexualized teenage thrills

564
00:27:54,884 --> 00:27:57,220
of "The Lost Boys" would more
sufficiently indoctrinate

565
00:27:57,220 --> 00:27:59,931
the notion of video store
spaces into the imaginations

566
00:27:59,931 --> 00:28:01,182
of younger viewers.

567
00:28:07,606 --> 00:28:09,733
In "The Lost Boys," we
see the introduction

568
00:28:09,733 --> 00:28:11,359
of video rentals into stores

569
00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:14,571
whose primary focus was electronics.

570
00:28:14,571 --> 00:28:16,656
Max's video store would certainly

571
00:28:16,656 --> 00:28:18,950
have been one of the
thousands of electronic stores

572
00:28:18,950 --> 00:28:20,827
to make space for videotapes.

573
00:28:20,827 --> 00:28:22,329
As the medium gained traction,

574
00:28:22,329 --> 00:28:24,080
and music scales began to dip.

575
00:28:25,332 --> 00:28:27,709
A brightly lit store
resembling as much a club

576
00:28:27,709 --> 00:28:30,629
as a retail space, with
vampires lurking about

577
00:28:30,629 --> 00:28:34,633
makes this space alluring and dangerous.

578
00:28:34,633 --> 00:28:36,843
Well, second thought.

579
00:28:38,678 --> 00:28:40,430
I told you not to come in here anymore.

580
00:28:50,815 --> 00:28:52,233
Wild kids.

581
00:28:52,233 --> 00:28:53,693
Asparagus, basil.

582
00:28:55,195 --> 00:28:57,781
In stark contrast
is another prominent trend

583
00:28:57,781 --> 00:28:59,699
that began in the mid 1980's,

584
00:28:59,699 --> 00:29:02,619
placing video rental displays
within grocery stores

585
00:29:02,619 --> 00:29:05,330
and other established
routine-based locations.

586
00:29:08,833 --> 00:29:12,128
Hey, Pete.
- Buster.

587
00:29:12,128 --> 00:29:14,506
Answer me a couple of things.

588
00:29:14,506 --> 00:29:15,548
If I can.

589
00:29:15,548 --> 00:29:18,009
Do you have any new Paul Sheldon books?

590
00:29:18,009 --> 00:29:19,469
To maximize convenience,

591
00:29:19,469 --> 00:29:22,305
these displays would offer
only limited options,

592
00:29:22,305 --> 00:29:26,476
typically focusing on new
releases and children's titles.

593
00:29:26,476 --> 00:29:30,021
By the late 1980's, the video
store was no longer a novelty

594
00:29:30,021 --> 00:29:31,314
in the retail landscape.

595
00:29:33,692 --> 00:29:34,901
Beginning here and lasting

596
00:29:34,901 --> 00:29:36,236
well into the 1990's,

597
00:29:36,653 --> 00:29:38,029
video stores start to appear

598
00:29:38,029 --> 00:29:39,406
in the background of films

599
00:29:39,406 --> 00:29:41,574
without distinction or commentary.

600
00:29:41,574 --> 00:29:43,410
As much a part of the neighborhood routine

601
00:29:43,410 --> 00:29:45,203
as the supermarket or laundromat.

602
00:30:13,398 --> 00:30:16,443
In 1992, "Lethal Weapon
3" shows that at least

603
00:30:16,443 --> 00:30:19,279
in the Valley, independent
store, Odyssey video

604
00:30:19,279 --> 00:30:22,323
can exist directly across the
street from a blockbuster.

605
00:30:42,844 --> 00:30:44,429
However, the video store,

606
00:30:44,429 --> 00:30:47,724
no matter how commonplace it
became continued to be seen

607
00:30:47,724 --> 00:30:50,477
as a site of danger and transgression.

608
00:30:58,777 --> 00:31:00,987
I'm going to the movie.

609
00:31:00,987 --> 00:31:03,031
Two films produced in 1989,

610
00:31:03,031 --> 00:31:07,202
but not released until 1991
extended this representation

611
00:31:07,202 --> 00:31:08,495
into a new decade.

612
00:32:11,975 --> 00:32:15,019
Are your kids
renting a movie this weekend?

613
00:32:15,854 --> 00:32:19,023
Horror films like these are
the most popular choice.

614
00:32:19,023 --> 00:32:21,401
Graphic orgies of blood and violence.

615
00:32:21,401 --> 00:32:24,195
And they watch 15 murders
in an hour and a half.

616
00:32:24,195 --> 00:32:25,989
Children mesmerized.

617
00:32:25,989 --> 00:32:27,699
I like the gore.

618
00:32:28,533 --> 00:32:30,451
Concurrent with
the Satanic panic crusade

619
00:32:30,451 --> 00:32:31,953
against heavy metal music,

620
00:32:31,953 --> 00:32:35,164
the American media took to
familiar fear mongering tactics

621
00:32:35,164 --> 00:32:38,376
regarding the rising
popularity of horror films.

622
00:32:38,376 --> 00:32:39,210
VCR Horrors.

623
00:32:39,210 --> 00:32:40,461
Half of American households

624
00:32:40,461 --> 00:32:44,007
now have video cassette
recorders, and for many children,

625
00:32:44,007 --> 00:32:46,092
they're a ticket to R-rated gore

626
00:32:46,092 --> 00:32:48,845
that the kids are too
young to see at the movies.

627
00:32:48,845 --> 00:32:51,764
So do you know what your
children are watching?

628
00:32:51,764 --> 00:32:54,350
Well, parents and psychologists
are very concerned,

629
00:32:54,350 --> 00:32:57,186
and tonight Bob Brown will show us why.

630
00:32:57,186 --> 00:32:59,522
Two films seem to have
provided the impetus

631
00:32:59,522 --> 00:33:02,650
for productions to become
more and more explicit.

632
00:33:02,650 --> 00:33:05,612
The first was "Night of
the Living Dead" in 1968,

633
00:33:05,612 --> 00:33:08,239
and the second was the 1974 release

634
00:33:08,239 --> 00:33:10,658
of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

635
00:33:10,658 --> 00:33:13,453
Each was made for less than $200,000

636
00:33:13,453 --> 00:33:16,748
and they reportedly have
grossed more than $50 million

637
00:33:16,748 --> 00:33:18,374
a piece.

638
00:33:18,374 --> 00:33:20,668
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and its sequel,

639
00:33:20,668 --> 00:33:22,962
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2"

640
00:33:22,962 --> 00:33:24,672
are still two of the biggest hits

641
00:33:24,672 --> 00:33:26,549
in the video rental market.

642
00:33:26,549 --> 00:33:30,345
It is the explosion of that
video rental market that fuels

643
00:33:30,345 --> 00:33:32,347
the modern horror films.

644
00:33:32,347 --> 00:33:34,307
Kids get the movies
from the horror section

645
00:33:34,307 --> 00:33:35,808
of the video store.

646
00:33:35,808 --> 00:33:38,227
Most of the violent movies are rated R,

647
00:33:38,227 --> 00:33:42,398
and aren't supposed to be seen
unless you're 17 years old.

648
00:33:42,398 --> 00:33:44,692
Others are made directly on videotape

649
00:33:44,692 --> 00:33:47,111
and bypass the rating system altogether.

650
00:33:47,111 --> 00:33:48,821
One such film centralizes

651
00:33:48,821 --> 00:33:51,449
the relationship between
renting horror movies

652
00:33:51,449 --> 00:33:53,826
and customer's relationships to them,

653
00:33:53,826 --> 00:33:56,537
1987's "Video Violence."

654
00:33:59,624 --> 00:34:02,460
"Video Violence" is a low
budget shot on video horror film

655
00:34:02,460 --> 00:34:05,046
that takes up a dialogue
with similar movies.

656
00:34:05,046 --> 00:34:07,090
The film was directed by Gary Cohen,

657
00:34:07,090 --> 00:34:09,759
who owned a video store in the 1980's.

658
00:34:09,759 --> 00:34:12,303
Cohen has said he made the
movie because he was intrigued

659
00:34:12,303 --> 00:34:14,764
by the odd logic of his renters

660
00:34:14,764 --> 00:34:16,474
for whom violence was acceptable,

661
00:34:16,474 --> 00:34:19,602
but nudity and sexuality unacceptable,

662
00:34:19,602 --> 00:34:20,979
particularly for children.

663
00:34:22,814 --> 00:34:25,108
What's the rating on this?

664
00:34:25,108 --> 00:34:26,526
Huh?
- The rating, what is it?

665
00:34:26,526 --> 00:34:29,654
Oh, it's probably written on there. R.

666
00:34:29,654 --> 00:34:31,698
Oh, is that for nudity?

667
00:34:31,698 --> 00:34:32,615
I really don't know,

668
00:34:32,615 --> 00:34:33,491
but I doubt it's for nudity.

669
00:34:33,491 --> 00:34:35,076
It's probably for all the violence.

670
00:34:35,076 --> 00:34:35,910
Oh, good.

671
00:34:35,910 --> 00:34:36,744
Okay, then I'll take it.

672
00:34:36,744 --> 00:34:37,578
The kids can watch it.

673
00:34:38,496 --> 00:34:39,914
Additionally, he noticed

674
00:34:39,914 --> 00:34:42,667
that some very low budget
shot on video horror films

675
00:34:42,667 --> 00:34:44,502
were popular among his clientele.

676
00:34:45,378 --> 00:34:47,005
"Video Violence" depicts a man

677
00:34:47,005 --> 00:34:50,091
who has moved from New York
City to Frenchtown, New Jersey

678
00:34:50,091 --> 00:34:52,176
to open a video store.

679
00:34:52,176 --> 00:34:54,971
I'm Joanna Barker, I am
visiting my aunt and uncle

680
00:34:54,971 --> 00:34:57,849
for a short vacation and I
thought I'd like to rent a movie.

681
00:34:57,849 --> 00:35:00,393
They're club members
and I have their card.

682
00:35:00,393 --> 00:35:03,312
The narrative is
striking for several reasons.

683
00:35:03,312 --> 00:35:06,816
As a time capsule of video
store logistics in the 1980's,

684
00:35:06,816 --> 00:35:10,153
for its examination of media
infrastructures of the era,

685
00:35:10,153 --> 00:35:13,322
and for its duplicitous
positioning of video

686
00:35:13,322 --> 00:35:15,199
as a dangerous technology,

687
00:35:15,199 --> 00:35:18,411
functioning as exactly what
it sets out to satirize.

688
00:35:18,411 --> 00:35:21,080
What's the matter?
- Nothing. Nothing.

689
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:22,498
You just threw us. That's all.

690
00:35:22,498 --> 00:35:24,167
I mean, you're the first
person in ages to ask

691
00:35:24,167 --> 00:35:27,420
for a comedy rather than a slasher film.

692
00:35:27,420 --> 00:35:29,756
The film implicitly
remarks upon the explosion

693
00:35:29,756 --> 00:35:32,008
of new video stores in the late 1980's,

694
00:35:32,008 --> 00:35:33,634
as well as the wild proliferation

695
00:35:33,634 --> 00:35:36,971
of low budget horror videos
the market help facilitate.

696
00:35:36,971 --> 00:35:37,805
How are you today?

697
00:35:37,805 --> 00:35:38,806
Get something for you?

698
00:35:38,806 --> 00:35:40,475
You got that chain saw movie?

699
00:35:42,435 --> 00:35:43,227
I'll get it.

700
00:35:44,103 --> 00:35:45,480
Directed by a video store owner,

701
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:47,940
"Video Violence" serves
as an insider's record

702
00:35:47,940 --> 00:35:51,194
of the uneven dispersal of
media technology during the era.

703
00:35:52,195 --> 00:35:53,863
Everyone who comes in here has had a VCR

704
00:35:53,863 --> 00:35:55,448
for at least a year or so,
and the nearest rental store

705
00:35:55,448 --> 00:35:57,450
is about 15 miles away.

706
00:35:58,826 --> 00:35:59,660
I guess they were just happy

707
00:35:59,660 --> 00:36:01,329
to tape off a cable.

708
00:36:01,329 --> 00:36:02,413
What cable?

709
00:36:02,413 --> 00:36:04,082
Ain't no cable in Frenchtown

710
00:36:04,082 --> 00:36:05,666
and the reception's for shit too,

711
00:36:05,666 --> 00:36:08,503
and they don't allow any
of those satellite dishes.

712
00:36:08,503 --> 00:36:10,630
This expresses that
the filmmakers were conscious

713
00:36:10,630 --> 00:36:13,299
of the limited use of VCRs at the time,

714
00:36:13,299 --> 00:36:15,676
particularly in more remote locations.

715
00:36:16,636 --> 00:36:19,680
This moment dramatizes how
video rental was tangled up

716
00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:21,891
in a much wider media infrastructure,

717
00:36:21,891 --> 00:36:23,726
comprising many different technologies

718
00:36:23,726 --> 00:36:25,686
and modes of distribution.

719
00:36:25,686 --> 00:36:27,313
Here, these are on time.

720
00:36:27,313 --> 00:36:28,689
One of the
reasons the video store

721
00:36:28,689 --> 00:36:31,400
within the diegesis of "Video
Violence" is successful

722
00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,362
is that movies on tape did
not have to compete with TV,

723
00:36:34,362 --> 00:36:36,322
cable, or satellite in the region.

724
00:36:37,406 --> 00:36:38,950
This is weird.

725
00:36:38,950 --> 00:36:39,784
I don't think

726
00:36:39,784 --> 00:36:41,828
that's one of your tapes.
- Let me see.

727
00:36:41,828 --> 00:36:43,371
Yeah, you're right. This isn't a rental.

728
00:36:43,371 --> 00:36:44,664
They must have left my tape in the machine

729
00:36:44,664 --> 00:36:46,833
and returned one of their
their blank cassettes instead.

730
00:36:46,833 --> 00:36:48,417
It happens. Put it aside.

731
00:36:48,417 --> 00:36:51,420
They'll realize their
mistake and be back in later.

732
00:36:51,420 --> 00:36:52,463
You wanna watch it?

733
00:37:00,471 --> 00:37:02,557
Shit, Howard, it ain't
gonna be easy to cut

734
00:37:02,557 --> 00:37:04,809
with his hands tied up like this.

735
00:37:04,809 --> 00:37:05,935
Holy shit.

736
00:37:07,395 --> 00:37:09,355
This looks very, very real,

737
00:37:09,355 --> 00:37:10,189
Look, man, that is real.

738
00:37:10,189 --> 00:37:11,607
That guy getting cut up is Reggie Hobbs.

739
00:37:11,607 --> 00:37:13,693
He's a frigging postmaster.

740
00:37:13,693 --> 00:37:15,486
As the movie
continues, it becomes clear

741
00:37:15,486 --> 00:37:18,322
that some local townspeople
are making snuff videos

742
00:37:18,322 --> 00:37:20,616
and the owner and his wife
get embroiled in solving

743
00:37:20,616 --> 00:37:23,619
the mystery of who is
committing the murders.

744
00:37:23,619 --> 00:37:26,914
The movie reveals that
in fact, the entire town

745
00:37:26,914 --> 00:37:30,376
is engaged in the production
and consumption of the snuff.

746
00:37:58,654 --> 00:38:00,907
Released one year after "Video Violence,"

747
00:38:00,907 --> 00:38:03,701
1988's "Remote Control" is the culmination

748
00:38:03,701 --> 00:38:06,120
of the decades trend that video stores

749
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:09,999
and obsessive video consumption
will result in experiences

750
00:38:09,999 --> 00:38:12,710
that mirror, for better or worse

751
00:38:12,710 --> 00:38:15,171
the tapes consumers are watching.

752
00:38:15,171 --> 00:38:18,925
Instead of adult fantasy or
slasher inspired violence,

753
00:38:18,925 --> 00:38:20,927
the film tells a story in which videotapes

754
00:38:20,927 --> 00:38:24,639
of a 1950's science fiction
film are distributed by aliens

755
00:38:24,639 --> 00:38:27,225
as a means of brainwashing humans.

756
00:38:27,225 --> 00:38:29,560
The video store in "Remote
Control" is located

757
00:38:29,560 --> 00:38:32,230
inside the lobby of a
closed movie theater,

758
00:38:32,230 --> 00:38:35,775
signaling that as early
as 1988 video was becoming

759
00:38:35,775 --> 00:38:37,777
the dominant means of movie consumption.

760
00:38:46,494 --> 00:38:47,578
Cosmo, stop stackin’

761
00:38:47,578 --> 00:38:49,622
and help me set this display up, will you?

762
00:38:57,463 --> 00:38:59,382
The store boasts
a massive advertisement

763
00:38:59,382 --> 00:39:02,843
for the brainwashing tape
known as "Remote Control."

764
00:39:02,843 --> 00:39:05,263
Though exaggerated, the display reflects

765
00:39:05,263 --> 00:39:07,306
the increasing marketing
techniques of distributors

766
00:39:07,306 --> 00:39:08,391
and video stores.

767
00:39:09,392 --> 00:39:10,601
All right.

768
00:39:10,601 --> 00:39:12,645
Yeah.
- "Remote Control."

769
00:39:13,604 --> 00:39:15,189
This sales guy comes
in here the other day,

770
00:39:15,189 --> 00:39:17,608
he's handing out sample cassettes free

771
00:39:17,608 --> 00:39:18,776
if you run this display.

772
00:39:18,776 --> 00:39:23,781
So I took two and we get
a mirror out of the deal.

773
00:39:35,293 --> 00:39:36,460
"In Remote Control,"

774
00:39:36,460 --> 00:39:38,838
the promotional display becomes nefarious,

775
00:39:38,838 --> 00:39:41,674
turning a common site that you
might see in any video store

776
00:39:41,674 --> 00:39:42,967
into something sinister.

777
00:39:46,220 --> 00:39:47,054
Come on, Cosmo.

778
00:39:47,054 --> 00:39:48,681
Don't crack up on me now, huh?

779
00:39:48,681 --> 00:39:50,182
Come on.

780
00:39:50,182 --> 00:39:52,310
The young man discovers
an evil alien plot and

781
00:39:52,310 --> 00:39:54,895
must race against time to save mankind

782
00:39:54,895 --> 00:39:56,772
from self-destruction.

783
00:39:56,772 --> 00:39:59,734
Aliens. That's what was
controlling the woman in the movie.

784
00:40:02,069 --> 00:40:04,613
Like "Disconnected,"
the film accurately depicts

785
00:40:04,613 --> 00:40:07,867
that at this time, not
far from most video stores

786
00:40:07,867 --> 00:40:09,493
is another video store.

787
00:40:09,493 --> 00:40:11,662
That guy handing out sample
cassettes must have given 'em

788
00:40:11,662 --> 00:40:12,705
to other stores.

789
00:40:13,831 --> 00:40:15,541
Where's the nearest video store?

790
00:40:17,501 --> 00:40:19,587
Satellite Video on Arsley Road.

791
00:40:21,881 --> 00:40:24,133
Having vanquished the
threat from their own store,

792
00:40:24,133 --> 00:40:26,594
the characters have to visit
all the other video stores

793
00:40:26,594 --> 00:40:28,763
in town to make sure no other copies

794
00:40:28,763 --> 00:40:30,514
of "Remote Control" are circulating.

795
00:40:30,514 --> 00:40:35,519
Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo, come on.

796
00:40:40,691 --> 00:40:41,525
Get down!

797
00:40:43,694 --> 00:40:45,071
You too!

798
00:40:45,071 --> 00:40:47,323
What's that display doing there?

799
00:40:47,323 --> 00:40:48,449
Why did you aim it at my eyes?

800
00:40:48,449 --> 00:40:49,950
I'm sorry, but you're
gonna have to get away

801
00:40:49,950 --> 00:40:50,868
from the counter.

802
00:40:51,994 --> 00:40:54,372
Oh, don't worry. It's not a holdup.

803
00:41:00,294 --> 00:41:02,380
I'm the manager, eat shit and die!

804
00:41:04,215 --> 00:41:06,425
The spectacle
and cinematic reality

805
00:41:06,425 --> 00:41:09,011
of the videotapes themselves upend

806
00:41:09,011 --> 00:41:10,805
the previously mundane existence

807
00:41:10,805 --> 00:41:11,889
of the characters,

808
00:41:11,889 --> 00:41:14,350
suggesting that the
tape you decide to rent,

809
00:41:14,350 --> 00:41:17,478
be it pornography,
horror, or science fiction

810
00:41:17,478 --> 00:41:21,232
will have an immediate and
overt influence on your life.

811
00:41:29,073 --> 00:41:31,409
Meta textual commentary that plays

812
00:41:31,409 --> 00:41:33,619
with a relationship between tapes rented

813
00:41:33,619 --> 00:41:36,664
and violence befalling the
characters also features

814
00:41:36,664 --> 00:41:38,958
in the shot on super
eight millimeter film,

815
00:41:38,958 --> 00:41:40,418
"The Dead Next Door."

816
00:41:57,226 --> 00:41:59,186
Ultimately, no film better represents

817
00:41:59,186 --> 00:42:00,855
the shifting video retail landscape

818
00:42:00,855 --> 00:42:03,941
at the close of the 1980's
and the dawn of the 1990's

819
00:42:03,941 --> 00:42:05,234
than Troma Entertainment's,

820
00:42:05,234 --> 00:42:07,445
"The Toxic Avenger Part III:

821
00:42:07,445 --> 00:42:09,989
The Last Temptation of Toxie."

822
00:42:09,989 --> 00:42:12,241
Drop those video cassettes,

823
00:42:12,241 --> 00:42:15,244
or I'll blow your brains out!

824
00:42:16,829 --> 00:42:18,998
Released in November, 1989,

825
00:42:18,998 --> 00:42:21,834
the film is both a summation
of the independent ethos

826
00:42:21,834 --> 00:42:23,878
that defined Troma throughout the 80's

827
00:42:23,878 --> 00:42:25,963
and a stunningly accurate forecast

828
00:42:25,963 --> 00:42:28,424
of the corporate takeover
of the video store industry

829
00:42:28,424 --> 00:42:30,217
that will define the 90's.

830
00:42:30,217 --> 00:42:33,220
There's too much variety in this store.

831
00:42:33,220 --> 00:42:35,598
Now that this is a company town,

832
00:42:35,598 --> 00:42:39,101
you're all gonna rent
company tapes, right?

833
00:42:39,101 --> 00:42:41,145
No!
- That's right.

834
00:42:41,145 --> 00:42:44,356
From now on, only the top 20
video tapes will be available

835
00:42:44,356 --> 00:42:45,441
in this store.

836
00:42:45,441 --> 00:42:48,235
The top five, "The Apocalypse"
self improvement tapes

837
00:42:48,235 --> 00:42:50,070
from Apocalypse Inc.

838
00:42:50,070 --> 00:42:51,822
But we like variety.

839
00:42:51,822 --> 00:42:53,949
We like having a lot of choices.

840
00:42:53,949 --> 00:42:56,160
We don't want just top 20.

841
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,662
We like those movies from Troma!

842
00:42:58,662 --> 00:43:00,414
Screw Troma movies!

843
00:43:02,249 --> 00:43:04,210
When a New York
City based chemical company

844
00:43:04,210 --> 00:43:06,253
called Apocalypse Inc moves

845
00:43:06,253 --> 00:43:08,506
to take over Tromaville New Jersey,

846
00:43:08,506 --> 00:43:11,050
there outlandish goons
enact plans to strip

847
00:43:11,050 --> 00:43:12,968
the town of its individuality,

848
00:43:12,968 --> 00:43:15,429
forcing the corporate
agenda on the townspeople

849
00:43:15,429 --> 00:43:17,973
and specifically their video store.

850
00:43:20,309 --> 00:43:24,522
Tear it up!

851
00:43:25,814 --> 00:43:27,274
Many of the posters hanging above

852
00:43:27,274 --> 00:43:30,152
the store's tapes advertise
other Troma releases

853
00:43:30,152 --> 00:43:34,156
such as "Combat Shock," "Troma's War,"

854
00:43:34,156 --> 00:43:38,285
"Class of Newcomb High,"
"Redneck Zombies,"

855
00:43:38,285 --> 00:43:40,287
and the first "Toxic Avenger" film.

856
00:43:41,497 --> 00:43:45,334
But if this seems like a bit
of sly self-referential winking

857
00:43:45,334 --> 00:43:46,835
on behalf of Troma's founder

858
00:43:46,835 --> 00:43:49,338
and this film's
co-director, Lloyd Kaufman,

859
00:43:49,338 --> 00:43:51,757
the next decade will see
Troma posters decorating

860
00:43:51,757 --> 00:43:54,051
the walls of video stores
and mainstream films,

861
00:43:54,051 --> 00:43:56,971
and television to almost
an astonishing degree.

862
00:43:58,639 --> 00:44:01,559
Whether it's "Femme Fontaine: Killer Babe for the CIA"

863
00:44:01,559 --> 00:44:02,643
being subconsciously

864
00:44:02,643 --> 00:44:04,061
introduced to teenage viewers

865
00:44:04,061 --> 00:44:06,522
of a broadcast television drama.

866
00:44:06,522 --> 00:44:10,401
A shelf with many Troma
films categorized as classics

867
00:44:10,401 --> 00:44:11,819
in a subversive comedy.

868
00:44:14,905 --> 00:44:17,408
"The Toxic Avenger" himself
being used as shorthand

869
00:44:17,408 --> 00:44:20,119
for a budding psychopath's
desensitization to violence

870
00:44:20,119 --> 00:44:21,453
in a European art film.

871
00:44:27,126 --> 00:44:30,254
Troma release "Evil Clutch"
being used as window dressing

872
00:44:30,254 --> 00:44:33,841
to represent disreputable
Times Square style exploitation

873
00:44:33,841 --> 00:44:36,927
in an early 90's Hollywood action comedy.

874
00:44:36,927 --> 00:44:41,015
Or "Tromeo and Juliet" being
featured in a mainstream

875
00:44:41,015 --> 00:44:43,475
as mainstream gets summer blockbuster.

876
00:44:43,475 --> 00:44:44,435
It's all stopped up,

877
00:44:44,435 --> 00:44:46,645
so you're gonna have to pee in the si-

878
00:44:50,983 --> 00:44:52,526
You still think I'm paranoid?

879
00:44:52,526 --> 00:44:53,360
Yeah.

880
00:44:58,532 --> 00:44:59,992
As time progressed,

881
00:44:59,992 --> 00:45:03,078
Troma Entertainment was
consistently front and center,

882
00:45:03,078 --> 00:45:06,206
wherever movies used video
stores and film exhibition

883
00:45:06,206 --> 00:45:07,625
to talk about themselves.

884
00:45:13,922 --> 00:45:17,343
However, here at the end of
the 1980's, these heavies

885
00:45:17,343 --> 00:45:19,970
from Apocalypse Inc literally destroy

886
00:45:19,970 --> 00:45:22,473
the store's eclectic selection in favor

887
00:45:22,473 --> 00:45:25,434
of homogenous offerings
from the major studios,

888
00:45:25,434 --> 00:45:27,770
anticipating how Troma films will be seen

889
00:45:27,770 --> 00:45:30,814
as esoteric rather than
mainstream adjacent

890
00:45:30,814 --> 00:45:31,982
as they would've been throughout

891
00:45:31,982 --> 00:45:34,401
the less regulated video store era

892
00:45:34,401 --> 00:45:36,737
that is now coming to a close.

893
00:45:36,737 --> 00:45:39,657
Yeah!

894
00:45:39,657 --> 00:45:40,574
The gleeful destruction

895
00:45:40,574 --> 00:45:44,703
of this store was in 1989 a
comedic set piece with little

896
00:45:44,703 --> 00:45:46,205
or no broader meaning.

897
00:45:47,039 --> 00:45:49,375
However, looking back on it now,

898
00:45:49,375 --> 00:45:52,711
what was once farce has become tragedy.

899
00:45:52,711 --> 00:45:57,466
Toxie, the character thus
represents an independent company.

900
00:45:57,466 --> 00:45:59,718
He is literally Troma's mascot

901
00:45:59,718 --> 00:46:01,428
and an independent video store,

902
00:46:01,428 --> 00:46:03,597
such as the one in which
this scene takes place,

903
00:46:03,597 --> 00:46:06,266
fighting what is soon
to be a losing battle

904
00:46:06,266 --> 00:46:08,644
against the Blockbusters of the world.

905
00:46:08,644 --> 00:46:11,730
Whose total dominance of
the video rental landscape

906
00:46:11,730 --> 00:46:15,025
will reach its apex in the 1990's.

907
00:46:15,943 --> 00:46:17,528
People of "Tromaville,"

908
00:46:17,528 --> 00:46:21,323
"The Toxic Avenger's"
back better than ever.

909
00:46:22,324 --> 00:46:24,034
Toxic Avenger's back.

910
00:46:24,034 --> 00:46:26,787
He's a real man.
- Yeah, he is.

911
00:46:32,418 --> 00:46:34,044
Thank you. Thank you, Toxic.

912
00:46:34,044 --> 00:46:35,587
You saved us.

913
00:46:35,587 --> 00:46:37,506
Yeah, but it was a rough day,

914
00:46:37,506 --> 00:46:39,842
even for a hideously deformed creature

915
00:46:39,842 --> 00:46:41,719
of superhuman size and strength.

916
00:46:42,636 --> 00:46:45,556
What a mensch.

917
00:47:04,032 --> 00:47:06,994
From the late
1980's through the 1990's

918
00:47:06,994 --> 00:47:09,455
due to the increased
prominence of chain stores,

919
00:47:09,455 --> 00:47:12,291
video stores caught up with
theaters as a primary location

920
00:47:12,291 --> 00:47:13,876
of movie culture in America,

921
00:47:14,710 --> 00:47:19,131
whereas there were only 94
blockbuster locations in 1987.

922
00:47:19,131 --> 00:47:24,136
By 1991, there were over 1600
stores operating in 44 states.

923
00:47:24,219 --> 00:47:25,220
Volume eight of "Police Woman"

924
00:47:25,220 --> 00:47:28,474
is missing 11 seconds off its end credits.

925
00:47:28,474 --> 00:47:30,726
Anybody else complained about it?

926
00:47:30,726 --> 00:47:33,187
No one else has ever rented it.

927
00:47:33,187 --> 00:47:34,938
It's American history.

928
00:47:34,938 --> 00:47:36,106
Throughout the 90's,

929
00:47:36,106 --> 00:47:38,650
blockbuster status as the
industry leader allowed it

930
00:47:38,650 --> 00:47:42,321
to explore further non-video
based business endeavors.

931
00:47:42,321 --> 00:47:44,698
Each year, thousands of
children are reported missing

932
00:47:44,698 --> 00:47:46,116
and there's something you can do now

933
00:47:46,116 --> 00:47:47,659
to help safeguard your child

934
00:47:47,659 --> 00:47:49,536
just in case the unthinkable happens.

935
00:47:49,536 --> 00:47:51,580
It's called Kidprint,
and here's how it works.

936
00:47:51,580 --> 00:47:52,956
Throughout the month of June,

937
00:47:52,956 --> 00:47:54,792
bring your child in a blank video tape

938
00:47:54,792 --> 00:47:56,919
into your local blockbuster video store.

939
00:47:56,919 --> 00:47:59,004
Blockbuster will tape
your child free of charge,

940
00:47:59,004 --> 00:48:00,881
and you'll have the tape for safekeeping.

941
00:48:00,881 --> 00:48:02,966
Police say, this can be a
vital tool in the search

942
00:48:02,966 --> 00:48:03,967
for missing children.

943
00:48:03,967 --> 00:48:05,803
Contact your local blockbuster video

944
00:48:05,803 --> 00:48:08,055
to learn more about Kidprint.

945
00:48:08,055 --> 00:48:09,223
Its growth and expansion

946
00:48:09,223 --> 00:48:10,724
were of constant interest.

947
00:48:11,600 --> 00:48:14,228
Suddenly, a new retail empire existed

948
00:48:14,228 --> 00:48:16,146
where there had been nothing.

949
00:48:16,146 --> 00:48:19,024
It took video stores just
over a decade to achieve

950
00:48:19,024 --> 00:48:21,819
what took cinemas more
than half a century.

951
00:48:21,819 --> 00:48:24,655
Proliferation of identical
impersonal chains

952
00:48:24,655 --> 00:48:27,866
that replaced unique local and
one of a kind establishments.

953
00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:31,954
I need this fucking stupid bullshit job,

954
00:48:31,954 --> 00:48:34,164
like I need to get my fucking head torn off.

955
00:48:39,837 --> 00:48:40,671
Video Update

956
00:48:40,671 --> 00:48:43,715
is continuing its unbelievable
deal for you every Tuesday

957
00:48:43,715 --> 00:48:45,008
throughout the holiday season.

958
00:48:45,008 --> 00:48:47,344
The 1990's
witnessed the standardization

959
00:48:47,344 --> 00:48:49,763
of the video store space
in terms of architecture,

960
00:48:49,763 --> 00:48:52,391
the large clean store
design of corporate chains.

961
00:48:52,391 --> 00:48:55,602
Geography as corporate chains
became the norm in many parts

962
00:48:55,602 --> 00:48:58,355
of the country and taste,
with a large number

963
00:48:58,355 --> 00:49:01,608
of Hollywood movies and lack
of imagination and marketing.

964
00:49:03,235 --> 00:49:05,195
♪ Come see the difference ♪

965
00:49:05,195 --> 00:49:07,489
♪ At Nature Video ♪

966
00:49:07,489 --> 00:49:09,366
Its here. They got it.

967
00:49:09,366 --> 00:49:11,618
They have lots and lots
of kids stuff for us.

968
00:49:11,618 --> 00:49:13,662
One of
the largest selections,

969
00:49:13,662 --> 00:49:15,455
32 different categories.

970
00:49:15,455 --> 00:49:16,290
See it.

971
00:49:17,457 --> 00:49:19,751
This alteration in
video store culture occurred

972
00:49:19,751 --> 00:49:22,754
in the context of an
explosion and standardization

973
00:49:22,754 --> 00:49:25,799
of retail spaces more
broadly in the 1990's.

974
00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:28,719
The book world was overtaken at this time

975
00:49:28,719 --> 00:49:31,346
by superstores such as Borders,

976
00:49:31,346 --> 00:49:33,265
and Barnes and Noble.

977
00:49:33,265 --> 00:49:36,935
Like Blockbuster, these
enormous well organized stores

978
00:49:36,935 --> 00:49:39,646
appealed to customer's desire for options.

979
00:49:39,646 --> 00:49:41,982
As depicted on screen during these years,

980
00:49:41,982 --> 00:49:45,277
the video stores shifted from
a place of forbidden knowledge

981
00:49:45,277 --> 00:49:48,780
into a space as normalized as bookstores.

982
00:49:48,780 --> 00:49:51,283
Now, to depict a video store on screen

983
00:49:51,283 --> 00:49:55,287
was to portray familiar and
even mundane behavior in spaces.

984
00:49:56,163 --> 00:49:57,831
This is a great movie.

985
00:50:00,667 --> 00:50:05,047
Ah, this is a bad, bad movie.

986
00:50:05,047 --> 00:50:07,299
They're all bad movies.

987
00:50:09,426 --> 00:50:11,720
Every movie in this store is a bad movie.

988
00:50:12,721 --> 00:50:15,015
Throughout the 1990's and beyond,

989
00:50:15,015 --> 00:50:18,143
representations of video stores
became intrinsically linked

990
00:50:18,143 --> 00:50:21,730
to socially awkward interactions,
either romantic courtship

991
00:50:21,730 --> 00:50:23,941
or undesirable encounters.

992
00:50:23,941 --> 00:50:25,984
These encounters took on various forms,

993
00:50:25,984 --> 00:50:29,863
many featuring rude, irritating,
or unhelpful employees.

994
00:50:29,863 --> 00:50:32,199
This frustration was now commonplace,

995
00:50:32,199 --> 00:50:34,242
creating and solidifying stereotypes

996
00:50:34,242 --> 00:50:36,703
of video store employees
that have outlasted

997
00:50:36,703 --> 00:50:38,038
the stores themselves.

998
00:50:39,373 --> 00:50:40,332
You put your mom down

999
00:50:40,332 --> 00:50:42,668
as a reference.
- Yeah. Why not?

1000
00:50:42,668 --> 00:50:44,294
She's like super well respected.

1001
00:50:45,128 --> 00:50:46,505
You're such a dingus.

1002
00:50:48,966 --> 00:50:51,343
Just to be clear, we
weren't fired, you know,

1003
00:50:51,343 --> 00:50:54,554
The mall burned down and like
killed a bunch of people.

1004
00:50:56,390 --> 00:50:58,934
Thanks for sharing. Didn't know.

1005
00:50:58,934 --> 00:50:59,977
Nearly as common,

1006
00:50:59,977 --> 00:51:01,937
especially in the medium of television

1007
00:51:01,937 --> 00:51:05,232
are encounters tied to romantic failure.

1008
00:51:05,232 --> 00:51:06,483
Look, you're gonna have to help me out here

1009
00:51:06,483 --> 00:51:08,443
because I only have three.

1010
00:51:08,443 --> 00:51:12,072
I can help with that.
- Oh my God.

1011
00:51:13,240 --> 00:51:14,574
Richard?

1012
00:51:14,574 --> 00:51:15,867
Video stores were used

1013
00:51:15,867 --> 00:51:17,703
to suggest the excitement, romance,

1014
00:51:17,703 --> 00:51:19,663
and drama of the cinema as opposed

1015
00:51:19,663 --> 00:51:21,623
to the mundane experience of browsing.

1016
00:51:22,708 --> 00:51:24,543
Oh yes. "Wuthering Heights."

1017
00:51:24,543 --> 00:51:27,462
Kathy, Kathy, my wild sweet.

1018
00:51:27,462 --> 00:51:29,881
Okay. No, Kathy.

1019
00:51:29,881 --> 00:51:30,924
How about, how about...

1020
00:51:31,883 --> 00:51:32,718
Oh, excuse me.

1021
00:51:34,386 --> 00:51:36,304
How about Katie?

1022
00:51:36,304 --> 00:51:37,806
Katie?
- "The Way We Were."

1023
00:51:38,724 --> 00:51:41,893
Oh, "See ya, Hubbell,".
-Right.

1024
00:51:41,893 --> 00:51:42,978
And then what does he say?

1025
00:51:42,978 --> 00:51:44,271
What does he say?

1026
00:51:44,271 --> 00:51:46,898
"See you, Katie."
- Right.

1027
00:51:47,983 --> 00:51:50,027
Because video
stores were defined primarily

1028
00:51:50,027 --> 00:51:53,989
by renting, the tapes must
be returned to the store.

1029
00:51:53,989 --> 00:51:56,742
They circulate home into
the viewer's private lives

1030
00:51:56,742 --> 00:51:58,618
before getting pulled back,

1031
00:51:58,618 --> 00:52:01,663
but this circulation
creates potential conflict.

1032
00:52:01,663 --> 00:52:04,833
Being in public at the
video store it seems

1033
00:52:04,833 --> 00:52:06,710
was a cause for concern.

1034
00:52:07,586 --> 00:52:09,087
You're welcome.

1035
00:52:10,922 --> 00:52:12,549
In this way, the
video rental experience

1036
00:52:12,549 --> 00:52:15,177
took on a significance
that extended beyond

1037
00:52:15,177 --> 00:52:17,387
the video stores themselves.

1038
00:52:17,387 --> 00:52:18,930
Don't you hate that.

1039
00:52:18,930 --> 00:52:21,099
Come all the way down here
yourself to the store,

1040
00:52:21,099 --> 00:52:22,225
wait patiently, and then somebody

1041
00:52:22,225 --> 00:52:25,395
who calls in from home gets
preferential treatment.

1042
00:52:25,395 --> 00:52:27,731
I can help the next person in line.

1043
00:52:30,525 --> 00:52:32,986
It accords with an
uneasiness people might feel

1044
00:52:32,986 --> 00:52:34,905
while shopping in public.

1045
00:52:34,905 --> 00:52:36,865
We may run into someone
we don't wanna see.

1046
00:52:36,865 --> 00:52:39,868
We may be judged or
ridiculed for our tastes.

1047
00:52:39,868 --> 00:52:41,244
We seek satisfaction,

1048
00:52:41,244 --> 00:52:44,039
but worry that our
desires will not be met.

1049
00:52:44,039 --> 00:52:45,791
Don't even think about it!

1050
00:52:49,211 --> 00:52:51,254
I'm looking for "How Green Was My Valley."

1051
00:52:51,254 --> 00:52:52,089
Huh?

1052
00:52:53,298 --> 00:52:56,384
It is a beautifully
acted depiction of life

1053
00:52:56,384 --> 00:52:58,053
in a small town in Wales.

1054
00:52:58,053 --> 00:52:59,763
It won five Academy awards.

1055
00:52:59,763 --> 00:53:00,889
It's a classic.
- Oh.

1056
00:53:00,889 --> 00:53:03,100
Well, this is a shot in the dark,

1057
00:53:03,100 --> 00:53:06,228
but you might try looking
in the classics section.

1058
00:53:09,189 --> 00:53:11,441
This problem
is repeatedly dramatized

1059
00:53:11,441 --> 00:53:13,777
through scenes where
characters have unexpected

1060
00:53:13,777 --> 00:53:15,529
or unpleasant interactions,

1061
00:53:15,529 --> 00:53:18,824
which are in part driven by
an eruption of private issues

1062
00:53:18,824 --> 00:53:20,826
into public space.

1063
00:53:20,826 --> 00:53:22,285
How about this one, Amelia?

1064
00:53:23,620 --> 00:53:25,539
Bugs that latch onto people's flesh

1065
00:53:25,539 --> 00:53:28,333
and make their insides explode, sure.

1066
00:53:28,333 --> 00:53:29,584
You don't like those kind of movies?

1067
00:53:29,584 --> 00:53:31,169
I love 'em if they're well done.

1068
00:53:32,295 --> 00:53:33,463
In "Walking and Talking",

1069
00:53:33,463 --> 00:53:36,133
the character, Amelia, rents a
movie while chatting amiably

1070
00:53:36,133 --> 00:53:37,843
with a scruffy clerk name Bill.

1071
00:53:38,760 --> 00:53:40,303
After several interactions,

1072
00:53:40,303 --> 00:53:44,474
some of which involve movies,
he asks her on a date.

1073
00:53:44,474 --> 00:53:46,601
They clearly have different tastes,

1074
00:53:46,601 --> 00:53:48,937
and although she feels awkward about it,

1075
00:53:48,937 --> 00:53:50,647
she agrees to go out with him,

1076
00:53:50,647 --> 00:53:53,400
which leads to him spending
the night at her apartment.

1077
00:53:57,237 --> 00:53:58,363
Hi, it's me.

1078
00:53:58,363 --> 00:54:01,533
Oh, I guess you're still out with the...

1079
00:54:01,533 --> 00:54:02,367
What is his name, anyway?

1080
00:54:02,367 --> 00:54:04,161
You always just call him the ugly guy.

1081
00:54:05,036 --> 00:54:06,705
God, I can't believe
you're still out with him.

1082
00:54:06,705 --> 00:54:09,207
Does this mean he'll give
you free video rentals?

1083
00:54:09,207 --> 00:54:10,417
After he avoids her,

1084
00:54:10,417 --> 00:54:12,419
the only place she can reliably find him

1085
00:54:12,419 --> 00:54:13,670
is behind the counter.

1086
00:54:16,756 --> 00:54:19,301
Hi, Bill.
- Hi. How you doing?

1087
00:54:22,053 --> 00:54:27,058
Fine. I was wondering, do
you have "Jaws" in stock?

1088
00:54:28,185 --> 00:54:29,186
Yeah, I think so.

1089
00:54:32,105 --> 00:54:32,939
I haven't seen you around.

1090
00:54:32,939 --> 00:54:33,857
Where you been?

1091
00:54:33,857 --> 00:54:35,317
You haven't rented lately.

1092
00:54:36,443 --> 00:54:37,527
The moment is awkward,

1093
00:54:37,527 --> 00:54:39,863
in part because the many
other customers are caught up

1094
00:54:39,863 --> 00:54:41,781
in an unwelcome emotional scene.

1095
00:54:43,408 --> 00:54:47,287
Rented lately. Are you crazy?

1096
00:54:47,287 --> 00:54:50,248
I had sex with you two weeks ago

1097
00:54:50,248 --> 00:54:53,585
and now you're asking me
why I haven't rented lately!

1098
00:54:53,585 --> 00:54:54,628
I don't know.

1099
00:54:54,628 --> 00:54:55,921
I didn't know what to say.

1100
00:54:56,838 --> 00:54:58,506
How about, how about
why haven't you called me?

1101
00:54:58,506 --> 00:54:59,507
How about that?

1102
00:55:00,675 --> 00:55:03,511
I was busy, okay.
- Fine.

1103
00:55:08,975 --> 00:55:10,185
In these exchanges,

1104
00:55:10,185 --> 00:55:12,187
the video store facilitates a movement

1105
00:55:12,187 --> 00:55:15,357
from a casual transaction
of cash for entertainment

1106
00:55:15,357 --> 00:55:18,235
to a romantic encounter
to something more serious

1107
00:55:18,235 --> 00:55:19,903
than either party had intended.

1108
00:55:19,903 --> 00:55:20,946
Suggesting that the video store

1109
00:55:20,946 --> 00:55:25,116
is a place mandating
casualness and nothing more.

1110
00:55:25,116 --> 00:55:27,160
What is it that you want, buddy?

1111
00:55:32,499 --> 00:55:35,919
Your company. The
pleasure of your company.

1112
00:55:38,088 --> 00:55:40,507
I want your input on video rentals.

1113
00:55:40,507 --> 00:55:41,716
I stand there for hours,

1114
00:55:41,716 --> 00:55:42,926
I can't pick anything out.

1115
00:55:44,177 --> 00:55:46,596
Yes, I was standing
over there by that desk.

1116
00:55:46,596 --> 00:55:48,223
No, you were sitting in the chair,

1117
00:55:48,223 --> 00:55:52,269
but suddenly you started
walking toward me very slowly,

1118
00:55:52,269 --> 00:55:53,103
very slowly.

1119
00:55:53,103 --> 00:55:55,105
The interplay between
film literate characters

1120
00:55:55,105 --> 00:55:57,315
espousing knowledge as a means of flirting

1121
00:55:57,315 --> 00:56:01,820
quickly became a staple of video store interaction.

1122
00:56:01,820 --> 00:56:02,946
Oh.
- Oh, I'm so sorry.

1123
00:56:02,946 --> 00:56:04,948
Oh, I'm sorry. You take it.
- No, no, no, that's okay.

1124
00:56:04,948 --> 00:56:05,782
You take it.

1125
00:56:05,782 --> 00:56:06,783
Are you sure?
- You know what?

1126
00:56:06,783 --> 00:56:07,617
You're not gonna like it.

1127
00:56:07,617 --> 00:56:08,451
It's got a twist

1128
00:56:08,451 --> 00:56:10,412
and you'll see it coming from a mile away.

1129
00:56:10,412 --> 00:56:12,455
And how would you know what I like?

1130
00:56:12,455 --> 00:56:14,249
I know movies and women.

1131
00:56:15,709 --> 00:56:17,377
Really?
- Mhm-hmm.

1132
00:56:18,586 --> 00:56:21,548
Okay. Well then why don't you tell me

1133
00:56:21,548 --> 00:56:22,382
what I want.

1134
00:56:26,011 --> 00:56:27,804
"The Lady Vanishes."
- Mhm-hmm.

1135
00:56:27,804 --> 00:56:28,638
Why is that?

1136
00:56:28,638 --> 00:56:31,808
Well, firstly, you can never
go wrong with Hitchcock ever.

1137
00:56:31,808 --> 00:56:33,435
It's got comedy, drama, romance.

1138
00:56:33,435 --> 00:56:34,728
It's a thriller.

1139
00:56:34,728 --> 00:56:36,563
It's classy, but not stuffy,

1140
00:56:36,563 --> 00:56:37,439
and it's a little obscure.

1141
00:56:37,439 --> 00:56:38,898
So if you haven't seen it,

1142
00:56:38,898 --> 00:56:41,109
you’ll thank me for introducing you to it.

1143
00:56:41,109 --> 00:56:44,029
If you have, you'll know
what a good choice it was.

1144
00:56:45,405 --> 00:56:47,240
Well, I have seen it

1145
00:56:47,240 --> 00:56:48,074
and it is a really

1146
00:56:48,074 --> 00:56:49,367
good choice.
- Mhm-hmm.

1147
00:56:49,367 --> 00:56:51,036
However, not as good as "Rebecca"

1148
00:56:51,036 --> 00:56:53,455
and "Notorious," "Vertigo"

1149
00:56:53,455 --> 00:56:56,666
or pretty much any of his
films from 1960 to 1972.

1150
00:56:56,666 --> 00:57:00,754
In fact, it's sort of a second tier title.

1151
00:57:00,754 --> 00:57:02,630
The possibilities
of creating romance

1152
00:57:02,630 --> 00:57:05,300
by bonding over cinema,
specifically acclaimed

1153
00:57:05,300 --> 00:57:08,720
and classic films move video
store's image on screen

1154
00:57:08,720 --> 00:57:10,972
toward bastions of film history

1155
00:57:10,972 --> 00:57:14,893
and away from seeming like
esoteric specialty stores.

1156
00:57:14,893 --> 00:57:18,855
This image remained an onscreen
cliche right up to the point

1157
00:57:18,855 --> 00:57:21,232
at which these spaces were
no longer a relevant part

1158
00:57:21,232 --> 00:57:22,567
of the retail landscape.

1159
00:57:23,443 --> 00:57:26,237
The script for "This Means
War" was nearly a decade old

1160
00:57:26,237 --> 00:57:27,447
when it went into production,

1161
00:57:27,447 --> 00:57:29,574
which explains the incongruous appearance

1162
00:57:29,574 --> 00:57:34,079
of a massive sprawling
video store as late as 2012.

1163
00:57:34,079 --> 00:57:36,664
An HMV Megastore location doubles

1164
00:57:36,664 --> 00:57:38,958
for the mom and pop sounding Vick’s Video,

1165
00:57:38,958 --> 00:57:41,544
suggesting the type of
scene more common in films

1166
00:57:41,544 --> 00:57:43,046
from an earlier era.

1167
00:57:43,838 --> 00:57:45,048
Are you gonna rent that?

1168
00:57:46,174 --> 00:57:49,219
Yeah. Yeah.
- Definitely.

1169
00:57:49,219 --> 00:57:51,930
Two seemingly charming
singles might wanna rent

1170
00:57:51,930 --> 00:57:55,517
the same tape, in this case,
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."

1171
00:57:55,517 --> 00:57:57,102
Just holding it in your hands.

1172
00:57:57,102 --> 00:57:58,436
No, no, I'm definitely...

1173
00:57:58,436 --> 00:57:59,479
I mean, I'm definitely
gonna rent this one.

1174
00:57:59,479 --> 00:58:00,313
I'll give you it.

1175
00:58:00,313 --> 00:58:01,523
You want this one?

1176
00:58:01,523 --> 00:58:03,191
No, I came for that one.

1177
00:58:03,191 --> 00:58:04,859
It's a great movie.

1178
00:58:04,859 --> 00:58:06,236
Excuse me.

1179
00:58:06,236 --> 00:58:09,531
Hey, how you doing?
- Hi.

1180
00:58:09,531 --> 00:58:10,824
Look, you know what, I was thinking,

1181
00:58:10,824 --> 00:58:13,535
I was thinking if you
want the video that badly,

1182
00:58:13,535 --> 00:58:15,912
why don't you give me your phone number

1183
00:58:15,912 --> 00:58:17,622
and then when I finish
watching it tonight,

1184
00:58:17,622 --> 00:58:20,208
no, I can give you a call
and then maybe bring it over.

1185
00:58:20,208 --> 00:58:21,835
These characters later engage

1186
00:58:21,835 --> 00:58:24,963
in a romance, then separate
and near the end of the film,

1187
00:58:24,963 --> 00:58:27,507
come together again in
the same video store.

1188
00:58:27,507 --> 00:58:28,425
Wow, hi.

1189
00:58:28,425 --> 00:58:29,926
How you been?

1190
00:58:29,926 --> 00:58:31,219
How have you been?

1191
00:58:31,219 --> 00:58:33,304
You know, I've been better.

1192
00:58:33,304 --> 00:58:34,973
You know, I called you,

1193
00:58:34,973 --> 00:58:36,433
I called you a couple times.
- Yeah I know.

1194
00:58:36,433 --> 00:58:37,267
I never heard back from you.

1195
00:58:37,267 --> 00:58:38,351
I've been meaning to call you back.

1196
00:58:38,351 --> 00:58:40,520
Yeah, but you just, what?

1197
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:42,605
Never got around to it.

1198
00:58:42,605 --> 00:58:45,358
Although a romance
originates in a video store,

1199
00:58:45,358 --> 00:58:49,362
it ends without classical
Hollywood closure.

1200
00:58:49,362 --> 00:58:52,073
While the video store makes
a chance encounter possible,

1201
00:58:52,073 --> 00:58:55,034
it nevertheless leads
to frustrated desires.

1202
00:58:56,411 --> 00:58:58,663
Why do you have to come from that place?

1203
00:58:58,663 --> 00:59:00,081
You know what I mean?

1204
00:59:00,081 --> 00:59:01,749
You think I wanna go home and snuggle,

1205
00:59:01,749 --> 00:59:03,835
and read subtitles and
watching black and white?

1206
00:59:03,835 --> 00:59:05,086
The guy sucks blood.
- Can we ever go

1207
00:59:05,086 --> 00:59:06,838
to a goddamn video store without getting

1208
00:59:06,838 --> 00:59:07,964
into an argument?
- Not as long

1209
00:59:07,964 --> 00:59:09,090
as you have such shitty taste in movies.

1210
00:59:09,090 --> 00:59:11,384
I don't have shitty taste in movies.

1211
00:59:11,384 --> 00:59:13,344
How can you not appreciate
German expressionism?

1212
00:59:13,344 --> 00:59:14,179
I love German expressionism.

1213
00:59:14,179 --> 00:59:15,555
Right.
- What I don't like

1214
00:59:15,555 --> 00:59:17,932
is what you turn into when
you watch that damn movie.

1215
00:59:17,932 --> 00:59:19,100
You start getting all fixated on death,

1216
00:59:19,100 --> 00:59:20,143
like, I'm gonna die. You're gonna die.

1217
00:59:20,143 --> 00:59:20,977
The cat's gonna die.

1218
00:59:20,977 --> 00:59:22,520
Everybody's gonna die.
- Fine. Fine.

1219
00:59:22,520 --> 00:59:24,105
You watch your stupid titty movie.

1220
00:59:24,105 --> 00:59:25,064
I'll watch my death movie.

1221
00:59:25,064 --> 00:59:27,275
You return yours. I'll return mine.

1222
00:59:30,445 --> 00:59:32,238
I'd like to rent
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."

1223
00:59:32,238 --> 00:59:33,364
This is out.

1224
00:59:33,364 --> 00:59:36,242
Someone has it.
- Out, oh no,

1225
00:59:36,242 --> 00:59:37,202
I've been to four other places.

1226
00:59:37,202 --> 00:59:38,536
You're the only ones that have had it.

1227
00:59:38,536 --> 00:59:41,289
Well, I can put her on
reserve for you if you'd like.

1228
00:59:41,289 --> 00:59:42,332
Maybe we could call them

1229
00:59:42,332 --> 00:59:43,625
and ask them to return it.

1230
00:59:44,918 --> 00:59:46,586
Seinfeld made use of the location

1231
00:59:46,586 --> 00:59:48,171
in several episodes.

1232
00:59:48,171 --> 00:59:52,383
Reveling as always in social awkwardness and humiliation.

1233
00:59:53,218 --> 00:59:54,260
Hey, what do you know?

1234
00:59:54,260 --> 00:59:56,804
Look at that. A lesbian sighting.

1235
00:59:58,097 --> 00:59:58,932
My lucky day.

1236
00:59:59,807 --> 01:00:02,852
They're so fascinating. Why is that?

1237
01:00:02,852 --> 01:00:04,604
'Cause they don't want us.

1238
01:00:06,231 --> 01:00:07,398
You gotta respect that.

1239
01:00:08,858 --> 01:00:10,985
Oh my god, it's Susan.

1240
01:00:10,985 --> 01:00:12,820
But what do we do?

1241
01:00:14,489 --> 01:00:17,742
George.
- Susan.

1242
01:00:17,742 --> 01:00:19,244
Hi.
- Hi.

1243
01:00:19,244 --> 01:00:21,412
Watching characters
engage in the very behavior

1244
01:00:21,412 --> 01:00:23,957
that we ourselves may
frequently experience

1245
01:00:23,957 --> 01:00:26,417
while renting a videotape became ingrained

1246
01:00:26,417 --> 01:00:29,045
into our way of watching
movies and television.

1247
01:00:29,045 --> 01:00:31,214
"Seinfeld" acknowledges
the world of choice,

1248
01:00:31,214 --> 01:00:32,966
possibility, and consumption.

1249
01:00:32,966 --> 01:00:36,135
While as a network sitcom
acting as an antithesis

1250
01:00:36,135 --> 01:00:38,930
to the physical experience of
journeying to a video store

1251
01:00:38,930 --> 01:00:40,056
and selecting a film.

1252
01:00:41,266 --> 01:00:43,142
These films and shows from the past

1253
01:00:43,142 --> 01:00:45,770
are forever reaching out to the future.

1254
01:00:45,770 --> 01:00:47,855
The real one they were
moving toward in the time

1255
01:00:47,855 --> 01:00:49,774
of their production and now to the one

1256
01:00:49,774 --> 01:00:53,111
that we know no longer exists.

1257
01:00:53,111 --> 01:00:55,405
Starting in the early 1990's,

1258
01:00:55,405 --> 01:00:58,324
video stores on screen
became spaces for film

1259
01:00:58,324 --> 01:01:00,868
and television to talk about itself.

1260
01:01:00,868 --> 01:01:03,413
I need to rent "The English Patient."

1261
01:01:03,413 --> 01:01:04,247
May I suggest to you a movie

1262
01:01:04,247 --> 01:01:05,707
that does not completely blow?

1263
01:01:05,707 --> 01:01:07,041
No, because it was on cable last night

1264
01:01:07,041 --> 01:01:08,334
and put the baby to sleep.

1265
01:01:08,334 --> 01:01:09,877
In fact, it's the only thing
that's put the baby to sleep

1266
01:01:09,877 --> 01:01:10,795
because the baby never sleeps.

1267
01:01:10,795 --> 01:01:12,213
And if the baby doesn't
sleep, then I don't sleep.

1268
01:01:12,213 --> 01:01:13,965
And if I don't sleep, I
get angry, I get irritable

1269
01:01:13,965 --> 01:01:15,675
and I no longer maintain
my sunny disposition.

1270
01:01:15,675 --> 01:01:18,011
So Pacey, if you have even the
slightest bit of human decency

1271
01:01:18,011 --> 01:01:19,178
you will rent this movie to me immediately,

1272
01:01:19,178 --> 01:01:20,597
and bring 181 minutes of peace

1273
01:01:20,597 --> 01:01:22,515
in my otherwise wretched life.

1274
01:01:22,515 --> 01:01:24,142
The esoteric representations

1275
01:01:24,142 --> 01:01:27,145
of the video store in the
1980's have faded away,

1276
01:01:27,145 --> 01:01:29,689
replaced by an acknowledgement
of video stores

1277
01:01:29,689 --> 01:01:31,816
as a regular part of our lives.

1278
01:01:39,365 --> 01:01:42,368
"The Holiday" connects the
video store to media production,

1279
01:01:42,368 --> 01:01:45,038
in this case with official
movie production culture

1280
01:01:45,038 --> 01:01:46,581
in Hollywood.

1281
01:01:46,581 --> 01:01:50,001
In the film, a British woman
named Iris goes to Los Angeles

1282
01:01:50,001 --> 01:01:51,836
for a vacation.

1283
01:01:51,836 --> 01:01:54,297
Renting the house of a
movie trailer editor,

1284
01:01:54,297 --> 01:01:56,841
Iris ecstatically
discovers the house's owner

1285
01:01:56,841 --> 01:01:59,719
has a veritable archive of DVDs.

1286
01:02:07,226 --> 01:02:08,811
Iris later develops a friendship

1287
01:02:08,811 --> 01:02:10,813
with a film composer named Miles,

1288
01:02:10,813 --> 01:02:12,565
a development which promotes the fantasy

1289
01:02:12,565 --> 01:02:14,942
that everybody proximal to Hollywood works

1290
01:02:14,942 --> 01:02:17,737
or has worked in the movie business.

1291
01:02:17,737 --> 01:02:20,490
At Blockbuster, they pick out
a movie to watch together,

1292
01:02:20,490 --> 01:02:22,992
indicating that despite
the library of options

1293
01:02:22,992 --> 01:02:25,745
she has at home, the experience
of browsing in public

1294
01:02:25,745 --> 01:02:29,332
is always more appealing
as it leaves open a variety

1295
01:02:29,332 --> 01:02:31,918
of dramatic possibilities.

1296
01:02:31,918 --> 01:02:33,378
Have you seen this?

1297
01:02:33,378 --> 01:02:35,088
Oh, "Chariots of Fire," loved it.

1298
01:02:40,968 --> 01:02:44,222
Such a great score by Vangelis.

1299
01:02:44,222 --> 01:02:45,890
He took electronic scores to a new level.

1300
01:02:45,890 --> 01:02:49,102
It was groundbreaking. I'm
gonna test you on this later.

1301
01:02:49,102 --> 01:02:51,604
Okay. "Driving Miss Daisy," Hans.

1302
01:02:51,604 --> 01:02:52,438
Very unexpected.

1303
01:02:52,438 --> 01:02:54,440
Do you remember how great it was?

1304
01:03:00,113 --> 01:03:01,280
It's sassy.

1305
01:03:01,280 --> 01:03:03,866
Miles thus enters the
video store with an abundance

1306
01:03:03,866 --> 01:03:06,077
of previous viewing experiences.

1307
01:03:06,077 --> 01:03:09,372
He is a former spectator whose
knowledge of movies guides

1308
01:03:09,372 --> 01:03:12,375
the couple through the aisles
and from shelf to shelf.

1309
01:03:12,375 --> 01:03:15,628
The film also offers a range
of possibilities to the viewers

1310
01:03:15,628 --> 01:03:17,422
of "The Holiday" itself.

1311
01:03:17,422 --> 01:03:20,633
We might be as steeped in
film experience as Miles,

1312
01:03:20,633 --> 01:03:22,635
in which case we can recognize the humor

1313
01:03:22,635 --> 01:03:24,637
in his rendition of the songs.

1314
01:03:24,637 --> 01:03:26,806
If we are a novice as Iris,

1315
01:03:26,806 --> 01:03:28,182
then we might read this performance

1316
01:03:28,182 --> 01:03:29,600
as a series of advertisements

1317
01:03:29,600 --> 01:03:32,395
for future viewing
experiences we could have.

1318
01:03:32,395 --> 01:03:35,064
♪ Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio ♪

1319
01:03:35,064 --> 01:03:37,108
I bet you didn't know that
was all written for the movie.

1320
01:03:37,108 --> 01:03:39,026
It was a score, technically.

1321
01:03:39,026 --> 01:03:41,779
I did know that one.
- Can't go anywhere.

1322
01:03:41,779 --> 01:03:43,364
The humor of this scene requires

1323
01:03:43,364 --> 01:03:45,867
that viewers at least know
that Dustin Hoffman starred

1324
01:03:45,867 --> 01:03:47,326
in the earlier film.

1325
01:03:47,326 --> 01:03:49,454
And that in a place like Los Angeles,

1326
01:03:49,454 --> 01:03:52,790
video culture exists side by
side with production culture.

1327
01:03:53,875 --> 01:03:56,002
Perhaps just as the video store serves

1328
01:03:56,002 --> 01:03:59,130
as a commercial archive for
film texts from different eras,

1329
01:03:59,130 --> 01:04:01,549
Los Angeles houses many of these figures

1330
01:04:01,549 --> 01:04:04,594
who are not frozen in time,
but continue to consume

1331
01:04:04,594 --> 01:04:06,345
and love films.

1332
01:04:07,430 --> 01:04:08,306
The scene closes

1333
01:04:08,306 --> 01:04:10,767
with typical video store
frustration however,

1334
01:04:10,767 --> 01:04:13,519
when Miles sees his girlfriend
passing the store outside

1335
01:04:13,519 --> 01:04:14,479
with another man.

1336
01:04:16,939 --> 01:04:17,774
What?

1337
01:04:24,739 --> 01:04:26,657
Once again, the video store leads

1338
01:04:26,657 --> 01:04:29,994
to surprising, negative
social interactions.

1339
01:04:31,579 --> 01:04:33,664
Quick, where are the
Schwarzenegger films?

1340
01:04:33,664 --> 01:04:34,665
Foreign films are in the back.

1341
01:04:34,665 --> 01:04:36,626
Hoffman's
appearance alongside a DVD

1342
01:04:36,626 --> 01:04:38,753
of "The Graduate" is one in a long line

1343
01:04:38,753 --> 01:04:40,713
of video stores appearing on screen

1344
01:04:40,713 --> 01:04:43,674
to provide meta textual
commentary on the intersection

1345
01:04:43,674 --> 01:04:45,593
of home videos and cinema.

1346
01:04:45,593 --> 01:04:50,139
Specifically, the movies are
talking about themselves.

1347
01:04:50,139 --> 01:04:51,891
It isn't possible.

1348
01:04:51,891 --> 01:04:53,267
What's not possible.

1349
01:04:53,267 --> 01:04:55,895
He's fantastic, this is
his best performance ever.

1350
01:04:55,895 --> 01:04:58,147
But that was you.

1351
01:04:58,147 --> 01:04:59,565
You were in that movie!

1352
01:05:00,483 --> 01:05:02,568
You are in a movie?

1353
01:05:02,568 --> 01:05:06,781
Yes. It was called,
"The Girl of My Dreams."

1354
01:05:06,781 --> 01:05:07,782
It starred you.

1355
01:05:08,616 --> 01:05:09,534
As a matter of fact,

1356
01:05:09,534 --> 01:05:12,411
we had this very romantic scene together.

1357
01:05:12,411 --> 01:05:13,329
To fully understand

1358
01:05:13,329 --> 01:05:15,498
how video stores were depicted on screen,

1359
01:05:15,498 --> 01:05:18,209
increasingly required that
the viewer had knowledge

1360
01:05:18,209 --> 01:05:19,794
of other movies.

1361
01:05:19,794 --> 01:05:23,464
The store we see in "Last Action
Hero" is called Acme Video,

1362
01:05:23,464 --> 01:05:26,509
but it is in every way a Blockbuster,

1363
01:05:26,509 --> 01:05:29,262
from the blue and yellow
color scheme to the font.

1364
01:05:30,429 --> 01:05:33,266
The elegant alluring camera
movement down the aisles,

1365
01:05:33,266 --> 01:05:34,976
which are absurdly festooned

1366
01:05:34,976 --> 01:05:36,978
with an improbable amount of lights,

1367
01:05:36,978 --> 01:05:39,146
declare the video store as glitzy,

1368
01:05:39,146 --> 01:05:42,859
and exciting as a cinema,
and every bit its equal.

1369
01:05:42,859 --> 01:05:44,402
Posters for "Boys in The Hood,"

1370
01:05:44,402 --> 01:05:45,736
"Bram Stoker's Dracula,"

1371
01:05:45,736 --> 01:05:46,779
and a "League of Their Own"

1372
01:05:46,779 --> 01:05:49,907
all come courtesy of "Last
Action Hero's" studio,

1373
01:05:49,907 --> 01:05:51,951
Columbia Pictures pulling a move

1374
01:05:51,951 --> 01:05:54,078
from the Canon Films playbook.

1375
01:05:54,078 --> 01:05:57,623
The protagonist, Danny is
shocked to come upon a standee

1376
01:05:57,623 --> 01:05:59,792
for "Terminator 2: Judgment Day,"

1377
01:05:59,792 --> 01:06:02,003
starring Sylvester Stallone.

1378
01:06:02,003 --> 01:06:04,839
Connecting this moment to the comparable standee glimpse

1379
01:06:04,839 --> 01:06:07,466
briefly in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park,"

1380
01:06:07,466 --> 01:06:09,552
which advertises a
fictitious Schwarzenegger

1381
01:06:09,552 --> 01:06:12,638
starring King Lear film,
which itself connects

1382
01:06:12,638 --> 01:06:15,349
to "Last Action Heroes"
nearly identical joke

1383
01:06:15,349 --> 01:06:18,394
of an adaptation of "Hamlet"
starring Schwarzenegger proxy,

1384
01:06:18,394 --> 01:06:19,770
Jack Slater.

1385
01:06:19,770 --> 01:06:24,775
To be or not to be.

1386
01:06:24,942 --> 01:06:25,776
Not to be.

1387
01:06:28,279 --> 01:06:30,156
A gag that itself anticipates

1388
01:06:30,156 --> 01:06:31,991
our Blockbuster browsing Hamlet.

1389
01:06:31,991 --> 01:06:33,200
All of which circles back,

1390
01:06:33,200 --> 01:06:35,870
not to a desolate moody Blockbuster,

1391
01:06:35,870 --> 01:06:38,664
but to the preposterously glamorized store

1392
01:06:38,664 --> 01:06:39,916
in "Last Action Hero."

1393
01:06:41,334 --> 01:06:44,962
To be or not to be, to
rent or not to rent.

1394
01:06:44,962 --> 01:06:47,298
Highbrow, lowbrow and on and on.

1395
01:06:48,090 --> 01:06:50,927
On the way out, Danny
observes that the clerk is

1396
01:06:50,927 --> 01:06:53,721
Way too attractive to be
working at a video store.

1397
01:06:53,721 --> 01:06:56,223
Coming as the character
does from the real world,

1398
01:06:56,223 --> 01:06:58,017
that is to say our own,

1399
01:06:58,017 --> 01:07:00,645
he expects to find a no less cliche clerk

1400
01:07:00,645 --> 01:07:04,649
so frequently depicted on
screen, a cinephile nerd,

1401
01:07:04,649 --> 01:07:07,443
such as the one scene in
Kirk Wong's, "The Big Hit."

1402
01:07:08,778 --> 01:07:10,404
Here's your fucking tape back!

1403
01:07:12,448 --> 01:07:14,158
Ah! Let's see here.

1404
01:07:16,661 --> 01:07:19,038
Ooh, late charges.

1405
01:07:21,165 --> 01:07:23,376
Oh mama, what's this!

1406
01:07:23,376 --> 01:07:25,127
Tape's not rewound.

1407
01:07:25,127 --> 01:07:27,296
Oh, that's gonna cost you!

1408
01:07:27,296 --> 01:07:29,924
You know I'm taking
a lot of shit from you!

1409
01:07:29,924 --> 01:07:33,094
I put up with your high
prices, your lousy selection,

1410
01:07:33,094 --> 01:07:35,388
and your rude phone calls.
- Sorry about that.

1411
01:07:35,388 --> 01:07:36,222
I just want to tell you

1412
01:07:36,222 --> 01:07:37,348
one thing.
- What?

1413
01:07:38,224 --> 01:07:40,059
I will never, ever rent tapes

1414
01:07:40,059 --> 01:07:41,727
from this store again,
you snotty little...

1415
01:07:44,313 --> 01:07:46,273
I'ma finish what I
started, mother fucker.

1416
01:07:46,273 --> 01:07:47,566
Like "Last Action Hero,"

1417
01:07:47,566 --> 01:07:49,151
"The Big Hit" presents a video store

1418
01:07:49,151 --> 01:07:51,570
of immaculately production
designed opulence,

1419
01:07:51,570 --> 01:07:54,824
the likes of which could only
exist in a Hollywood film.

1420
01:07:54,824 --> 01:07:57,910
The film was produced by
Columbia subsidiary TriStar,

1421
01:07:57,910 --> 01:07:59,453
which explains the prominent poster

1422
01:07:59,453 --> 01:08:02,039
for that same studio's "Godzilla" remake,

1423
01:08:02,039 --> 01:08:05,292
which in an unusual bit
of anticipatory marketing

1424
01:08:05,292 --> 01:08:08,254
was released in theaters one
month after "The Big Hit."

1425
01:08:11,757 --> 01:08:14,468
In much the same way that
video stores on screen used

1426
01:08:14,468 --> 01:08:16,679
the characters longing for romantic films

1427
01:08:16,679 --> 01:08:18,681
to actualize romance in their lives,

1428
01:08:18,681 --> 01:08:20,766
"The Big Hit" places the hapless clerk

1429
01:08:20,766 --> 01:08:23,644
in the middle of the melee,
suggesting the possibility

1430
01:08:23,644 --> 01:08:26,856
that as with "Last Action
Hero," cinephiles are likely

1431
01:08:26,856 --> 01:08:29,650
to be thrown out of their
own humdrum existence

1432
01:08:29,650 --> 01:08:33,821
and into what resembles
or is a scene in a movie.

1433
01:08:33,821 --> 01:08:35,406
The sequence features a display,

1434
01:08:35,406 --> 01:08:36,991
declaring one of the other characters

1435
01:08:36,991 --> 01:08:40,411
as the number one customer
of the month adult section.

1436
01:08:40,411 --> 01:08:43,122
Thus carrying on the tradition
of the private being made,

1437
01:08:43,122 --> 01:08:46,500
in this case, comedically
and absurdly public.

1438
01:08:54,216 --> 01:08:55,760
Not to mention the tradition of posters

1439
01:08:55,760 --> 01:08:58,888
for Troma films being
staples of video store decor.

1440
01:08:58,888 --> 01:09:01,015
"The Big Hit" brings
things full circle back

1441
01:09:01,015 --> 01:09:03,893
to the late 80's with larger
than life advertisements

1442
01:09:03,893 --> 01:09:07,855
for "Sgt. Kabukiman
NYPD," "Tromeo and Juliet",

1443
01:09:07,855 --> 01:09:10,816
and of course "The
Toxic Avenger Part II."

1444
01:09:12,276 --> 01:09:14,487
Why this store has a
massive display of posters

1445
01:09:14,487 --> 01:09:16,989
for Troma films from roughly a decade ago

1446
01:09:16,989 --> 01:09:20,493
alongside contemporary
films is never addressed.

1447
01:09:20,493 --> 01:09:22,620
By 1998, it didn't need to be.

1448
01:09:22,620 --> 01:09:25,331
Video stores simply made sense.

1449
01:09:25,331 --> 01:09:27,666
Their categories, their aesthetic,

1450
01:09:27,666 --> 01:09:31,629
and the unpredictable but
generally undesirable interactions

1451
01:09:31,629 --> 01:09:35,049
that took place within needed
no further explanation.

1452
01:09:35,049 --> 01:09:36,509
Well, ain't that a bitch?

1453
01:09:39,011 --> 01:09:40,763
They were everywhere.

1454
01:09:40,763 --> 01:09:43,265
They were a part of our lives,

1455
01:09:43,265 --> 01:09:45,726
and it seemed as though
they always would be.

1456
01:10:10,417 --> 01:10:13,504
Can you rent this?
- Absolutely not.

1457
01:10:14,338 --> 01:10:16,382
Go pick out something
from the children's section.

1458
01:10:16,382 --> 01:10:18,843
Those movies suck.
- Watch your language.

1459
01:10:22,304 --> 01:10:25,391
A report from
1989 found that nearly 70%

1460
01:10:25,391 --> 01:10:28,185
of all video stores carried adult titles

1461
01:10:28,185 --> 01:10:31,438
with the exception of family
video and movie gallery.

1462
01:10:31,438 --> 01:10:33,440
Corporate stores refused to carry them.

1463
01:10:43,033 --> 01:10:46,120
These movies are almost
always held in a section,

1464
01:10:46,120 --> 01:10:49,081
proverbially known as the back room.

1465
01:10:50,291 --> 01:10:51,709
No, I guess that's it.

1466
01:10:51,709 --> 01:10:52,960
Ah. Yep, that's it.

1467
01:10:54,545 --> 01:10:55,588
I'll just take this.

1468
01:10:55,588 --> 01:10:56,839
Whatever the kid's getting.

1469
01:10:56,839 --> 01:11:00,467
This area might be
separated by a curtain or a door

1470
01:11:00,467 --> 01:11:02,720
and a sign reading, "Adults Only,"

1471
01:11:02,720 --> 01:11:05,931
or forbidding those under
the age of 18 from entering.

1472
01:11:05,931 --> 01:11:09,226
"Bi Bi Guys", featuring
Curious Geordie.

1473
01:11:11,270 --> 01:11:12,813
Interesting choice.

1474
01:11:12,813 --> 01:11:15,357
Does the wife know you're
looking into your options?

1475
01:11:16,275 --> 01:11:17,109
I got the...

1476
01:11:18,235 --> 01:11:19,445
Had the wrong box by accident.

1477
01:11:19,445 --> 01:11:21,739
Oh, right.
- Would you mind exchanging

1478
01:11:21,739 --> 01:11:23,449
that for me for something?

1479
01:11:23,449 --> 01:11:24,283
You know, whatever.

1480
01:11:24,283 --> 01:11:26,243
Anything you get your hands on, you know.

1481
01:11:26,243 --> 01:11:30,080
So then you want something..?
- That's non-bi.

1482
01:11:32,124 --> 01:11:33,918
It'll be like you work here.

1483
01:11:33,918 --> 01:11:35,961
What am I qualified to do?

1484
01:11:35,961 --> 01:11:37,880
Within the
heavily categorized world

1485
01:11:37,880 --> 01:11:41,217
of the video store, the back
room is a space of private

1486
01:11:41,217 --> 01:11:43,344
and guarded knowledge.

1487
01:11:43,344 --> 01:11:45,512
There are at least three
characteristics of the back room

1488
01:11:45,512 --> 01:11:46,680
that make it remarkable.

1489
01:11:46,680 --> 01:11:49,308
I am being totally serious.
- Are you joking around?

1490
01:11:49,308 --> 01:11:51,227
No, I am not joking around.

1491
01:11:51,227 --> 01:11:53,437
First, as it
is located in a special,

1492
01:11:53,437 --> 01:11:57,358
semi hidden space, the back
room attempts to provide privacy

1493
01:11:57,358 --> 01:12:01,195
in public and thereby indicates
ambivalence toward the genre

1494
01:12:01,195 --> 01:12:02,738
of videos located there.

1495
01:12:09,662 --> 01:12:11,830
Ooh, this looks good.

1496
01:12:12,706 --> 01:12:13,958
Gets really good reviews.

1497
01:12:15,501 --> 01:12:17,920
Time and again,
the back room on screen

1498
01:12:17,920 --> 01:12:21,924
is depicted to both normalize
adult films and acknowledge

1499
01:12:21,924 --> 01:12:24,593
the semi elicit feelings
that browsers may have

1500
01:12:24,593 --> 01:12:26,220
in this section.

1501
01:12:26,220 --> 01:12:30,808
This video store, your video store boasts

1502
01:12:30,808 --> 01:12:32,726
the largest collection of adult videos

1503
01:12:32,726 --> 01:12:35,813
in all of northern Louisiana.

1504
01:12:35,813 --> 01:12:38,399
Leave it to humans to
make sex this depressing.

1505
01:12:38,399 --> 01:12:40,734
You're welcome to put your
own stamp on it, of course,

1506
01:12:40,734 --> 01:12:43,445
but I wouldn't change it too much.

1507
01:12:43,445 --> 01:12:45,739
Humans love their porn.

1508
01:12:45,739 --> 01:12:47,533
Second, pornographic materials

1509
01:12:47,533 --> 01:12:48,534
are commonly organized

1510
01:12:48,534 --> 01:12:51,495
into their own highly specific categories.

1511
01:12:51,495 --> 01:12:54,581
Although there will also be a
comparably sized new releases

1512
01:12:54,581 --> 01:12:55,791
wall within the section.

1513
01:12:56,959 --> 01:12:58,419
I can't tell the difference.

1514
01:12:58,419 --> 01:13:00,129
Well, what do you want?
- Anything.

1515
01:13:00,129 --> 01:13:02,631
But you have a preference
in terms of content.

1516
01:13:02,631 --> 01:13:05,843
Like women and women or men and men.

1517
01:13:06,927 --> 01:13:08,762
The fuck are you insinuating?

1518
01:13:08,762 --> 01:13:09,763
I don't know your preferences,

1519
01:13:09,763 --> 01:13:11,765
I'm only trying to help you here, Oscar.

1520
01:13:13,017 --> 01:13:15,728
26 unrelated categories except for X,

1521
01:13:15,728 --> 01:13:17,354
which has its own room.

1522
01:13:19,106 --> 01:13:21,233
Finally, back
rooms are remarkable

1523
01:13:21,233 --> 01:13:23,777
in terms of the revenue they generate.

1524
01:13:23,777 --> 01:13:25,863
How about adult movies?

1525
01:13:30,409 --> 01:13:31,493
Because corporate chains

1526
01:13:31,493 --> 01:13:33,120
would not carry such material,

1527
01:13:33,120 --> 01:13:34,788
independent stores relied on this section

1528
01:13:34,788 --> 01:13:36,623
as a mark of distinction.

1529
01:13:36,623 --> 01:13:38,459
Accordingly, we are left with the notion

1530
01:13:38,459 --> 01:13:42,254
that any depiction of a
backroom or adult video section

1531
01:13:42,254 --> 01:13:45,341
is taking place within a
non-corporate, independent

1532
01:13:45,341 --> 01:13:47,509
and autonomously run video store.

1533
01:13:47,509 --> 01:13:50,095
And you will not find a back room

1534
01:13:50,095 --> 01:13:51,430
in our video store.

1535
01:13:51,430 --> 01:13:52,264
No.
- No.

1536
01:13:52,264 --> 01:13:55,309
No, no, that filth is better
left to the Sin Cities.

1537
01:13:55,309 --> 01:13:57,394
I'd like to rent this tape.

1538
01:13:57,394 --> 01:13:58,479
Sofia Ludens, huh?

1539
01:13:59,521 --> 01:14:00,773
You know it?

1540
01:14:00,773 --> 01:14:03,233
You get arrested for
watching this stuff.

1541
01:14:03,233 --> 01:14:06,111
Yeah.
- No.

1542
01:14:07,112 --> 01:14:08,489
Pornos, man, what do you expect?

1543
01:14:08,489 --> 01:14:11,784
What rents here more than anything else. The adult stuff, right?

1544
01:14:11,784 --> 01:14:13,077
Mhm-hmm.

1545
01:14:13,077 --> 01:14:14,953
Right. I think you'd be
a little more discerning

1546
01:14:14,953 --> 01:14:16,455
about the type of stuff you carry.

1547
01:14:21,168 --> 01:14:22,086
China.

1548
01:14:45,317 --> 01:14:48,278
Well, I guess I like to watch videos.

1549
01:14:48,278 --> 01:14:50,030
Well, you see right there.

1550
01:14:50,030 --> 01:14:52,908
Have you ever thought about
working in a video store

1551
01:14:52,908 --> 01:14:54,118
or even owning one?

1552
01:14:55,494 --> 01:14:58,455
No. Hm.

1553
01:15:07,381 --> 01:15:08,382
Yeah. Hmm.

1554
01:15:13,053 --> 01:15:15,264
Hmm.

1555
01:15:15,264 --> 01:15:17,349
Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

1556
01:15:24,231 --> 01:15:28,235
Bride's head's going to
get revisited tonight, baby.

1557
01:15:28,235 --> 01:15:29,778
No.

1558
01:15:29,778 --> 01:15:31,697
Where would "Cuffs and Collars" be?

1559
01:15:31,697 --> 01:15:35,576
Action Adventure. Action
Comedy, Action Action?

1560
01:15:35,576 --> 01:15:37,411
Make a left.
- Okay.

1561
01:15:47,379 --> 01:15:50,466
Today I am here more for someone.

1562
01:15:50,466 --> 01:15:51,884
Do you know what I'm saying?

1563
01:15:52,968 --> 01:15:54,761
Did you wanna rent a porno movie?

1564
01:15:54,761 --> 01:15:57,139
No. I mean, yes.

1565
01:16:00,100 --> 01:16:02,561
With Blockbuster
and other corporate chains

1566
01:16:02,561 --> 01:16:04,480
not offering adult titles,

1567
01:16:04,480 --> 01:16:06,648
the ubiquity of their
depiction on screens,

1568
01:16:06,648 --> 01:16:08,650
specifically in mainstream entertainment

1569
01:16:08,650 --> 01:16:10,444
is all the more striking.

1570
01:16:12,404 --> 01:16:17,409
Porn is a $12
billion industry in annual sales.

1571
01:16:18,577 --> 01:16:19,661
In all likelihood,

1572
01:16:19,661 --> 01:16:22,664
the average viewer would have
only a passing familiarity

1573
01:16:22,664 --> 01:16:25,709
with the backroom, perhaps
limited only to gazing

1574
01:16:25,709 --> 01:16:27,878
at its mysterious barrier.

1575
01:16:27,878 --> 01:16:31,590
And yet over and over pornography
became one of the central

1576
01:16:31,590 --> 01:16:34,718
characteristics of the
video store on screen.

1577
01:16:34,718 --> 01:16:37,137
The emergence of this as
a common dramatic beat

1578
01:16:37,137 --> 01:16:40,766
throughout the 1990's and
into the 2000's would extend

1579
01:16:40,766 --> 01:16:43,435
the ways the video store had
already been used as a site

1580
01:16:43,435 --> 01:16:46,438
of different forms of public humiliation.

1581
01:16:46,438 --> 01:16:48,732
I thought it was you.

1582
01:16:48,732 --> 01:16:49,942
Mom.
- I was just dropping

1583
01:16:49,942 --> 01:16:51,235
by with the wedding snaps.

1584
01:16:51,235 --> 01:16:53,654
I tell you that photographer
should be sacked.

1585
01:16:53,654 --> 01:16:55,656
He made me look like a thug.

1586
01:16:55,656 --> 01:16:57,407
A thug in lilac.

1587
01:16:57,407 --> 01:16:58,992
Anything good?
- No, no.

1588
01:17:00,869 --> 01:17:01,954
There's a lady who needs your copy

1589
01:17:01,954 --> 01:17:03,247
of "Georgie's Bush."

1590
01:17:04,498 --> 01:17:06,250
"Georgie's Bush."

1591
01:17:06,250 --> 01:17:07,125
Do you have any?

1592
01:17:08,585 --> 01:17:10,754
Do you have any Cookie Tushala movies?

1593
01:17:12,130 --> 01:17:14,007
I'll check. We're probably all out.

1594
01:17:15,050 --> 01:17:16,927
Is that Katie Collins?

1595
01:17:16,927 --> 01:17:18,220
Hi.
- Hi, Katie.

1596
01:17:18,220 --> 01:17:20,806
As the video store
became commonplace, the curation

1597
01:17:20,806 --> 01:17:24,184
of private viewing experiences
would increasingly take place

1598
01:17:24,184 --> 01:17:26,061
in the presence of pornography,

1599
01:17:26,061 --> 01:17:27,729
or at least peripheral to it.

1600
01:17:27,729 --> 01:17:29,147
Does Ryan know you're here?

1601
01:17:31,024 --> 01:17:34,861
Wait till he hears who we
saw renting, "Vagina Town."

1602
01:17:36,405 --> 01:17:38,949
Thanks.
- It's a classic.

1603
01:17:42,995 --> 01:17:44,955
Jack.
- Yeah.

1604
01:17:44,955 --> 01:17:46,540
I was noticing a lot of these tapes

1605
01:17:46,540 --> 01:17:48,375
look like they've been used.

1606
01:17:48,375 --> 01:17:49,793
What's the deal?

1607
01:17:49,793 --> 01:17:50,794
Are you moving from another location?

1608
01:17:50,794 --> 01:17:55,048
No. Bought 500 tapes
from a guy in New York.

1609
01:17:55,048 --> 01:17:56,425
Said his store was going out of business,

1610
01:17:56,425 --> 01:17:58,385
wanted to unload his stock.

1611
01:17:58,385 --> 01:18:00,596
I argued him down to two grand in cash.

1612
01:18:00,596 --> 01:18:02,889
Five bucks a tape. That's great.

1613
01:18:02,889 --> 01:18:04,266
The direct to
video erotic thriller,

1614
01:18:04,266 --> 01:18:07,352
"Double Cross" features a
protagonist getting a fresh start

1615
01:18:07,352 --> 01:18:10,147
in a new town by opening up a video store,

1616
01:18:10,147 --> 01:18:13,275
which he explains in
endearingly precise detail.

1617
01:18:14,234 --> 01:18:16,695
I hope you left him
all the porno titles.

1618
01:18:16,695 --> 01:18:18,155
No. Kept them.

1619
01:18:18,155 --> 01:18:20,490
It isn't long
before his curatorial choices

1620
01:18:20,490 --> 01:18:23,577
bring unwanted attention
from local law enforcement.

1621
01:18:25,787 --> 01:18:27,748
Hi, can I help you?

1622
01:18:28,624 --> 01:18:30,417
Are you Jack Connelly?

1623
01:18:30,417 --> 01:18:32,294
Conealy, what can I do for you?

1624
01:18:32,294 --> 01:18:34,755
You can load up your
crates of porno movies back

1625
01:18:34,755 --> 01:18:37,507
in your car and get your
ass out of the valley.

1626
01:18:44,640 --> 01:18:45,474
You know, Melissa,

1627
01:18:45,474 --> 01:18:46,642
these are actually X-ray glasses.

1628
01:18:47,893 --> 01:18:48,727
Really?

1629
01:18:50,228 --> 01:18:51,188
I could see a freckle

1630
01:18:51,188 --> 01:18:52,898
on that girl's right breast.

1631
01:18:52,898 --> 01:18:55,359
Jack! Maybe you can get
away with that kind of talk

1632
01:18:55,359 --> 01:18:57,611
in New York, but this is a small town.

1633
01:19:04,534 --> 01:19:05,535
Oh.

1634
01:19:05,535 --> 01:19:06,620
As the romantic tension

1635
01:19:06,620 --> 01:19:09,164
of the film builds beyond mere flirtation,

1636
01:19:09,164 --> 01:19:12,125
this erotically charged moment
makes good on the promise

1637
01:19:12,125 --> 01:19:15,128
of private lives being put
on public display within

1638
01:19:15,128 --> 01:19:17,923
and because of the video store.

1639
01:19:17,923 --> 01:19:22,928
Jack! Jack, have you had breakfast yet?

1640
01:19:29,267 --> 01:19:31,019
"Double Cross"
shows that adult sexuality

1641
01:19:31,019 --> 01:19:34,147
can infiltrate the video store
if invited in via a healthy

1642
01:19:34,147 --> 01:19:37,109
and often remarked upon
selection of pornography.

1643
01:19:37,109 --> 01:19:41,238
But it is unusually for
depictions of video stores

1644
01:19:41,238 --> 01:19:44,408
entirely unconcerned
with movies themselves.

1645
01:19:44,408 --> 01:19:47,786
No specific films are ever
cited by the characters.

1646
01:19:47,786 --> 01:19:50,247
Despite the frequent
references to pornography,

1647
01:19:50,247 --> 01:19:52,624
we never see if those videos
are kept in a back room,

1648
01:19:52,624 --> 01:19:54,668
or where they're kept at all.

1649
01:19:56,962 --> 01:19:59,923
I can't believe you broke a cop's nose.

1650
01:19:59,923 --> 01:20:02,467
I told you, you shouldn't
have kept those porno titles.

1651
01:20:02,467 --> 01:20:03,677
Yeah, you're probably right.

1652
01:20:03,677 --> 01:20:05,679
I'm gonna get some ice on this.

1653
01:20:06,972 --> 01:20:11,935
Jack, do you like pizza?
- Of course, I'm American,

1654
01:20:12,144 --> 01:20:12,978
aren't I?

1655
01:20:12,978 --> 01:20:14,646
It's our national food, pepperoni.

1656
01:20:18,483 --> 01:20:20,610
"Roadhouse," "Road to Hong Kong." "Road to Rio."

1657
01:20:20,610 --> 01:20:21,903
"RoboCop," "RoboCop," "RoboCop."

1658
01:20:21,903 --> 01:20:23,989
There's no "RoboCop 2."
- Somebody rented it.

1659
01:20:23,989 --> 01:20:26,908
Anxieties of the
private made public as related

1660
01:20:26,908 --> 01:20:29,828
to sexual activity occasionally manifest

1661
01:20:29,828 --> 01:20:32,497
as an amateur pornographic home movie made

1662
01:20:32,497 --> 01:20:35,459
by the characters,
accidentally being returned

1663
01:20:35,459 --> 01:20:39,546
to the video store in place of
the intended commercial VHS.

1664
01:20:39,546 --> 01:20:42,841
We're looking for "RoboCop 2."

1665
01:20:42,841 --> 01:20:44,342
It's out.
- Could you tell us

1666
01:20:44,342 --> 01:20:45,385
who rented it?

1667
01:20:45,385 --> 01:20:48,346
Why?
- Because I need to see it.

1668
01:20:48,346 --> 01:20:49,681
Why?
- What do you mean why?

1669
01:20:49,681 --> 01:20:50,974
Because, because, because she...

1670
01:20:50,974 --> 01:20:51,808
You know what happened?

1671
01:20:51,808 --> 01:20:52,642
She saw the first one,

1672
01:20:52,642 --> 01:20:54,603
and then inadvertently
she saw the third one.

1673
01:20:54,603 --> 01:20:55,687
So until she sees the second one,

1674
01:20:55,687 --> 01:20:57,022
she's hanging.
- Sorry.

1675
01:20:57,856 --> 01:21:00,025
Okay, can I just ask you...
- What are you doing?

1676
01:21:00,025 --> 01:21:01,318
Nothing.
- I'll have to ask you

1677
01:21:01,318 --> 01:21:03,278
not to do that.

1678
01:21:03,278 --> 01:21:04,571
As the language of video stores

1679
01:21:04,571 --> 01:21:07,324
on screen became mostly
a tool for films talking

1680
01:21:07,324 --> 01:21:09,284
to themselves about cinema,

1681
01:21:09,284 --> 01:21:11,495
then the incorporation
of the back room extends

1682
01:21:11,495 --> 01:21:14,247
that dialogue to the one
form of theatrical cinema

1683
01:21:14,247 --> 01:21:16,500
that was fully eradicated by the invention

1684
01:21:16,500 --> 01:21:19,961
of home video, pornography
and adult features.

1685
01:21:21,046 --> 01:21:24,049
Excuse me. What movie is this?

1686
01:21:24,049 --> 01:21:24,883
What movie is this?

1687
01:21:24,883 --> 01:21:27,177
Have you been living in
a cardboard box, lady?

1688
01:21:27,177 --> 01:21:31,014
No, I'm from Utah.
- Oh, I'm sorry.

1689
01:21:33,600 --> 01:21:35,894
So let's talk about the future.

1690
01:21:35,894 --> 01:21:38,980
Let's talk about what video
means to this industry,

1691
01:21:38,980 --> 01:21:41,691
and let's talk about how
all of us, not one of us,

1692
01:21:41,691 --> 01:21:43,401
how all of us are gonna profit.

1693
01:21:43,401 --> 01:21:44,653
Fears about videotape

1694
01:21:44,653 --> 01:21:46,279
destroying theatrical exhibition

1695
01:21:46,279 --> 01:21:48,949
were by the 1990's irrelevant.

1696
01:21:48,949 --> 01:21:49,950
The video industry,

1697
01:21:49,950 --> 01:21:52,828
specifically the video
rental industry had learned

1698
01:21:52,828 --> 01:21:56,414
how to exist in symbiosis
with theatrical exhibition,

1699
01:21:56,414 --> 01:21:59,543
aligning with it rather
than supplanting it.

1700
01:21:59,543 --> 01:22:01,920
Such was not the case for pornography

1701
01:22:01,920 --> 01:22:05,549
where public exhibition was
quickly made all but extinct

1702
01:22:05,549 --> 01:22:08,176
when challenged by new notions
of at-home consumption.

1703
01:22:08,176 --> 01:22:09,636
I got the connection to the equipment

1704
01:22:09,636 --> 01:22:10,929
and the mail order distribution.

1705
01:22:10,929 --> 01:22:13,014
Not to mention those kids out there

1706
01:22:13,014 --> 01:22:15,267
who are hot fucking
action to the max Jack.

1707
01:22:16,768 --> 01:22:17,727
This is the future.

1708
01:22:18,562 --> 01:22:20,438
Video tape tells the truth.

1709
01:22:20,438 --> 01:22:22,023
Fictionalized scenes showing

1710
01:22:22,023 --> 01:22:24,776
the efforts one had to go
through to obtain pornography

1711
01:22:24,776 --> 01:22:27,571
in the slim window between
theatrical exhibition

1712
01:22:27,571 --> 01:22:30,323
and the internet are now
the only way of knowing

1713
01:22:30,323 --> 01:22:33,243
that such a thing ever existed at all.

1714
01:22:33,243 --> 01:22:35,537
Thus, the presence of pornography,

1715
01:22:35,537 --> 01:22:38,331
the brutal collision of public and private

1716
01:22:38,331 --> 01:22:40,792
is an exaggeration of
the awkwardness and shame

1717
01:22:40,792 --> 01:22:43,753
that according to movies and
television was unavoidable

1718
01:22:43,753 --> 01:22:45,255
when visiting the video store.

1719
01:22:46,590 --> 01:22:48,800
Do you always rent adult
titles with your daughter in tow

1720
01:22:48,800 --> 01:22:50,093
or is this the first time?

1721
01:22:51,428 --> 01:22:53,763
Excuse me.
- Well, when you rent porn,

1722
01:22:53,763 --> 01:22:55,724
do you usually do it with family around

1723
01:22:55,724 --> 01:22:58,018
or is this like a, you
know, special occasion?

1724
01:23:00,103 --> 01:23:01,479
Do I have to answer this?

1725
01:23:01,479 --> 01:23:02,564
I'm a grad student.

1726
01:23:02,564 --> 01:23:05,859
I'm writing a thesis
paper, A Bird in the Hand,

1727
01:23:05,859 --> 01:23:09,362
the family man and the
pornographic fixation.

1728
01:23:09,362 --> 01:23:11,364
Movies and TV
shows would have you believe

1729
01:23:11,364 --> 01:23:13,116
that the video store was the domain

1730
01:23:13,116 --> 01:23:15,452
of humiliation and mishaps.

1731
01:23:15,452 --> 01:23:18,204
So there is no greater shame
than summoning up the courage

1732
01:23:18,204 --> 01:23:20,874
to rent a pornographic movie, only to face

1733
01:23:20,874 --> 01:23:23,376
the final gauntlet of an invasive clerk

1734
01:23:23,376 --> 01:23:25,962
or an accidental encounter
with someone you know.

1735
01:23:26,922 --> 01:23:30,550
♪ No one can fill me up the way you do ♪

1736
01:23:30,550 --> 01:23:32,218
♪ I'm hooked on ♪

1737
01:23:32,218 --> 01:23:33,929
♪ Come on now ♪

1738
01:23:33,929 --> 01:23:35,639
♪ I need a hit ♪

1739
01:23:35,639 --> 01:23:38,808
♪ I need a fix of you ♪

1740
01:23:46,191 --> 01:23:49,945
♪ I need to breathe you in ♪

1741
01:23:49,945 --> 01:23:50,779
♪ Come on ♪

1742
01:23:50,779 --> 01:23:53,365
♪ Be my oxygen ♪

1743
01:23:54,783 --> 01:23:56,493
Perhaps the most confounding idea

1744
01:23:56,493 --> 01:23:57,994
to be gleaned in retrospect

1745
01:23:57,994 --> 01:24:01,373
is the way in which mainstream primetime television dealt

1746
01:24:01,373 --> 01:24:04,751
with the notion of video stores stocking pornography.

1747
01:24:05,794 --> 01:24:08,129
Broadcast at family friendly times,

1748
01:24:08,129 --> 01:24:09,798
these shows made the curious decision

1749
01:24:09,798 --> 01:24:13,176
to both depict pornography
as common and accessible

1750
01:24:13,176 --> 01:24:15,345
while never failing to
also portray the idea

1751
01:24:15,345 --> 01:24:18,807
of actually renting it as
shameful or humiliating.

1752
01:24:18,807 --> 01:24:21,685
Excuse me. We're gonna
be here for a while,

1753
01:24:21,685 --> 01:24:23,269
so why don't you just go back there.

1754
01:24:23,269 --> 01:24:24,938
Yep. We're not judging.

1755
01:24:29,234 --> 01:24:32,237
An extremely 1990's
paradox wherein adults

1756
01:24:32,237 --> 01:24:35,615
are interested in sexuality
but unwilling to admit it.

1757
01:24:35,615 --> 01:24:39,077
In fact, it's preferable to
make a mockery of yourself

1758
01:24:39,077 --> 01:24:41,037
rather than simply admit that you rent

1759
01:24:41,037 --> 01:24:42,414
and enjoy pornography.

1760
01:24:42,414 --> 01:24:44,165
Oh my God.
- That's Phoebe.

1761
01:24:44,165 --> 01:24:45,583
Where did you get that?

1762
01:24:45,583 --> 01:24:48,336
Well, down at the adult
video place on Bleeker.

1763
01:24:48,336 --> 01:24:50,880
And I saw Joey was about to go in,

1764
01:24:50,880 --> 01:24:54,384
so I ran in ahead of him to surprise him

1765
01:24:54,384 --> 01:24:59,389
and then I pretended that I
didn't know he was in there.

1766
01:25:03,226 --> 01:25:05,979
I don't believe you've seen this.

1767
01:25:05,979 --> 01:25:09,399
Oh, lovely.
- Yeah.

1768
01:25:09,399 --> 01:25:11,401
What do you think their parents think?

1769
01:25:12,485 --> 01:25:15,405
So what's your son
doing now, Dr. Stevens?

1770
01:25:15,405 --> 01:25:17,824
Oh, he's a public fornicator.

1771
01:25:19,117 --> 01:25:21,119
Pornography at
this time was packaged

1772
01:25:21,119 --> 01:25:24,914
in oversized boxes, and the
appearance of one as an object

1773
01:25:24,914 --> 01:25:27,042
of fascination and mockery on "Seinfeld"

1774
01:25:27,042 --> 01:25:29,294
is both anomalous for the show,

1775
01:25:29,294 --> 01:25:31,254
but typical for the culture of the time.

1776
01:25:32,172 --> 01:25:35,467
This video store keeps its
adult titles out in the open,

1777
01:25:35,467 --> 01:25:37,927
directly behind foreign and adventure.

1778
01:25:37,927 --> 01:25:41,347
Something seldom done and
virtually never shown on screen.

1779
01:25:42,474 --> 01:25:45,935
Jerry holding up a big box
porno tape on Must See TV

1780
01:25:45,935 --> 01:25:49,022
is in retrospect, fascinating.

1781
01:25:49,022 --> 01:25:50,732
His dismissal and lambasting

1782
01:25:50,732 --> 01:25:53,318
of it however was much more common.

1783
01:25:53,318 --> 01:25:55,945
What these films and TV shows
watched by millions of people

1784
01:25:55,945 --> 01:25:59,282
are saying is that adult
videos and adult sexuality

1785
01:25:59,282 --> 01:26:02,744
are the domain of the
undesirable and perverted.

1786
01:26:02,744 --> 01:26:04,954
If you visit a video
store to rent pornography,

1787
01:26:04,954 --> 01:26:06,372
you will most likely run

1788
01:26:06,372 --> 01:26:08,583
into the last person you want to see

1789
01:26:08,583 --> 01:26:10,710
and regret your decision.

1790
01:26:10,710 --> 01:26:14,089
Over and over again the viewer
is being told, don't do it.

1791
01:26:17,383 --> 01:26:19,052
Taking a walk on the wild side.

1792
01:26:20,720 --> 01:26:22,972
Oh.

1793
01:26:25,183 --> 01:26:27,435
Hey, little boy,

1794
01:26:27,435 --> 01:26:28,353
are you lost?

1795
01:26:29,229 --> 01:26:31,606
Donna?
- Having fun.

1796
01:26:33,108 --> 01:26:35,318
Why? You wanna have fun with me?

1797
01:26:35,318 --> 01:26:39,322
I don't think so.
- Are you sure?

1798
01:26:39,322 --> 01:26:41,574
Ew, this is disgusting. Come on.

1799
01:26:41,574 --> 01:26:43,034
Donna.

1800
01:26:43,034 --> 01:26:44,661
Donna Martin, is that you?

1801
01:26:45,703 --> 01:26:48,289
Hi, Father Chris,
- Look at this.

1802
01:26:48,289 --> 01:26:49,999
You're all grown up now.

1803
01:26:49,999 --> 01:26:51,209
Yep. 18.

1804
01:26:52,794 --> 01:26:55,421
We see on primetime
television a contradiction

1805
01:26:55,421 --> 01:26:58,174
that is central to attempting
to understand the morality

1806
01:26:58,174 --> 01:27:00,009
of the 1990's.

1807
01:27:00,009 --> 01:27:02,011
Video stores are everywhere.

1808
01:27:02,011 --> 01:27:05,807
You visit them frequently,
they're full of pornography,

1809
01:27:05,807 --> 01:27:07,642
but it's not there for you,

1810
01:27:07,642 --> 01:27:09,561
it's there for someone else.

1811
01:27:09,561 --> 01:27:11,813
Time and time again throughout the 1990's

1812
01:27:11,813 --> 01:27:15,150
and into the 2000's, interactions
at video stores were shown

1813
01:27:15,150 --> 01:27:18,903
as unpleasant,
embarrassing, and pointless.

1814
01:27:18,903 --> 01:27:20,572
If by some miracle you were able

1815
01:27:20,572 --> 01:27:22,740
to find the movie you wanted,

1816
01:27:22,740 --> 01:27:25,076
avoid unwanted encounters
with former paramours

1817
01:27:25,076 --> 01:27:27,912
and not be seen demonstrating
a healthy interest

1818
01:27:27,912 --> 01:27:30,540
in adult sexuality, there
was still one more hurdle

1819
01:27:30,540 --> 01:27:31,916
to clear.

1820
01:27:31,916 --> 01:27:34,127
The self-appointed enforcer of the rules,

1821
01:27:34,127 --> 01:27:37,797
the arbiter of taste, the final
frustration one must endure

1822
01:27:37,797 --> 01:27:40,884
before completing this
humiliating, awkward,

1823
01:27:40,884 --> 01:27:43,511
disappointing trip to the video store,

1824
01:27:43,511 --> 01:27:47,182
the rude, unhelpful clerk.

1825
01:27:47,182 --> 01:27:48,516
Hey, close your eyes when you pass

1826
01:27:48,516 --> 01:27:50,101
the adult section!

1827
01:27:50,101 --> 01:27:51,436
Cosmo, let's shut this stuff off

1828
01:27:51,436 --> 01:27:52,270
and go home.

1829
01:28:07,410 --> 01:28:08,703
Throughout the 1990's,

1830
01:28:08,703 --> 01:28:10,872
the video store became
a common, normalized

1831
01:28:10,872 --> 01:28:14,292
and unremarkable location
within the retail landscape.

1832
01:28:14,292 --> 01:28:16,127
The bastion of the
store's archival depths,

1833
01:28:16,127 --> 01:28:19,422
its frustrations, its
humiliations and its human touch

1834
01:28:19,422 --> 01:28:21,549
was the video clerk.

1835
01:28:21,549 --> 01:28:23,801
Hey, did your girlfriend like the movie?

1836
01:28:23,801 --> 01:28:25,637
Liked it? Dude, she loved it.

1837
01:28:25,637 --> 01:28:27,764
It was the best fucking
love story she's ever seen.

1838
01:28:27,764 --> 01:28:28,765
I mean, she liked it so much,

1839
01:28:28,765 --> 01:28:30,141
she got on her knees and proposed to me.

1840
01:28:30,141 --> 01:28:32,352
Congratulations. When's the big day?

1841
01:28:32,352 --> 01:28:34,687
Dude, I wanted to get
some, not get married.

1842
01:28:34,687 --> 01:28:36,731
Anyway, I told her I
wasn't ready for that yet,

1843
01:28:36,731 --> 01:28:37,899
so she broke up with me.

1844
01:28:37,899 --> 01:28:39,317
Sorry to hear that.

1845
01:28:39,317 --> 01:28:41,319
Hey, you know Forrest Hump just came in.

1846
01:28:41,319 --> 01:28:43,321
What about "Riding Miss Daisy?"

1847
01:28:45,573 --> 01:28:46,741
As time went on,

1848
01:28:46,741 --> 01:28:48,910
the video store became a launching pad

1849
01:28:48,910 --> 01:28:51,537
for more acceptable passions,

1850
01:28:51,537 --> 01:28:53,206
namely film production.

1851
01:28:53,206 --> 01:28:54,999
It's pretty clear, Vinny's
not here for his love

1852
01:28:54,999 --> 01:28:56,918
for retail, Vinny's actually here

1853
01:28:56,918 --> 01:28:59,629
because he wants to be the
next Quentin Tarantino.

1854
01:28:59,629 --> 01:29:02,882
You know what? I have
a feeling I'm on my way.

1855
01:29:02,882 --> 01:29:05,802
Oh, I see you, film fans.

1856
01:29:05,802 --> 01:29:07,220
This is Quentin Tarantino.

1857
01:29:07,220 --> 01:29:08,513
Why are you here today

1858
01:29:08,513 --> 01:29:10,390
in this particular video store?

1859
01:29:10,390 --> 01:29:12,100
Well, because I used to
work at this video store

1860
01:29:12,100 --> 01:29:12,976
for five years.

1861
01:29:12,976 --> 01:29:15,687
I was behind the counter
charging people late fees,

1862
01:29:15,687 --> 01:29:17,021
recommending movies and stuff.

1863
01:29:17,021 --> 01:29:18,815
And now as everything's
kind of come full circle,

1864
01:29:18,815 --> 01:29:20,316
because my movies come out on video,

1865
01:29:20,316 --> 01:29:21,192
and this is the opening day,

1866
01:29:21,192 --> 01:29:23,194
and so I'm here to send it off.

1867
01:29:23,194 --> 01:29:25,571
Two former video
clerks emerged in the 90's

1868
01:29:25,571 --> 01:29:27,824
as acclaimed independent filmmakers,

1869
01:29:27,824 --> 01:29:29,951
forever defining the stereotype,

1870
01:29:29,951 --> 01:29:32,787
but only one of these directors
rendered the experiences

1871
01:29:32,787 --> 01:29:34,872
of video clerk life on screen.

1872
01:29:36,291 --> 01:29:38,042
Are either one of these any good?

1873
01:29:39,711 --> 01:29:41,713
Sir?
- What?

1874
01:29:41,713 --> 01:29:43,881
Are either one of these any good?

1875
01:29:43,881 --> 01:29:45,425
I don't watch movies.

1876
01:29:45,425 --> 01:29:48,303
Clerks appeared
as easy stereotypes.

1877
01:29:48,303 --> 01:29:51,055
Clerks became a consistent
and recognizable part

1878
01:29:51,055 --> 01:29:52,557
of the video store routine.

1879
01:29:52,557 --> 01:29:55,184
Behind the counter or
walking through the aisles,

1880
01:29:55,184 --> 01:29:58,187
we all knew this person and what they did.

1881
01:29:58,187 --> 01:30:02,525
In many cases, clerks were assholes.

1882
01:30:02,525 --> 01:30:04,944
Well, what about these two?
- Oh, they suck.

1883
01:30:06,529 --> 01:30:09,032
These are the same two movies!

1884
01:30:09,032 --> 01:30:10,908
You weren't paying any attention.

1885
01:30:10,908 --> 01:30:12,035
No, I wasn't.

1886
01:30:13,036 --> 01:30:15,038
I don't think your
manager would appreciate!

1887
01:30:15,038 --> 01:30:17,332
I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am.

1888
01:30:17,332 --> 01:30:19,042
I beg your pardon.
- Your ruse.

1889
01:30:19,042 --> 01:30:20,918
Your cunning attempt to trick me.

1890
01:30:20,918 --> 01:30:22,754
Sometimes this was
because they simply didn't know

1891
01:30:22,754 --> 01:30:25,965
what they were doing
or didn't care at all.

1892
01:30:25,965 --> 01:30:27,967
At other times though,
clerks were unhelpful

1893
01:30:27,967 --> 01:30:30,011
because they knew too much.

1894
01:30:30,011 --> 01:30:32,305
Clerks were crucial
aspect of the video store

1895
01:30:32,305 --> 01:30:34,599
because they helped change movie culture,

1896
01:30:34,599 --> 01:30:36,476
and they did this because
of the way they interacted

1897
01:30:36,476 --> 01:30:39,145
with movies and other people.

1898
01:30:39,145 --> 01:30:41,564
Like any retail worker,
the video clerk engaged

1899
01:30:41,564 --> 01:30:42,899
in social interactions.

1900
01:30:42,899 --> 01:30:44,275
But video clerks were different

1901
01:30:44,275 --> 01:30:45,610
because movies are different.

1902
01:30:45,610 --> 01:30:46,444
Hey, you're not allowed

1903
01:30:46,444 --> 01:30:47,737
to rent here anymore!
- Yeah.

1904
01:30:48,821 --> 01:30:51,449
Shopping for
videos required taste,

1905
01:30:51,449 --> 01:30:54,035
and the clerk was expected to
have some knowledge of movies

1906
01:30:54,035 --> 01:30:55,286
and tastes of their own.

1907
01:30:56,204 --> 01:30:57,580
You know who I can do without?

1908
01:30:57,580 --> 01:30:59,457
I can do without the
people in the video store.

1909
01:30:59,457 --> 01:31:02,251
Which ones?
- All of them.

1910
01:31:02,251 --> 01:31:03,961
What would you get for a 6-year-old boy

1911
01:31:03,961 --> 01:31:05,797
who chronically wets his bed?

1912
01:31:05,797 --> 01:31:07,548
So do you have any new movies in?

1913
01:31:08,800 --> 01:31:11,552
Do you have that one with
that guy who was in that movie

1914
01:31:11,552 --> 01:31:13,596
that was out last year?

1915
01:31:13,596 --> 01:31:15,223
They never rent quality flicks.

1916
01:31:15,223 --> 01:31:17,392
They always pick the most
intellectually devoid movie

1917
01:31:17,392 --> 01:31:18,768
on the racks.

1918
01:31:18,768 --> 01:31:21,312
Ooh, "Navy Seals."

1919
01:31:21,312 --> 01:31:22,355
It's like in order to join,

1920
01:31:22,355 --> 01:31:24,565
they have to have an IQ
less than their shoe size.

1921
01:31:24,565 --> 01:31:26,734
These were spaces of interaction.

1922
01:31:26,734 --> 01:31:29,320
At the video store, movie
tastes were declared

1923
01:31:29,320 --> 01:31:32,824
and defined through an
overtly social process.

1924
01:31:32,824 --> 01:31:36,160
In so many movies, this
appeared as a conflict.

1925
01:31:36,160 --> 01:31:37,662
Do you sell videotapes?
- Yeah.

1926
01:31:37,662 --> 01:31:38,538
What are you looking for?

1927
01:31:38,538 --> 01:31:41,499
"Happy Scrappy: Hero Pup."
- One second.

1928
01:31:41,499 --> 01:31:43,209
I'm on the phone with the
distribution house now.

1929
01:31:43,209 --> 01:31:45,336
Lemme make sure they got it.

1930
01:31:45,336 --> 01:31:46,337
Okay. What's it called again?

1931
01:31:46,337 --> 01:31:47,797
"Happy Scrappy: Hero Pup."

1932
01:31:47,797 --> 01:31:50,007
Happy scrappy.
- She loves it.

1933
01:31:50,007 --> 01:31:50,842
Obviously.

1934
01:31:52,301 --> 01:31:54,387
Yeah. Hi, this is RST Video calling.

1935
01:31:54,387 --> 01:31:56,472
Customer number 4352.

1936
01:31:56,472 --> 01:31:57,849
I'd like to place an order.

1937
01:31:58,724 --> 01:32:00,852
Okay, I need one each
of the following tapes,

1938
01:32:00,852 --> 01:32:02,145
"Whispers in The Wind,"

1939
01:32:02,145 --> 01:32:04,730
"To Each His Own," "Put It
Where It Doesn't Belong."

1940
01:32:04,730 --> 01:32:06,399
"My Pipes Need Cleaning."

1941
01:32:06,399 --> 01:32:08,401
"All Tit Fucking Volume Eight."

1942
01:32:08,401 --> 01:32:09,652
I Need Your Cock."

1943
01:32:09,652 --> 01:32:11,654
"Ass Worshiping Rimjobbers."

1944
01:32:11,654 --> 01:32:14,240
"My Cunt and Eight Shafts." "Come Clean."

1945
01:32:14,240 --> 01:32:16,159
"Cum Gargling Naked Sluts."

1946
01:32:16,159 --> 01:32:17,535
"Cum Buns 3."

1947
01:32:17,535 --> 01:32:18,911
"Cuming in Socks."

1948
01:32:18,911 --> 01:32:20,288
"Come On Eileen."

1949
01:32:20,288 --> 01:32:22,373
"Huge Black Cocks with Pearly White Cum."

1950
01:32:22,373 --> 01:32:23,875
"Girls who Crave Cock."

1951
01:32:23,875 --> 01:32:25,376
"Girls who Crave Cunt."

1952
01:32:25,376 --> 01:32:27,920
"Men Alone II: The K-Y Connection."

1953
01:32:27,920 --> 01:32:29,547
"Pink Pussy Lips."

1954
01:32:29,547 --> 01:32:32,675
Oh yeah, and "All Holes
Filled with Hard Cock".

1955
01:32:32,675 --> 01:32:35,052
Yep. Oh, wait a minute.

1956
01:32:35,052 --> 01:32:36,512
What was that called again?

1957
01:32:36,512 --> 01:32:38,514
The video clerk stood between you

1958
01:32:38,514 --> 01:32:40,057
and the movie you wanted to watch,

1959
01:32:40,057 --> 01:32:43,436
and they could cause trouble
if they didn't wanna help.

1960
01:32:43,436 --> 01:32:46,898
Haven't you had enough
violence, Chip Sutton,

1961
01:32:46,898 --> 01:32:48,858
turn that filth off.

1962
01:32:48,858 --> 01:32:49,734
Sorry, ma'am.

1963
01:32:50,693 --> 01:32:53,029
Do you have the musical, "Annie?"

1964
01:32:53,029 --> 01:32:54,280
Sure do.

1965
01:32:55,323 --> 01:32:57,909
Did you bring back "Ghost Dad?"

1966
01:32:57,909 --> 01:32:59,410
There you go.

1967
01:32:59,410 --> 01:33:02,205
I just love Bill Cosby pictures.

1968
01:33:02,205 --> 01:33:04,207
Ms. Jensen, I've told you,

1969
01:33:04,207 --> 01:33:06,584
you have to rewind the
tapes before returning 'em.

1970
01:33:06,584 --> 01:33:07,418
Oh!

1971
01:33:11,547 --> 01:33:13,424
Clerks could
be shown as unhelpful

1972
01:33:13,424 --> 01:33:14,842
and disinterested in cultivating

1973
01:33:14,842 --> 01:33:17,261
a pleasant transactional experience,

1974
01:33:17,261 --> 01:33:19,722
but they were seldom depicted as dumb.

1975
01:33:20,932 --> 01:33:23,476
What's that Werewolf
movie with ET's mom in it?

1976
01:33:23,476 --> 01:33:25,478
"The Howling", Horror, straight ahead.

1977
01:33:25,478 --> 01:33:26,395
Okay, thanks.

1978
01:33:27,730 --> 01:33:29,440
They appear
frustrated, resentful,

1979
01:33:29,440 --> 01:33:32,151
and arrogant, which is all the more ironic

1980
01:33:32,151 --> 01:33:35,279
because they are working
in such a humble setting.

1981
01:33:35,279 --> 01:33:37,365
I got just what you
need right here, boys.

1982
01:33:37,365 --> 01:33:38,908
Best tape in the whole damn store.

1983
01:33:38,908 --> 01:33:42,370
"Smokey and the Bandit." Huh.

1984
01:33:42,370 --> 01:33:43,204
Who's in that?

1985
01:33:44,747 --> 01:33:48,417
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr's in that boys.

1986
01:33:48,417 --> 01:33:50,795
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.

1987
01:33:51,712 --> 01:33:52,547
Get out.

1988
01:33:53,506 --> 01:33:54,340
You can't have this...

1989
01:33:54,340 --> 01:33:55,925
Go home!

1990
01:33:55,925 --> 01:33:58,469
Get your raggedy little Steven
Seagal loving asses out here.

1991
01:33:58,469 --> 01:34:00,555
Who's in this? Burt Reynolds.

1992
01:34:00,555 --> 01:34:02,765
These snob
clerks were everywhere,

1993
01:34:02,765 --> 01:34:04,684
making humor and creating discomfort out

1994
01:34:04,684 --> 01:34:07,603
of unnecessarily frustrating
shopping experiences.

1995
01:34:08,896 --> 01:34:11,232
Clerks seem like silly know-it-alls.

1996
01:34:11,232 --> 01:34:14,443
Whatever knowledge and taste
they have becomes a handicap.

1997
01:34:14,443 --> 01:34:17,238
Hey, do you have "The Verdict?"

1998
01:34:17,238 --> 01:34:18,489
I hear it's very good.

1999
01:34:18,489 --> 01:34:21,200
Mm. "Verdict."

2000
01:34:21,200 --> 01:34:23,160
Who's in that?
- You know Paul Newman?

2001
01:34:24,370 --> 01:34:25,997
Yes. It's right above your right hand.

2002
01:34:25,997 --> 01:34:26,831
"The Verdict."

2003
01:34:26,831 --> 01:34:27,873
There you go.
- Great.

2004
01:34:27,873 --> 01:34:28,749
I don't know if you're gonna like it.

2005
01:34:28,749 --> 01:34:29,584
It's too predictable.

2006
01:34:29,584 --> 01:34:31,335
You realize halfway through
he is gonna win the case.

2007
01:34:31,335 --> 01:34:32,295
No surprises.

2008
01:34:34,922 --> 01:34:36,048
Well, now I know how it ends,

2009
01:34:36,048 --> 01:34:37,466
so I guess I don't have to rent it.

2010
01:34:37,466 --> 01:34:38,801
All right, all right.
- That one.

2011
01:34:38,801 --> 01:34:39,635
Thank you very much.
- I'm sorry.

2012
01:34:39,635 --> 01:34:41,262
I rented this movie
on your recommendation.

2013
01:34:41,262 --> 01:34:42,763
It's nothing but a lame story

2014
01:34:42,763 --> 01:34:44,390
with a lot of lesbian sex scenes.

2015
01:34:44,390 --> 01:34:45,975
And you didn't like it.

2016
01:34:45,975 --> 01:34:47,351
I watched it with my parents!

2017
01:34:47,351 --> 01:34:48,603
It was very uncomfortable.

2018
01:34:48,603 --> 01:34:51,314
Come on, it's kind of hot.
- No, it's not.

2019
01:34:51,314 --> 01:34:53,232
All right, I'm sorry.

2020
01:34:53,232 --> 01:34:55,026
Gonna tell you what I'm
gonna recommend this,

2021
01:34:55,026 --> 01:34:56,277
"Haunted Slumber Party."

2022
01:34:56,277 --> 01:34:58,070
It's actually a pretty decent film.

2023
01:34:58,070 --> 01:35:00,489
No lesbian sex scenes?
- I think there's two.

2024
01:35:00,489 --> 01:35:02,366
You're a pig.

2025
01:35:02,366 --> 01:35:05,119
♪ Never guessed got this good ♪

2026
01:35:05,119 --> 01:35:08,289
♪ Really didn't think it could ♪

2027
01:35:08,289 --> 01:35:10,875
♪ Do it again ♪

2028
01:35:11,959 --> 01:35:13,377
Excuse me. Hello?

2029
01:35:14,211 --> 01:35:15,046
Excuse me.

2030
01:35:16,213 --> 01:35:17,632
What's up?
- Hi.

2031
01:35:19,925 --> 01:35:22,928
Okay. Of these two,

2032
01:35:24,055 --> 01:35:25,556
which would be good for me

2033
01:35:25,556 --> 01:35:29,935
and you know, if I was
watching alone with a girl?

2034
01:35:29,935 --> 01:35:31,228
Yeah, there you go.

2035
01:35:33,022 --> 01:35:34,482
"When Harry Met Sally."

2036
01:35:36,067 --> 01:35:36,984
Could you maintain a rod

2037
01:35:36,984 --> 01:35:39,028
and watch Billy Crystal at the same time?

2038
01:35:41,072 --> 01:35:43,115
Nah. Don't feel bad. No one can.

2039
01:35:43,115 --> 01:35:44,825
Clerks had to recommend movies,

2040
01:35:44,825 --> 01:35:47,286
which was a complex process.

2041
01:35:47,286 --> 01:35:49,205
The clerk had to assess
the person before them

2042
01:35:49,205 --> 01:35:52,041
to grasp their tastes and desires.

2043
01:35:52,041 --> 01:35:54,418
The clerk had to make
a judgment based on his

2044
01:35:54,418 --> 01:35:57,421
or her own tastes and knowledge
about this customer's needs.

2045
01:35:58,381 --> 01:36:00,424
I can tell you're under a lot of change

2046
01:36:00,424 --> 01:36:01,759
and stress right now.

2047
01:36:05,763 --> 01:36:07,306
Really?
- You're having trouble

2048
01:36:07,306 --> 01:36:12,311
sleeping.
- Yeah. How'd you know?

2049
01:36:14,021 --> 01:36:16,440
Your hair.
- My hair?

2050
01:36:16,440 --> 01:36:18,025
I mean, it's beautiful.

2051
01:36:18,025 --> 01:36:19,151
Maybe a little brittle,

2052
01:36:19,151 --> 01:36:21,195
but that's probably from your diet

2053
01:36:21,195 --> 01:36:26,158
or maybe it's from, forgive
me for saying what's happening

2054
01:36:27,159 --> 01:36:28,661
in your heart.

2055
01:36:28,661 --> 01:36:29,870
And what's happening

2056
01:36:29,870 --> 01:36:32,581
in my heart?
- Not enough.

2057
01:36:35,835 --> 01:36:37,128
I'm sorry.

2058
01:36:37,128 --> 01:36:40,631
I say what's on my mind
too much. I'm stupid.

2059
01:36:41,882 --> 01:36:44,385
I'm Callum. Bye.
- I'm Lorna.

2060
01:36:46,804 --> 01:36:47,638
Bye Callum.

2061
01:36:50,141 --> 01:36:52,268
Hey, you wanna go out with me sometime?

2062
01:36:55,980 --> 01:36:57,273
Okay.

2063
01:36:57,273 --> 01:36:59,525
You take out a lot of videos.
- Do I?

2064
01:37:01,777 --> 01:37:03,404
You should join our video addicts club.

2065
01:37:03,404 --> 01:37:05,281
It's for people who take
out too many videos.

2066
01:37:05,281 --> 01:37:07,366
Too many.
- Oh, you know a lot.

2067
01:37:08,409 --> 01:37:10,453
Get a dollar off every new release.

2068
01:37:10,453 --> 01:37:11,954
Do you wanna go out with me?

2069
01:37:12,997 --> 01:37:14,832
You know, on a date?

2070
01:37:15,875 --> 01:37:17,501
You're Green, right?

2071
01:37:17,501 --> 01:37:18,919
You do the special effects makeup?

2072
01:37:18,919 --> 01:37:20,379
Yeah. How'd you know that?

2073
01:37:20,379 --> 01:37:22,214
Well, I was going over the register

2074
01:37:22,214 --> 01:37:24,842
and I asked Miss Kenny,
who this Green guy was

2075
01:37:24,842 --> 01:37:29,138
who rented "Mutation Mountain"
six times with exact change,

2076
01:37:29,138 --> 01:37:30,765
and then she told me your story.

2077
01:37:32,558 --> 01:37:35,144
What's your story?
- I don't know.

2078
01:37:35,144 --> 01:37:37,229
I'm Angevin. Angevin Duvet.

2079
01:37:57,166 --> 01:37:58,876
Tastes connect people,

2080
01:37:58,876 --> 01:38:00,669
and can even make them fall in love.

2081
01:38:01,629 --> 01:38:02,505
In the video store,

2082
01:38:02,505 --> 01:38:05,049
taste could become an erotic force.

2083
01:38:05,049 --> 01:38:08,844
Excuse me, I'm looking for "Solaris"

2084
01:38:08,844 --> 01:38:11,388
or "Solaris", I think it's Tarkovsky.

2085
01:38:12,973 --> 01:38:15,142
Yeah, I think you're right.

2086
01:38:17,812 --> 01:38:19,355
You know your movie's playing

2087
01:38:19,355 --> 01:38:21,482
at the Mercer tomorrow night?
- Yeah.

2088
01:38:23,859 --> 01:38:25,194
I'm renting it for after,

2089
01:38:25,194 --> 01:38:27,488
just, you know, in case I miss something.

2090
01:38:27,488 --> 01:38:29,657
Don't worry, you're gonna do fine.

2091
01:38:29,657 --> 01:38:30,950
Excuse me.

2092
01:38:30,950 --> 01:38:33,494
Just remember, a
celebration of human values

2093
01:38:33,494 --> 01:38:35,162
and the power of love in a hostile

2094
01:38:35,162 --> 01:38:38,499
or indifferent universe,
he'll eat it up.

2095
01:38:38,499 --> 01:38:39,667
Who?
- This guy's

2096
01:38:39,667 --> 01:38:40,626
in film school, right?

2097
01:38:40,626 --> 01:38:42,253
Your date. He's undergrad.

2098
01:38:42,253 --> 01:38:44,505
He has some Elmore Leonard thing on 16.

2099
01:38:44,505 --> 01:38:45,923
he did summer after high school

2100
01:38:45,923 --> 01:38:47,800
that he's very touchy about.

2101
01:38:49,635 --> 01:38:51,220
How am I doing?

2102
01:38:51,220 --> 01:38:52,471
You're freaking me out.

2103
01:38:53,806 --> 01:38:55,224
And then Vicki laughed,

2104
01:38:55,224 --> 01:38:56,976
and it wasn't like a
cheap fake laugh either.

2105
01:38:56,976 --> 01:38:57,852
it was like...

2106
01:38:57,852 --> 01:38:59,937
It was a real genuine laugh.

2107
01:38:59,937 --> 01:39:00,855
Of course she laughed, Robin.

2108
01:39:00,855 --> 01:39:02,064
It's my muppet joke. It's hilarious.

2109
01:39:02,064 --> 01:39:04,650
My point is that Vicki laughed,

2110
01:39:04,650 --> 01:39:07,444
and everything was just
like it was perfect.

2111
01:39:07,444 --> 01:39:09,154
Taste represents
where we come from

2112
01:39:09,154 --> 01:39:10,656
and where we want to go.

2113
01:39:10,656 --> 01:39:13,033
Taste is a marker of
our class, our gender,

2114
01:39:13,033 --> 01:39:14,660
our age, and our education.

2115
01:39:15,953 --> 01:39:18,122
Going into the video store
meant declaring yourself

2116
01:39:18,122 --> 01:39:20,374
by declaring your taste in movies,

2117
01:39:20,374 --> 01:39:22,293
your appreciation for classical films

2118
01:39:22,293 --> 01:39:23,502
and your intellectual ability

2119
01:39:23,502 --> 01:39:26,171
to cultivate your own
understanding of them,

2120
01:39:26,171 --> 01:39:29,508
and the video clerk was the
one who judged everything.

2121
01:39:31,051 --> 01:39:33,053
Oh, I think I found our morning movie.

2122
01:39:35,222 --> 01:39:36,974
"Dr. Zhivago."

2123
01:39:36,974 --> 01:39:38,642
Ah, you know, I don't do double VHS.

2124
01:39:38,642 --> 01:39:40,269
But it's about doomed love.

2125
01:39:40,269 --> 01:39:42,396
Oh, that's relatable.
- Precisely.

2126
01:39:42,396 --> 01:39:46,609
Also, Julie Christie
is bonkers hot in this,

2127
01:39:46,609 --> 01:39:49,445
like, seriously, the
most beautiful creature

2128
01:39:49,445 --> 01:39:50,946
I have ever seen in my life.

2129
01:39:50,946 --> 01:39:52,698
To this day, the stereotype

2130
01:39:52,698 --> 01:39:55,242
of the video clerk remains
understandable and vivid

2131
01:39:55,242 --> 01:39:57,077
to modern audiences.

2132
01:39:57,077 --> 01:39:59,914
They are the most lasting
representational artifact

2133
01:39:59,914 --> 01:40:01,916
of video stores.

2134
01:40:04,209 --> 01:40:07,588
In order to fully understand
the impact video stores had,

2135
01:40:07,588 --> 01:40:09,965
we must understand who populated them,

2136
01:40:09,965 --> 01:40:12,426
and created the experiences
that brought customers

2137
01:40:12,426 --> 01:40:16,972
to a bountiful world of choices
and later pushed them away

2138
01:40:16,972 --> 01:40:20,684
due to excessive fees
and personal humiliation.

2139
01:40:20,684 --> 01:40:25,481
What are you returning?
- "Rochelle, Rochelle."

2140
01:40:25,481 --> 01:40:26,857
Oh, "Rochelle, Rochelle."

2141
01:40:26,857 --> 01:40:28,359
A young girl’s strange, erotic journey

2142
01:40:28,359 --> 01:40:29,777
from Milan to Minsk.
- Yeah.

2143
01:40:31,153 --> 01:40:32,613
That'll be 3.49.

2144
01:40:33,656 --> 01:40:35,783
3.49. It says 1.49.

2145
01:40:35,783 --> 01:40:36,617
Well, you didn't rewind it.

2146
01:40:36,617 --> 01:40:38,243
There's a $2 charge for not rewinding.

2147
01:40:39,286 --> 01:40:40,245
There's no signs here.

2148
01:40:40,245 --> 01:40:41,080
This is an outrage.

2149
01:40:41,080 --> 01:40:42,164
What?
- George, don't give him

2150
01:40:42,164 --> 01:40:43,165
any money for that.

2151
01:40:43,165 --> 01:40:45,668
It'll cost you less to
keep it another day,

2152
01:40:45,668 --> 01:40:47,628
rewind it and bring it back tomorrow.

2153
01:40:47,628 --> 01:40:49,296
Don't give them the satisfaction.

2154
01:40:50,839 --> 01:40:53,175
I'm not giving you the satisfaction.

2155
01:40:53,175 --> 01:40:54,426
I'm gonna watch it again.

2156
01:40:55,469 --> 01:40:56,637
How could that hurt.

2157
01:40:58,973 --> 01:41:00,975
On screen and in reality,

2158
01:41:00,975 --> 01:41:03,310
the video store is a
safe haven for the nerd

2159
01:41:03,310 --> 01:41:06,313
of the 80's and 90's
where possessing an excess

2160
01:41:06,313 --> 01:41:08,482
of useless knowledge becomes an asset.

2161
01:41:38,470 --> 01:41:39,680
Excuse me. I was wondering,

2162
01:41:39,680 --> 01:41:42,266
do you have any Baby Jane Hudson films here.

2163
01:41:42,266 --> 01:41:45,185
Blanche Hudson. I'm sorry. I wish we did.

2164
01:41:45,185 --> 01:41:46,603
You remember them?

2165
01:41:46,603 --> 01:41:50,274
Sure I do. Northern Outpost.

2166
01:41:50,274 --> 01:41:53,152
There was a whole series of outpost films.

2167
01:41:53,152 --> 01:41:54,403
Trail Through the Pine,

2168
01:41:54,403 --> 01:41:56,405
no Trail Through the Trees.

2169
01:41:57,573 --> 01:42:00,659
Okay, that's "Friday the 13th."

2170
01:42:00,659 --> 01:42:03,078
"Friday the 13th Part 2."

2171
01:42:03,078 --> 01:42:05,289
"Friday the 13th Part 3,"

2172
01:42:05,289 --> 01:42:07,332
"Friday the 13th Part 4"

2173
01:42:07,332 --> 01:42:09,334
and "Friday the 13th Part 5."

2174
01:42:09,334 --> 01:42:11,670
These guardians of
movie culture are permitted

2175
01:42:11,670 --> 01:42:14,048
to lord over their hard one domains,

2176
01:42:14,048 --> 01:42:17,051
being pains in the ass
to their hearts content.

2177
01:42:17,051 --> 01:42:18,218
The modern equivalent

2178
01:42:18,218 --> 01:42:21,847
of the eternally shushing
fuddy duddy librarian.

2179
01:42:21,847 --> 01:42:23,557
Hello there, Quentin.

2180
01:42:23,557 --> 01:42:25,434
I'm wondering how long to order a copy

2181
01:42:25,434 --> 01:42:27,478
of "The Shakiest Gun in The West."

2182
01:42:27,478 --> 01:42:30,064
That'd be about six to eight weeks, man.

2183
01:42:30,064 --> 01:42:30,898
Oh. Oh, that's bad.

2184
01:42:30,898 --> 01:42:32,232
Well, maybe we can order a copy

2185
01:42:32,232 --> 01:42:33,650
from the guy who ordered it from you.

2186
01:42:33,650 --> 01:42:35,319
Yes, yes. May we have his name,

2187
01:42:35,319 --> 01:42:36,779
address and telephone number?

2188
01:42:36,779 --> 01:42:38,947
Dude, what I got like
federal felony written

2189
01:42:38,947 --> 01:42:40,157
across my forehead or something?

2190
01:42:40,157 --> 01:42:41,742
What's that?

2191
01:42:41,742 --> 01:42:43,577
The complications of clerk interaction

2192
01:42:43,577 --> 01:42:45,662
were often shown as a given.

2193
01:42:45,662 --> 01:42:48,082
Without them, there's no
drama or conflict to the part

2194
01:42:48,082 --> 01:42:50,834
of the video store visit after
you've made your selection,

2195
01:42:50,834 --> 01:42:54,004
and therefore, no reason to
show a character checking out.

2196
01:42:54,004 --> 01:42:57,508
Scenes could end after the movie
is selected from the shelf,

2197
01:42:57,508 --> 01:43:00,135
but winnowing down thousands of options

2198
01:43:00,135 --> 01:43:02,846
to a single selection
is only half the battle.

2199
01:43:02,846 --> 01:43:04,723
Movie watching is a pleasure,

2200
01:43:04,723 --> 01:43:07,851
but the clerk is there to
thwart the customer by judgment,

2201
01:43:07,851 --> 01:43:10,979
rudeness or utter indifference.

2202
01:43:10,979 --> 01:43:11,939
I forgot my card at home,

2203
01:43:11,939 --> 01:43:13,607
but I think my number is 6247.

2204
01:43:13,607 --> 01:43:15,359
You forgot your card?
- I might have lost it.

2205
01:43:15,359 --> 01:43:16,777
You lost your card?
- I might have.

2206
01:43:16,777 --> 01:43:17,611
Was it temporary

2207
01:43:17,611 --> 01:43:18,821
or laminated?
- Laminated.

2208
01:43:18,821 --> 01:43:19,655
That's a permanent card.

2209
01:43:19,655 --> 01:43:20,697
You lost a permanent card.

2210
01:43:20,697 --> 01:43:21,907
You can just get me a new card, Kirk.

2211
01:43:21,907 --> 01:43:23,617
Fine. But I hope you
understand the gravity

2212
01:43:23,617 --> 01:43:25,536
of the situation here.
- I'm trying to grasp it.

2213
01:43:25,536 --> 01:43:26,995
I mean, these cards are agreements.

2214
01:43:26,995 --> 01:43:28,247
It's an agreement between you

2215
01:43:28,247 --> 01:43:29,915
and the Stars Hollow Video Store stating

2216
01:43:29,915 --> 01:43:31,250
that you will take care of your card,

2217
01:43:31,250 --> 01:43:32,334
that you'll honor your card,

2218
01:43:32,334 --> 01:43:34,461
that you'll be very,
very nice to your card.

2219
01:43:41,802 --> 01:43:43,178
No, no, no, no, no.

2220
01:43:43,178 --> 01:43:47,224
Chip, our mother is Charles Manson.

2221
01:43:47,224 --> 01:43:49,393
By the 90's,
the established archetype

2222
01:43:49,393 --> 01:43:51,979
of the nerd was given
new lifeblood with a rise

2223
01:43:51,979 --> 01:43:53,856
of alternative culture, slackerdom

2224
01:43:53,856 --> 01:43:58,110
and emerging forms of clerks
being romantic, aloof, and cool

2225
01:43:58,110 --> 01:44:00,779
rather than strictly hostile nerds,

2226
01:44:00,779 --> 01:44:02,990
angry at the society that shuns them.

2227
01:44:03,824 --> 01:44:07,327
As time moves on, a second
mode of clerk emerges.

2228
01:44:07,327 --> 01:44:10,122
One who cannot even be bothered to judge

2229
01:44:10,122 --> 01:44:12,166
or care about the customer at all.

2230
01:44:13,167 --> 01:44:14,960
This one gets taken out a lot.

2231
01:44:14,960 --> 01:44:16,295
Is it any good?

2232
01:44:16,295 --> 01:44:17,129
I wouldn't be able

2233
01:44:17,129 --> 01:44:18,630
to tell you.
- Why not?

2234
01:44:18,630 --> 01:44:20,090
I never watch these things.

2235
01:44:21,300 --> 01:44:23,594
Then how do you know what to recommend?

2236
01:44:23,594 --> 01:44:24,678
Well, I don't.

2237
01:44:24,678 --> 01:44:27,222
People check out the covers
and take what they want.

2238
01:44:27,222 --> 01:44:29,391
Unspoken in the
relationship between clerk

2239
01:44:29,391 --> 01:44:32,436
and customer is the knowledge
that the patron has access

2240
01:44:32,436 --> 01:44:34,521
to movies in other ways.

2241
01:44:34,521 --> 01:44:36,565
Likely they possess
videotapes of their own,

2242
01:44:36,565 --> 01:44:37,774
could catch a movie on cable

2243
01:44:37,774 --> 01:44:39,484
or go see a film in the theater.

2244
01:44:40,360 --> 01:44:41,528
Their choice to rent a movie

2245
01:44:41,528 --> 01:44:44,698
that they presumably have
not seen yet is bold.

2246
01:44:44,698 --> 01:44:48,160
It is the clerk's role in this
sacred transaction to protect

2247
01:44:48,160 --> 01:44:51,622
and defend the sanctity
of the movies themselves.

2248
01:44:51,622 --> 01:44:54,333
The clerk is not only free
to pass judgment or attempt

2249
01:44:54,333 --> 01:44:57,044
to steer the customer
to a superior option,

2250
01:44:57,044 --> 01:44:59,046
it is their right to do so.

2251
01:44:59,046 --> 01:45:01,340
That one, that will do.

2252
01:45:01,340 --> 01:45:03,508
That will be funny.
And then the scary one.

2253
01:45:05,510 --> 01:45:07,304
Scary one, and funny one.

2254
01:45:07,304 --> 01:45:09,348
Oh.

2255
01:45:12,392 --> 01:45:13,227
Excuse me.

2256
01:45:13,227 --> 01:45:14,144
Can you help me?

2257
01:45:14,144 --> 01:45:15,145
I'm in an absolute loss.

2258
01:45:15,145 --> 01:45:17,773
I've been looking for over an
hour and I'm losing my mind.

2259
01:45:17,773 --> 01:45:18,815
What I'm in the mood for

2260
01:45:18,815 --> 01:45:22,444
is sort of a Katharine Hepburny
Cary Granty kind of thing.

2261
01:45:22,444 --> 01:45:24,488
Nothing heavy. I couldn't take heavy.

2262
01:45:24,488 --> 01:45:25,405
No. Something zany.

2263
01:45:25,405 --> 01:45:27,658
I'm looking for something zany.

2264
01:45:27,658 --> 01:45:29,493
With all these
fraught interactions,

2265
01:45:29,493 --> 01:45:31,745
the movies would seem to
be saying that video stores

2266
01:45:31,745 --> 01:45:33,914
are unpleasant to visit.

2267
01:45:33,914 --> 01:45:36,625
An incongruous notion if you
presume that the screenwriters

2268
01:45:36,625 --> 01:45:40,087
and filmmakers were cinephiles
and video store regulars.

2269
01:45:40,087 --> 01:45:44,925
On the radio, you know the
guy, he says, hey, forgive me.

2270
01:45:44,925 --> 01:45:46,593
You have
willingly entered a space

2271
01:45:46,593 --> 01:45:48,053
beyond your control,

2272
01:45:48,053 --> 01:45:50,681
a privilege you are quite
literally paying for

2273
01:45:50,681 --> 01:45:53,183
and willingly subjecting yourself to.

2274
01:45:53,183 --> 01:45:55,060
"Ordinary Peoples."

2275
01:45:59,106 --> 01:46:02,442
It's kind of a big titty,
spread cheeky kind of thing.

2276
01:46:02,442 --> 01:46:04,194
Video stores
required a membership

2277
01:46:04,194 --> 01:46:05,737
in order to rent movies.

2278
01:46:05,737 --> 01:46:08,365
This equated the exclusivity
of your store of choice

2279
01:46:08,365 --> 01:46:11,535
with other businesses
such as gyms or libraries,

2280
01:46:11,535 --> 01:46:14,788
which would render its
clientele card carrying members.

2281
01:46:14,788 --> 01:46:15,622
Alright. All right.

2282
01:46:15,622 --> 01:46:16,456
Took me a little while, right?

2283
01:46:16,456 --> 01:46:18,458
But I went to the whole joint. Here it is.

2284
01:46:18,458 --> 01:46:20,043
First, when you get to the entrance,

2285
01:46:20,043 --> 01:46:22,963
you gotta show a membership
card to this runner, right?

2286
01:46:22,963 --> 01:46:24,464
Yeah. It's like a video club.

2287
01:46:24,464 --> 01:46:25,674
So how do we do this though?

2288
01:46:25,674 --> 01:46:28,093
Well, first we'll have you sign out

2289
01:46:28,093 --> 01:46:30,220
an official membership card there.

2290
01:46:30,220 --> 01:46:31,596
Sign that if you would.

2291
01:46:31,596 --> 01:46:33,849
We'll have that laminated
for you right here.

2292
01:46:34,891 --> 01:46:36,810
Perry, would you like to
laminate Ms. Sinclair's card?

2293
01:46:36,810 --> 01:46:38,937
Oh yeah.

2294
01:46:38,937 --> 01:46:40,605
This will last you for a year,

2295
01:46:40,605 --> 01:46:43,442
after which you have the
option to renew if you wish

2296
01:46:43,442 --> 01:46:44,735
at a membership discount.

2297
01:46:44,735 --> 01:46:47,195
Yeah, but not for free, right?

2298
01:46:47,195 --> 01:46:48,405
Yeah.

2299
01:46:48,405 --> 01:46:49,865
Yeah. You get 10 videos.

2300
01:46:50,866 --> 01:46:52,659
Free.
- Free.

2301
01:46:52,659 --> 01:46:54,411
Yeah. Only the first 10.

2302
01:46:54,411 --> 01:46:56,913
Free or discounted
rentals offered as a bonus

2303
01:46:56,913 --> 01:46:59,166
for signing up were common.

2304
01:46:59,166 --> 01:47:01,001
In pledging yourself to the store,

2305
01:47:01,001 --> 01:47:04,087
you became more than
an anonymous customer.

2306
01:47:04,087 --> 01:47:06,840
As it was cost prohibitive
to join multiple stores,

2307
01:47:06,840 --> 01:47:09,217
this aligned customers with one store,

2308
01:47:09,217 --> 01:47:12,220
even if there were others
nearby to choose from.

2309
01:47:12,220 --> 01:47:15,640
The Fisher King, a Tristar
production visualizes

2310
01:47:15,640 --> 01:47:19,519
this club mentality by having
Video Stop exclusively stocked

2311
01:47:19,519 --> 01:47:21,146
with the company's own popular

2312
01:47:21,146 --> 01:47:25,567
red trimmed, identically typefaced,
RCA Columbia videotapes.

2313
01:47:27,194 --> 01:47:29,946
However, the Lydia character
offers a familiar refrain

2314
01:47:29,946 --> 01:47:32,532
to denizens of video stores.

2315
01:47:32,532 --> 01:47:34,159
I don't like horror movies.

2316
01:47:35,035 --> 01:47:37,079
Once again,
suggesting that the genre

2317
01:47:37,079 --> 01:47:39,331
is inextricable from the video store.

2318
01:47:39,331 --> 01:47:40,582
And oh.
- Have you got

2319
01:47:40,582 --> 01:47:42,209
any Ethel Merman?
- Ethel Merman.

2320
01:47:42,209 --> 01:47:43,377
Oh, she's...

2321
01:47:52,386 --> 01:47:54,721
We're all out of Ethel Merman.

2322
01:47:54,721 --> 01:47:57,182
What a gyp.
- That sucks.

2323
01:47:57,182 --> 01:47:59,101
Another familiar setback,

2324
01:47:59,101 --> 01:48:02,229
this scene with its back room
visible behind the characters,

2325
01:48:02,229 --> 01:48:04,231
but never mentioned collapses

2326
01:48:04,231 --> 01:48:06,858
various stereotypical video store tropes,

2327
01:48:06,858 --> 01:48:09,569
both internal and external.

2328
01:48:09,569 --> 01:48:12,864
The store's categorization
is idiosyncratic and precise,

2329
01:48:12,864 --> 01:48:15,409
yet the vagaries of corporate
product placement suggest

2330
01:48:15,409 --> 01:48:17,744
that it is possible to offer new releases,

2331
01:48:17,744 --> 01:48:19,996
foreign films, horror and musicals,

2332
01:48:19,996 --> 01:48:23,917
all from within the RCA
Columbia TriStar video library,

2333
01:48:23,917 --> 01:48:25,836
encouraging the viewer
to seek these videos,

2334
01:48:25,836 --> 01:48:27,754
and create a library of their own

2335
01:48:27,754 --> 01:48:30,465
in order to avoid experiencing
Lydia's disappointment.

2336
01:48:33,552 --> 01:48:36,179
This is a scene as much
about the particularities,

2337
01:48:36,179 --> 01:48:39,057
and selection of the store
as it is the personal lives

2338
01:48:39,057 --> 01:48:40,100
of the characters.

2339
01:48:41,852 --> 01:48:44,604
In a world where
nothing is what it seems,

2340
01:48:45,480 --> 01:48:47,315
in a time of uncertainty,

2341
01:48:48,400 --> 01:48:50,610
the future is about to be placed.

2342
01:48:50,610 --> 01:48:52,446
Hello. Welcome to Masterpiece Video.

2343
01:48:52,446 --> 01:48:53,989
How may I help you this afternoon, sir.

2344
01:48:53,989 --> 01:48:56,199
I'm looking for a copy
of "8 1/2"

2345
01:48:56,199 --> 01:48:58,285
Is that a new release, sir?

2346
01:48:58,285 --> 01:49:00,787
No, it's the classic Italian film.

2347
01:49:00,787 --> 01:49:03,039
Glimpses of activity
inside the video store

2348
01:49:03,039 --> 01:49:05,709
became colored as
negative and unfulfilling

2349
01:49:05,709 --> 01:49:08,503
with failures arising
for a variety of reasons.

2350
01:49:08,503 --> 01:49:10,505
Hello, how are you young
ladies this afternoon?

2351
01:49:10,505 --> 01:49:13,383
May I help you find a
particular masterpiece movie?

2352
01:49:13,383 --> 01:49:16,011
No.
- Yes. Here it is.

2353
01:49:16,011 --> 01:49:18,763
"Nine and a Half Weeks"
with Mickey Rourke.

2354
01:49:18,763 --> 01:49:21,766
That would be in the erotic drama section.

2355
01:49:21,766 --> 01:49:23,351
No, not "Nine and a Half,"

2356
01:49:23,351 --> 01:49:24,519
"8 1/2"

2357
01:49:24,519 --> 01:49:25,645
The Fellini film.

2358
01:49:26,771 --> 01:49:28,190
If the use of video stores

2359
01:49:28,190 --> 01:49:30,442
as a primary location
in films and television

2360
01:49:30,442 --> 01:49:32,736
for nearly two decades
had acclimated viewers

2361
01:49:32,736 --> 01:49:35,530
to seeing relatable and
familiar experiences.

2362
01:49:35,530 --> 01:49:38,575
Instead, they now projected
outwardly heightened

2363
01:49:38,575 --> 01:49:41,036
and fictional narratives about antagonism,

2364
01:49:41,036 --> 01:49:42,787
stress and disappointment.

2365
01:49:42,787 --> 01:49:44,956
Look, I'll explain this to you again.

2366
01:49:44,956 --> 01:49:46,333
You bring the tape back late,

2367
01:49:46,333 --> 01:49:48,126
you have to pay a late fee.

2368
01:49:48,126 --> 01:49:49,711
One thing's got nothing
to do with the other.

2369
01:49:49,711 --> 01:49:51,087
That is such bullshit!

2370
01:49:51,087 --> 01:49:53,089
It broke halfway through!

2371
01:49:53,089 --> 01:49:55,008
The frequency with
which such problems occurred

2372
01:49:55,008 --> 01:49:57,511
on screen was without
question an exaggerated

2373
01:49:57,511 --> 01:50:00,722
and false narrative, designed
to create story conflict

2374
01:50:00,722 --> 01:50:02,349
where it was needed.

2375
01:50:02,349 --> 01:50:04,100
Though essentially good natured,

2376
01:50:04,100 --> 01:50:06,311
these scenes enacted a subconscious attack

2377
01:50:06,311 --> 01:50:08,563
on the joys of video renting.

2378
01:50:08,563 --> 01:50:10,440
The litany of humiliations awaiting you

2379
01:50:10,440 --> 01:50:12,609
at the video store knew no end.

2380
01:50:12,609 --> 01:50:15,195
Zach, do you have
"Dr. Giggles" letterbox.

2381
01:50:15,195 --> 01:50:16,905
Insane doctors right next

2382
01:50:16,905 --> 01:50:18,907
to "Interesting Failures."
- Yes.

2383
01:50:23,119 --> 01:50:26,456
Aha. This bastard
wasn't kind, didn't rewind

2384
01:50:26,456 --> 01:50:28,333
and now, Mr, you’ll get fined.

2385
01:50:28,333 --> 01:50:30,460
The increasing
negativity with which the task

2386
01:50:30,460 --> 01:50:33,547
of simply obtaining a movie
to watch at home was depicted

2387
01:50:33,547 --> 01:50:37,926
began to beg the question,
is it even worth it?

2388
01:50:37,926 --> 01:50:40,095
The protector of culture
and art is permitted

2389
01:50:40,095 --> 01:50:42,097
to be an outsized figure.

2390
01:50:42,097 --> 01:50:45,892
They are the obstructor or the
possessor of needed wisdom,

2391
01:50:45,892 --> 01:50:47,644
not the hero.

2392
01:50:47,644 --> 01:50:49,604
Clerks are eccentric and don't dress well,

2393
01:50:49,604 --> 01:50:51,690
or take good care of themselves.

2394
01:50:51,690 --> 01:50:53,441
By showing what's wrong with them,

2395
01:50:53,441 --> 01:50:55,443
we can reinforce what is normal.

2396
01:50:55,443 --> 01:50:56,278
You've got a delinquent

2397
01:50:56,278 --> 01:50:58,655
“Mystic Pizza”.
- Whatever.

2398
01:50:58,655 --> 01:50:59,906
See, you're shocked.

2399
01:50:59,906 --> 01:51:02,867
They'd have to invent
a section for my movie.

2400
01:51:02,867 --> 01:51:04,035
That'll be cool, huh?

2401
01:51:05,078 --> 01:51:07,455
When I make my movie and
it comes out on video,

2402
01:51:07,455 --> 01:51:08,999
you and I can see who rents it.

2403
01:51:09,958 --> 01:51:12,460
We could probably sit here
and watch it on the TV.

2404
01:51:13,503 --> 01:51:15,005
So you plan on still working here

2405
01:51:15,005 --> 01:51:16,881
even after you make a motion picture?

2406
01:51:17,465 --> 01:51:19,843
True. I may not be here then.

2407
01:51:19,843 --> 01:51:21,928
Oh, can you believe "The
Departed" was nominated

2408
01:51:21,928 --> 01:51:23,263
for best picture?

2409
01:51:23,263 --> 01:51:25,056
It doesn't even make sense.

2410
01:51:25,056 --> 01:51:27,225
I'm so glad to hear
somebody else say that.

2411
01:51:27,225 --> 01:51:28,768
I was beginning to feel like
the only person in the world

2412
01:51:29,728 --> 01:51:31,104
who thought it sucked.

2413
01:51:31,104 --> 01:51:32,897
You are the only person in the world

2414
01:51:32,897 --> 01:51:35,150
who thought it sucked!

2415
01:51:35,150 --> 01:51:36,818
But you're right. It didn't make sense,

2416
01:51:36,818 --> 01:51:38,486
it made dollars.

2417
01:51:40,614 --> 01:51:44,659
As in $120 million domestic box office,

2418
01:51:44,659 --> 01:51:47,454
making it Martin Scorsese's
biggest hit ever.

2419
01:51:47,454 --> 01:51:50,665
So yeah, I guess a couple people liked it.

2420
01:51:50,665 --> 01:51:52,167
Idiots!

2421
01:51:52,167 --> 01:51:55,378
Fortunately, these
interactions tended to be brief,

2422
01:51:55,378 --> 01:51:58,381
with escape to the safety of
one's couch mere minutes away.

2423
01:52:00,300 --> 01:52:01,760
Excuse me. Do you work here?

2424
01:52:04,679 --> 01:52:06,473
Yeah.
- Have you ever seen

2425
01:52:06,473 --> 01:52:08,099
this film, "The Country Doctor"

2426
01:52:08,099 --> 01:52:09,893
with Andy Griffith and Sandy Duncan?

2427
01:52:09,893 --> 01:52:12,145
"The Country Doctor,"

2428
01:52:12,979 --> 01:52:13,980
that's my favorite.

2429
01:52:15,899 --> 01:52:17,275
Excuse me, can I rent this?

2430
01:52:18,026 --> 01:52:19,402
NO!

2431
01:52:20,070 --> 01:52:20,945
What do you want to rent that for?

2432
01:52:21,071 --> 01:52:21,946
That’s, that’s, that’s garbage.

2433
01:52:22,489 --> 01:52:24,240
We got, we got so many, we got so many

2434
01:52:24,240 --> 01:52:25,992
scary, violent, awful movies.

2435
01:52:26,159 --> 01:52:26,910
What do you want to get that for?

2436
01:52:27,077 --> 01:52:27,952
That’s ridiculous.

2437
01:52:28,244 --> 01:52:29,120
Just calm down.

2438
01:52:29,537 --> 01:52:30,413
I’m not gonna calm down.

2439
01:52:30,705 --> 01:52:31,581
I’m not!

2440
01:52:33,833 --> 01:52:35,752
I saw “Memento” not too long ago.

2441
01:52:35,752 --> 01:52:37,671
God, talk about confusing.

2442
01:52:37,671 --> 01:52:39,172
The movie didn't make any sense.

2443
01:52:39,172 --> 01:52:40,382
It was all in the wrong order.

2444
01:52:40,382 --> 01:52:41,925
I know that movie is totally weird.

2445
01:52:41,925 --> 01:52:44,010
Huh, yeah. It's like Godard said,

2446
01:52:44,010 --> 01:52:45,970
a movie should have a
beginning, middle, and end,

2447
01:52:45,970 --> 01:52:47,889
but not necessarily in that order.

2448
01:52:49,474 --> 01:52:51,226
Who?
- Godard.

2449
01:52:53,728 --> 01:52:56,648
Jean-Luc Godard, one of
the founding fathers

2450
01:52:56,648 --> 01:52:58,900
of the French New Wave movement.

2451
01:52:58,900 --> 01:53:02,028
Who do you think inspired
Tarantino and Hal Hartley?

2452
01:53:02,028 --> 01:53:03,988
How can you not know about Godard?

2453
01:53:03,988 --> 01:53:04,781
Weekend, Contempt,

2454
01:53:05,407 --> 01:53:07,784
A Bout de Souffle, Les Carabiniers, Bande a part.

2455
01:53:09,285 --> 01:53:10,537
You're a fucking loser.

2456
01:53:13,081 --> 01:53:14,666
When an
independently produced film

2457
01:53:14,666 --> 01:53:16,126
depicted video clerks,

2458
01:53:16,126 --> 01:53:19,129
they tended to go in
one of two directions.

2459
01:53:19,129 --> 01:53:21,464
The first is more overtly horrible.

2460
01:53:21,464 --> 01:53:23,967
Taking the sanitized versions
you'd see on a sitcom,

2461
01:53:23,967 --> 01:53:26,886
and perverting it to an
extreme that was illogical,

2462
01:53:26,886 --> 01:53:28,888
but based in reality.

2463
01:53:28,888 --> 01:53:31,516
Alternatively, the
independent movies portrayal

2464
01:53:31,516 --> 01:53:33,935
of the video clerk could
be much more sympathetic

2465
01:53:33,935 --> 01:53:35,854
toward this supposed outsider,

2466
01:53:35,854 --> 01:53:38,606
even positioning their narrative
in the center of the frame

2467
01:53:38,606 --> 01:53:39,941
rather than on the margin.

2468
01:53:44,696 --> 01:53:45,530
Thank you.

2469
01:53:45,530 --> 01:53:47,782
So if your dad is Mr. Manmeet,

2470
01:53:47,782 --> 01:53:49,325
does that make you Mr. Manmeet Junior

2471
01:53:49,325 --> 01:53:50,368
or Mr. Manmeet the second.

2472
01:53:50,618 --> 01:53:51,995
They’re gonna have to drain the creek

2473
01:53:51,995 --> 01:53:53,037
to find your body, Pace.

2474
01:53:53,037 --> 01:53:56,708
Does Forest Gump go in
the comedy or drama section?

2475
01:53:56,708 --> 01:53:58,710
How many times are you gonna ask that?

2476
01:53:58,710 --> 01:54:00,128
It goes in the drama section.

2477
01:54:00,128 --> 01:54:02,088
Thank you, Dawson.

2478
01:54:02,088 --> 01:54:04,090
The teen soap
opera, "Dawson's Creek"

2479
01:54:04,090 --> 01:54:07,719
may be the only example of
mainstream populist entertainment

2480
01:54:07,719 --> 01:54:09,888
that has its amiable
main character working

2481
01:54:09,888 --> 01:54:11,765
as a video clerk.

2482
01:54:11,765 --> 01:54:14,601
Dawson is far from the stereotype

2483
01:54:14,601 --> 01:54:17,437
of a video store employee
in the late 90's,

2484
01:54:17,437 --> 01:54:21,441
and yet he is the focal
point, an aspiring filmmaker

2485
01:54:21,441 --> 01:54:25,236
who naturally opts to
surround himself with cinema.

2486
01:54:25,236 --> 01:54:26,696
This stands in opposition

2487
01:54:26,696 --> 01:54:29,407
to the one dimensional
mainstream video clerk,

2488
01:54:29,407 --> 01:54:32,368
who crosses the line of obsessive fandom.

2489
01:54:32,368 --> 01:54:34,704
Typically, depictions exist
to let the customer know

2490
01:54:34,704 --> 01:54:36,790
that they can keep coming back for more,

2491
01:54:36,790 --> 01:54:38,792
so long as they know when to stop.

2492
01:54:38,792 --> 01:54:42,212
But Dawson is nothing, if not
a safe and comforting avatar

2493
01:54:42,212 --> 01:54:44,839
for sensitive,
cinematically curious souls.

2494
01:55:07,737 --> 01:55:09,989
That'll be 37.24.

2495
01:55:13,576 --> 01:55:15,662
Look, I'm sure you hate this,

2496
01:55:15,662 --> 01:55:17,789
but I just want to tell
you that your work,

2497
01:55:19,290 --> 01:55:20,250
it really means a lot to me.

2498
01:55:20,250 --> 01:55:21,292
It's had an impact

2499
01:55:21,292 --> 01:55:23,169
on my life.
- Thank you.

2500
01:55:23,169 --> 01:55:25,547
It is hard not to
see the filmmakers themselves

2501
01:55:25,547 --> 01:55:29,008
in the more nuanced, independent
versions of these clerks.

2502
01:55:29,008 --> 01:55:32,053
If mainstream examples show
films made by film lovers,

2503
01:55:32,053 --> 01:55:34,889
castigating themselves for
participating in a humiliating

2504
01:55:34,889 --> 01:55:36,975
and stressful business practice,

2505
01:55:36,975 --> 01:55:39,269
then independent films see the video store

2506
01:55:39,269 --> 01:55:41,104
and its employees more accurately.

2507
01:55:41,104 --> 01:55:43,273
Yeah, I've never done
anything like that before,

2508
01:55:43,273 --> 01:55:45,483
but I'm a filmmaker, well, a
grad student for right now.

2509
01:55:47,527 --> 01:55:49,529
But truly, you are one of the few guys

2510
01:55:49,529 --> 01:55:52,282
whose work actually inspires me.

2511
01:55:52,282 --> 01:55:53,116
Well, thank you.

2512
01:55:53,116 --> 01:55:54,701
That means a lot to me. Thank you.

2513
01:55:56,160 --> 01:55:56,995
Yeah, you were

2514
01:55:56,995 --> 01:55:59,497
in film school, right?
- What?

2515
01:55:59,497 --> 01:56:02,000
You used to be in film school, right?

2516
01:56:02,000 --> 01:56:04,002
Yeah. Yeah. I went to a film school

2517
01:56:04,002 --> 01:56:07,714
and then I became an actor. Yeah.

2518
01:56:09,507 --> 01:56:11,467
You know, my girlfriend
actually saw an exhibition

2519
01:56:11,467 --> 01:56:12,302
of your photography.

2520
01:56:12,302 --> 01:56:13,761
She said it was really wonderful stuff.

2521
01:56:13,761 --> 01:56:17,015
She really dug it.
- Oh, she did? Oh cool.

2522
01:56:23,730 --> 01:56:26,566
The stores become
enviable and inviting.

2523
01:56:26,566 --> 01:56:27,901
Rather than rush out the door,

2524
01:56:27,901 --> 01:56:31,195
you wanna stay inside all
day or even get a job there,

2525
01:56:31,195 --> 01:56:34,032
simply to be surrounded
by so much knowledge.

2526
01:56:34,908 --> 01:56:36,826
This raises key questions.

2527
01:56:36,826 --> 01:56:38,328
If clerks are rude and unhelpful,

2528
01:56:38,328 --> 01:56:39,662
loving or hating their job,

2529
01:56:39,662 --> 01:56:42,707
taking it away too seriously
or not seriously enough,

2530
01:56:42,707 --> 01:56:44,500
causing the customers to have unpleasant

2531
01:56:44,500 --> 01:56:47,921
or humiliating experiences,
who gets to be happy

2532
01:56:47,921 --> 01:56:50,757
in the video store? Does anybody?

2533
01:56:50,757 --> 01:56:52,091
Okay, well, look, stop by any time.

2534
01:56:52,091 --> 01:56:52,926
I'll give you a discount

2535
01:56:52,926 --> 01:56:53,927
on the movies you're in.

2536
01:56:53,927 --> 01:56:56,137
You'd have to pay me to buy those.

2537
01:56:56,137 --> 01:56:57,263
Throughout the 80's and 90's,

2538
01:56:57,263 --> 01:56:59,432
it would not have been in
anybody's best interest

2539
01:56:59,432 --> 01:57:02,477
to suggest that video stores
are space best avoided.

2540
01:57:03,311 --> 01:57:06,648
Something must reinforce the
idea that it is okay to return,

2541
01:57:06,648 --> 01:57:08,399
and rent another tape,

2542
01:57:08,399 --> 01:57:11,736
to continue consuming
and enjoying the product.

2543
01:57:11,736 --> 01:57:14,530
I just graduated, but I hated it.

2544
01:57:14,530 --> 01:57:16,449
You know, it was all
like theory and machines,

2545
01:57:16,449 --> 01:57:19,953
and I was on this one way
highway and I was like, you know,

2546
01:57:19,953 --> 01:57:22,205
rest stop please.

2547
01:57:22,205 --> 01:57:24,832
So this is a rest stop.
- Oh yeah,

2548
01:57:24,832 --> 01:57:27,418
but this is totally temporary.

2549
01:57:27,418 --> 01:57:29,671
Nearly two
decades of constant mockery

2550
01:57:29,671 --> 01:57:31,923
for the mere concept of
valuing movie knowledge

2551
01:57:31,923 --> 01:57:34,175
above all else resulted in the notion

2552
01:57:34,175 --> 01:57:36,302
of the clerk as ridiculous.

2553
01:57:36,302 --> 01:57:38,721
Why would anybody waste
their life being an expert

2554
01:57:38,721 --> 01:57:41,391
in something as trivial as movies?

2555
01:57:41,391 --> 01:57:44,727
But what is shameful
about possessing a surplus

2556
01:57:44,727 --> 01:57:46,437
of taste and knowledge?

2557
01:57:53,820 --> 01:57:57,198
♪ In touch with the ground ♪

2558
01:57:57,448 --> 01:58:00,743
♪ I'm on the hunt I'm after you ♪

2559
01:58:00,743 --> 01:58:04,455
♪ Smell like a sound,
I'm lost and I'm found ♪

2560
01:58:04,455 --> 01:58:08,626
♪ And I'm hungry like the wolf ♪

2561
01:58:08,626 --> 01:58:12,380
♪ Straddle the line, it's
discord and rhyme ♪

2562
01:58:12,380 --> 01:58:16,092
♪ I’m on the hunt, I'm after you ♪

2563
01:58:16,092 --> 01:58:19,762
♪ Mouth is alive, with juices like wine ♪

2564
01:58:19,762 --> 01:58:23,683
♪ And I'm hungry like the wolf ♪

2565
01:58:28,229 --> 01:58:29,981
Checking out the staff picks Miss Benes?

2566
01:58:29,981 --> 01:58:32,358
Oh, hey. Yeah, yeah.

2567
01:58:32,358 --> 01:58:34,360
This Vincent guy, he is the best.

2568
01:58:34,360 --> 01:58:36,320
He and I have the exact
same taste in movies.

2569
01:58:36,320 --> 01:58:38,740
Oh, Vincent is an art house goon.

2570
01:58:38,740 --> 01:58:40,908
I stick to the Gene rack.

2571
01:58:40,908 --> 01:58:45,580
Gene? Oh, he's so stupid and mainstream.

2572
01:58:45,580 --> 01:58:48,291
On "Seinfeld,"
Elaine develops a strong bond

2573
01:58:48,291 --> 01:58:51,085
with a video clerk she's
never met, Vincent.

2574
01:58:51,085 --> 01:58:54,088
Elaine, it's Vincent.

2575
01:58:54,088 --> 01:58:56,716
Vincent, where are you?

2576
01:58:56,716 --> 01:58:58,301
I have to meet you.

2577
01:58:58,301 --> 01:59:01,846
No, I can't
bear to have anyone see me.

2578
01:59:01,846 --> 01:59:04,557
Vincent, listen, I won't judge you

2579
01:59:04,557 --> 01:59:06,976
the way everyone else does.

2580
01:59:06,976 --> 01:59:11,981
You're strange, and
beautiful and sensitive.

2581
01:59:13,357 --> 01:59:15,151
Now let's have a look at you.

2582
01:59:15,151 --> 01:59:17,904
No, no, Vincent, I...

2583
01:59:18,946 --> 01:59:20,073
Don't shut me out.

2584
01:59:20,073 --> 01:59:23,743
I just... I know you feel what I feel.

2585
01:59:23,743 --> 01:59:25,578
Excuse me. Can I help you?

2586
01:59:25,578 --> 01:59:29,415
Oh, dammit.
- I'm here to see Vincent.

2587
01:59:29,415 --> 01:59:30,792
Well, I'm his mother.

2588
01:59:30,792 --> 01:59:32,126
Vincent, what's going

2589
01:59:32,126 --> 01:59:33,795
on here?
- My acne.

2590
01:59:34,712 --> 01:59:36,297
Elaine's frustration derives

2591
01:59:36,297 --> 01:59:38,800
from a dashed expectation
of emotional connection

2592
01:59:38,800 --> 01:59:40,218
with another person.

2593
01:59:40,218 --> 01:59:42,762
Importantly, this expectation
came from her sharing

2594
01:59:42,762 --> 01:59:46,057
the same taste in movies
as the video clerk.

2595
01:59:46,057 --> 01:59:48,059
In this respect, this
episode of "Seinfeld"

2596
01:59:48,059 --> 01:59:50,645
is fairly anomalous as
the frustration found

2597
01:59:50,645 --> 01:59:53,106
in the video store frequently
comes from a disparity

2598
01:59:53,106 --> 01:59:55,483
of taste among shoppers and clerks.

2599
01:59:55,483 --> 01:59:57,276
And this frustration is commonly linked

2600
01:59:57,276 --> 02:00:00,488
to the difference between
their tastes and the customers.

2601
02:00:00,488 --> 02:00:02,115
These aren't letterboxed.

2602
02:00:04,117 --> 02:00:05,076
What does that mean?

2603
02:00:05,076 --> 02:00:06,494
It means your picture will be cut off.

2604
02:00:06,494 --> 02:00:08,496
It won't be presented
in the Panavision 235

2605
02:00:08,496 --> 02:00:10,456
to 1 widescreen aspect ratio.

2606
02:00:10,456 --> 02:00:13,334
We have letterbox versions
of both these films.

2607
02:00:13,334 --> 02:00:14,627
You need them letterboxed.

2608
02:00:19,340 --> 02:00:21,217
To preserve the director's vision.

2609
02:00:21,217 --> 02:00:23,344
Customers tastes
are typically ridiculed

2610
02:00:23,344 --> 02:00:24,887
for being substandard.

2611
02:00:24,887 --> 02:00:28,432
The lowly clerk, a retail
wage laborer sets himself

2612
02:00:28,432 --> 02:00:30,518
as the authority on taste.

2613
02:00:30,518 --> 02:00:33,896
Video store power dynamics
reflect how economic capital,

2614
02:00:33,896 --> 02:00:38,776
and cultural capital are
not always neatly aligned.

2615
02:00:38,776 --> 02:00:42,113
This made video stores the
final bastion of accountability

2616
02:00:42,113 --> 02:00:43,531
for your taste.

2617
02:00:43,531 --> 02:00:44,365
Are these the videos you wish

2618
02:00:44,365 --> 02:00:47,785
to rent today, sir?
- Yes.

2619
02:00:47,785 --> 02:00:50,705
Then these are the
videos we will rent him.

2620
02:00:50,705 --> 02:00:51,789
Before you could go home

2621
02:00:51,789 --> 02:00:54,125
and consume your preferences in private,

2622
02:00:54,125 --> 02:00:56,752
you must endure one final public moment.

2623
02:00:57,712 --> 02:01:01,257
As with any retail position,
there is no acceptable future

2624
02:01:01,257 --> 02:01:03,009
to this dead end job.

2625
02:01:03,009 --> 02:01:05,344
Depictions of video
clerks increasingly shift

2626
02:01:05,344 --> 02:01:08,681
from being about that very
dead end to using this job

2627
02:01:08,681 --> 02:01:12,268
as a jumping off point to
a more acceptable career,

2628
02:01:12,268 --> 02:01:14,520
most commonly filmmaking,

2629
02:01:14,520 --> 02:01:16,772
with acclaim and success to follow.

2630
02:01:16,772 --> 02:01:19,442
Scotty, I just want you to
know what a great honor it is

2631
02:01:19,442 --> 02:01:20,943
to have you back in our store.

2632
02:01:22,361 --> 02:01:24,572
I always knew personally
that you were gonna make good

2633
02:01:24,572 --> 02:01:26,449
with your incredible movie knowledge.

2634
02:01:43,174 --> 02:01:45,843
He's a nude model, Lena, not a porn star.

2635
02:01:45,843 --> 02:01:48,262
Hey, Tibby, the return box is so jammed,

2636
02:01:48,262 --> 02:01:50,181
nothing will fit through the slot. Do you mind?

2637
02:01:50,181 --> 02:01:52,516
Yes, I absolutely mind.

2638
02:01:52,516 --> 02:01:54,518
It's inconsiderate of the
customers and interferes

2639
02:01:54,518 --> 02:01:56,395
with a timely collection of late fees.

2640
02:01:58,314 --> 02:01:59,565
I'm gonna call you back.

2641
02:01:59,565 --> 02:02:01,359
But Tibby.
- Just send the sketch.

2642
02:02:01,359 --> 02:02:04,570
"Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants 2" depicts

2643
02:02:04,570 --> 02:02:06,072
the character, Tibby,

2644
02:02:06,072 --> 02:02:07,782
working part-time at a video store

2645
02:02:07,782 --> 02:02:10,660
while she attends NYU as a film major.

2646
02:02:10,660 --> 02:02:12,912
The store she works in is Two Boots,

2647
02:02:12,912 --> 02:02:15,706
a combination video store and pizza parlor

2648
02:02:15,706 --> 02:02:19,502
that also operated the Pioneer
Theater which closed in 2008,

2649
02:02:19,502 --> 02:02:22,171
the same year of the film's release.

2650
02:02:22,171 --> 02:02:24,048
Do you know if this movie's any good?

2651
02:02:25,341 --> 02:02:27,301
Well, that depends.

2652
02:02:27,301 --> 02:02:31,597
I mean, yes, if you like
nauseatingly, smarmy love stories

2653
02:02:31,597 --> 02:02:34,225
that have absolutely no basis in reality.

2654
02:02:34,225 --> 02:02:36,352
Oh. Well what if you're in the mood

2655
02:02:36,352 --> 02:02:38,562
for, you know something romantic?

2656
02:02:38,562 --> 02:02:42,358
I would go with "Texas Chain
Saw Massacre: The Remake."

2657
02:02:43,818 --> 02:02:46,195
It works for me.
- Thank you. Tibby.

2658
02:02:46,195 --> 02:02:48,572
As viewers, we
are expected momentarily

2659
02:02:48,572 --> 02:02:50,449
to share in this hostile act

2660
02:02:50,449 --> 02:02:53,369
because we are assumed
to be as sophisticated

2661
02:02:53,369 --> 02:02:55,246
in our movie knowledge as Tibby,

2662
02:02:55,246 --> 02:02:57,581
which calls into question
how this joke goes over

2663
02:02:57,581 --> 02:02:59,417
with the film's target audience

2664
02:02:59,417 --> 02:03:02,253
whose tastes may align more
closely with the couples

2665
02:03:02,253 --> 02:03:03,212
than with Tibby.

2666
02:03:04,255 --> 02:03:06,924
Tibby later gets fired for being so aloof,

2667
02:03:06,924 --> 02:03:08,592
and mean hearted.

2668
02:03:08,592 --> 02:03:12,847
Once again, nothing is gained
or achieved in these spaces.

2669
02:03:12,847 --> 02:03:17,143
They drive people away,
empty handed and unhappy.

2670
02:03:17,143 --> 02:03:20,187
In getting fired from her
video store job, Tibby will go

2671
02:03:20,187 --> 02:03:23,441
onto her real passion, making movies.

2672
02:03:24,275 --> 02:03:26,736
The video store functions
here not as a destination

2673
02:03:26,736 --> 02:03:29,405
or endpoint, but rather as a passageway,

2674
02:03:29,405 --> 02:03:31,699
in this case toward cultural production.

2675
02:03:33,034 --> 02:03:35,119
And the films these former employees make

2676
02:03:35,119 --> 02:03:37,997
are often intricately linked
to their access to movies

2677
02:03:37,997 --> 02:03:39,081
at the video store.

2678
02:03:44,754 --> 02:03:48,299
Hi, I'm Cheryl and I'm a filmmaker.

2679
02:03:50,092 --> 02:03:51,344
No, I'm not really a filmmaker,

2680
02:03:51,344 --> 02:03:53,679
but I have a videotaping
business with my friend Tamara

2681
02:03:53,679 --> 02:03:55,222
and I work at a video store.

2682
02:03:55,222 --> 02:03:57,767
So I'm working on being a filmmaker.

2683
02:03:57,767 --> 02:03:59,935
"The Watermelon
Woman" presents a different

2684
02:03:59,935 --> 02:04:02,855
but similarly conflicted
view of video stores,

2685
02:04:02,855 --> 02:04:04,315
and reproduction culture.

2686
02:04:06,108 --> 02:04:08,444
Hey. Hey Tam. Is Bob here?

2687
02:04:08,444 --> 02:04:11,197
Directed by and
starring Cheryl Dunye,

2688
02:04:11,197 --> 02:04:13,908
the film is pointedly
interested in the history

2689
02:04:13,908 --> 02:04:16,994
and contemporary practices
of minority representation

2690
02:04:16,994 --> 02:04:21,415
in the media, specifically
of lesbian African-Americans.

2691
02:04:21,415 --> 02:04:23,501
The character of Cheryl becomes fascinated

2692
02:04:23,501 --> 02:04:25,127
with a Black actress from the early years

2693
02:04:25,127 --> 02:04:27,463
of Hollywood, Faye Richards,

2694
02:04:27,463 --> 02:04:30,007
also known as "The Watermelon Woman."

2695
02:04:30,007 --> 02:04:32,051
Oh my God, look what's here.

2696
02:04:32,051 --> 02:04:33,803
A film with "The Watermelon Woman" in it.

2697
02:04:33,803 --> 02:04:36,013
Like I said, boring stuff.

2698
02:04:36,013 --> 02:04:37,723
All you do since you
don't have a girlfriend

2699
02:04:37,723 --> 02:04:39,725
is watch this boring old film.

2700
02:04:39,725 --> 02:04:41,185
"The Watermelon Woman" depicts

2701
02:04:41,185 --> 02:04:44,188
the video rental store as a media archive

2702
02:04:44,188 --> 02:04:45,606
that may be accessed according

2703
02:04:45,606 --> 02:04:47,983
to the desires of the workers there.

2704
02:04:47,983 --> 02:04:51,612
I think I've figured out
what my project's gonna be on.

2705
02:04:51,612 --> 02:04:53,322
I'm gonna make a movie about her.

2706
02:04:53,322 --> 02:04:56,534
Cheryl is not so much
a spectator of these images,

2707
02:04:56,534 --> 02:04:59,120
but instead acts as the
producer of its meaning

2708
02:04:59,120 --> 02:05:00,704
in the present.

2709
02:05:00,704 --> 02:05:02,790
Cheryl uses videotape as a means

2710
02:05:02,790 --> 02:05:05,918
to reformulate a historical image.

2711
02:05:05,918 --> 02:05:08,337
You know how hard it
was to find these films?

2712
02:05:08,337 --> 02:05:09,713
It's like one of the few race films

2713
02:05:09,713 --> 02:05:12,133
that she ever starred in.
- Really?

2714
02:05:15,594 --> 02:05:19,557
Do you mind if I smoke?
- No, go ahead.

2715
02:05:19,557 --> 02:05:21,684
"The Watermelon
Woman" ends with Cheryl

2716
02:05:21,684 --> 02:05:24,061
completing a video project
about Faye Richards,

2717
02:05:24,061 --> 02:05:26,981
a biographical sketch with images

2718
02:05:26,981 --> 02:05:29,316
from Faye's films and photographs.

2719
02:05:29,316 --> 02:05:31,610
This project is inserted

2720
02:05:31,610 --> 02:05:33,821
into "The Watermelon Woman" itself,

2721
02:05:33,821 --> 02:05:37,199
intercut with the films and
credits and narrated by Cheryl.

2722
02:05:41,745 --> 02:05:44,290
There is no Watermelon Woman after all.

2723
02:05:44,290 --> 02:05:46,208
Not in reality.

2724
02:05:46,208 --> 02:05:48,961
The character is a fiction
created within the diegesis

2725
02:05:48,961 --> 02:05:52,256
of the film, presented to
viewers as historically true,

2726
02:05:52,256 --> 02:05:53,883
but then erased.

2727
02:05:53,883 --> 02:05:57,094
Similar to how the once
ubiquitous, now vanished space

2728
02:05:57,094 --> 02:06:00,764
of the video rental store
functions for modern audiences.

2729
02:06:00,764 --> 02:06:02,933
They were there and now they're not.

2730
02:06:04,018 --> 02:06:07,855
This renders the video store
as a passage into the past,

2731
02:06:07,855 --> 02:06:09,648
a past that is made irretrievable

2732
02:06:09,648 --> 02:06:11,150
at the moment we apprehend it.

2733
02:06:12,193 --> 02:06:15,696
The video store is not a
site just of consumption,

2734
02:06:15,696 --> 02:06:18,657
but rather of a desire to go elsewhere,

2735
02:06:18,657 --> 02:06:21,118
even if that space is not real.

2736
02:06:27,249 --> 02:06:30,294
Hi, good morning.
- It's blank.

2737
02:06:30,294 --> 02:06:33,255
I'm sorry.
- Rewound this tape all over

2738
02:06:33,255 --> 02:06:34,173
and it's blank.

2739
02:06:34,173 --> 02:06:35,090
Really?

2740
02:06:35,090 --> 02:06:36,842
Did you check the?
- Sure did.

2741
02:06:36,842 --> 02:06:37,676
Check that.

2742
02:06:37,676 --> 02:06:40,429
You know, sometimes you
gotta use head cleaner.

2743
02:06:40,429 --> 02:06:41,639
Okay, I did that actually.

2744
02:06:41,639 --> 02:06:43,265
It'll eat the tapes.

2745
02:06:43,265 --> 02:06:44,683
Just pop it and see what's going on.

2746
02:06:44,683 --> 02:06:46,143
Excuse me. This video don't work.

2747
02:06:46,143 --> 02:06:48,395
I'm sorry?
- It don't work.

2748
02:06:48,395 --> 02:06:50,940
12 years later.
"Be Kind Rewind" used

2749
02:06:50,940 --> 02:06:53,692
the video store towards
somewhat similar ends,

2750
02:06:53,692 --> 02:06:57,112
by depicting a video store
that still carries VHS tapes,

2751
02:06:57,112 --> 02:06:59,198
despite it being set in 2008.

2752
02:07:02,326 --> 02:07:03,160
What is that?

2753
02:07:04,328 --> 02:07:06,664
Why is it doing that when you do that?

2754
02:07:06,664 --> 02:07:07,790
What is wrong with you?

2755
02:07:09,166 --> 02:07:10,751
You're magnetized.

2756
02:07:10,751 --> 02:07:15,756
You, you erased these tapes. It's you!

2757
02:07:17,049 --> 02:07:20,052
Given that customers
continue to frequent the store

2758
02:07:20,052 --> 02:07:21,929
and given that the store must make money

2759
02:07:21,929 --> 02:07:24,098
in order to remain in that location,

2760
02:07:24,098 --> 02:07:26,684
the clerk and his friend go
about making their own versions

2761
02:07:26,684 --> 02:07:28,894
of Hollywood films for
the customers to rent.

2762
02:07:31,230 --> 02:07:32,731
♪ You walking down the street ♪

2763
02:07:32,731 --> 02:07:34,733
♪ And you see a little ghost ♪

2764
02:07:34,733 --> 02:07:38,529
♪ What you going to do
about ghostbusters? ♪

2765
02:07:38,529 --> 02:07:39,363
What, what?

2766
02:07:39,363 --> 02:07:40,197
What is that?

2767
02:07:40,197 --> 02:07:41,907
That's the Ghostbusters theme song.

2768
02:07:41,907 --> 02:07:43,242
The owner of the store realizes

2769
02:07:43,242 --> 02:07:45,786
that the homemade tapes are renting well

2770
02:07:45,786 --> 02:07:48,789
and decides not to switch over to DVD.

2771
02:07:48,789 --> 02:07:50,624
Not only do they rent them,

2772
02:07:50,624 --> 02:07:52,918
they request that specific titles get made

2773
02:07:52,918 --> 02:07:55,296
for them individually.

2774
02:07:55,296 --> 02:07:57,840
In this respect, the film
presents amateur remaking

2775
02:07:57,840 --> 02:08:00,467
as a form of community consolidation,

2776
02:08:00,467 --> 02:08:03,929
and a feedback loop is created
between cultural producers

2777
02:08:03,929 --> 02:08:07,266
and consumers that is more
immediate and responsive

2778
02:08:07,266 --> 02:08:08,559
than the existing system.

2779
02:08:09,602 --> 02:08:12,354
Whereas the video store
is a commercial failure

2780
02:08:12,354 --> 02:08:13,522
at the beginning of the film,

2781
02:08:13,522 --> 02:08:16,150
with only a few dissatisfied customers.

2782
02:08:16,150 --> 02:08:19,361
It becomes viable after it's
the site of a more interactive,

2783
02:08:19,361 --> 02:08:22,489
personal and even communal
mode of cultural production.

2784
02:08:22,489 --> 02:08:25,326
Featuring humorously low
tech, amateur aesthetics,

2785
02:08:25,326 --> 02:08:28,370
which are meant to
evoke to the 2008 viewer

2786
02:08:28,370 --> 02:08:30,706
the simple pleasures of the VHS days.

2787
02:08:31,707 --> 02:08:33,500
Dave, it's me.

2788
02:08:34,585 --> 02:08:37,838
I'm afraid I can't open the pod doors now.

2789
02:08:37,838 --> 02:08:39,923
Our ability to
recognize the originality

2790
02:08:39,923 --> 02:08:42,384
of these remakes requires our acquaintance

2791
02:08:42,384 --> 02:08:44,261
with the Hollywood versions,

2792
02:08:44,261 --> 02:08:46,513
even if we have not seen
a particular film remade

2793
02:08:46,513 --> 02:08:48,182
within "Be Kind Rewind."

2794
02:08:48,182 --> 02:08:51,185
The film nevertheless addresses
our ability to recognize

2795
02:08:51,185 --> 02:08:54,605
the typical qualities of a
variety of Hollywood genres,

2796
02:08:54,605 --> 02:08:57,524
from action films to highbrow dramas.

2797
02:08:57,524 --> 02:09:01,654
For one final moment at the
end of the video store era,

2798
02:09:01,654 --> 02:09:05,157
movies are talking about themselves.

2799
02:09:05,157 --> 02:09:09,495
So the studios are coordinating
to assess the damages

2800
02:09:09,495 --> 02:09:11,705
from, how many titles is it?

2801
02:09:11,705 --> 02:09:13,707
Approximately 200.
- Okay, so.

2802
02:09:13,707 --> 02:09:15,459
Oh, what do we have here?

2803
02:09:15,459 --> 02:09:17,169
A record of rental.

2804
02:09:17,169 --> 02:09:20,089
Although "Be Kind
Rewind" ends without clarifying

2805
02:09:20,089 --> 02:09:23,258
that the store will survive,
it succeeds in presenting

2806
02:09:23,258 --> 02:09:26,553
the formation of a local
community around media production.

2807
02:09:27,680 --> 02:09:31,475
Thus, video provides the
means to invent a past

2808
02:09:31,475 --> 02:09:33,394
in order to live in the present.

2809
02:09:35,854 --> 02:09:37,481
Every dollar helps.

2810
02:09:37,481 --> 02:09:39,274
The video store
that we can now access,

2811
02:09:39,274 --> 02:09:43,320
frozen forever on celluloid,
videotape or digital storage.

2812
02:09:43,320 --> 02:09:46,031
Whether they were real
locations or fabricated sets,

2813
02:09:46,031 --> 02:09:47,658
provide glimpses into the past

2814
02:09:47,658 --> 02:09:51,120
that while not in the least
fictional may as well be.

2815
02:09:51,120 --> 02:09:52,579
This is exciting.

2816
02:09:52,579 --> 02:09:55,416
Every aspect of the
video store was deconstructed,

2817
02:09:55,416 --> 02:09:58,711
torn apart, presented and
represented over and over

2818
02:09:58,711 --> 02:09:59,795
until there was nothing left,

2819
02:09:59,795 --> 02:10:02,715
but a copy of a copy, of a copy.

2820
02:10:02,715 --> 02:10:04,717
A bootleg perhaps.

2821
02:10:04,717 --> 02:10:06,301
Okay, that's the spot.

2822
02:10:06,301 --> 02:10:07,594
Pull over the car.

2823
02:10:07,594 --> 02:10:08,429
Stop the car.
- I'm gonna...

2824
02:10:08,429 --> 02:10:10,264
Okay. Okay.
- This is not the spot.

2825
02:10:16,645 --> 02:10:18,355
As tempting as
it is to lay the blame

2826
02:10:18,355 --> 02:10:20,357
for the video store's
extinction at the feet

2827
02:10:20,357 --> 02:10:21,942
of a Hollywood system,

2828
02:10:21,942 --> 02:10:24,153
they presented these
depositories for their work

2829
02:10:24,153 --> 02:10:28,198
as humiliating, difficult,
stressful, and un-fun.

2830
02:10:28,198 --> 02:10:30,576
There were many economic
realities which led

2831
02:10:30,576 --> 02:10:33,328
to the video store's exit
from the retail landscape.

2832
02:10:34,830 --> 02:10:37,207
By 2008, "Be Kind Rewind"

2833
02:10:37,207 --> 02:10:41,545
with its retro obsessed
clerks was about anachronism,

2834
02:10:41,545 --> 02:10:44,089
capping off a decade that saw video stores

2835
02:10:44,089 --> 02:10:49,011
and video culture evolve so
fundamentally and so radically

2836
02:10:49,011 --> 02:10:51,096
as to render themselves obsolete.

2837
02:11:16,288 --> 02:11:17,581
From Silver
Lake International

2838
02:11:17,581 --> 02:11:21,460
Pictures, David Hevner.
- What's that rated mean?

2839
02:11:21,460 --> 02:11:24,338
Is it harder than an R or it's softer than G?

2840
02:11:24,338 --> 02:11:26,799
"Hannah Does Her Sisters." All right.

2841
02:11:26,799 --> 02:11:30,219
No, there were no parts
before "Leonard's Part 6."

2842
02:11:30,219 --> 02:11:32,513
By the mid 2000's video rentals

2843
02:11:32,513 --> 02:11:34,556
were in drastic decline.

2844
02:11:34,556 --> 02:11:37,476
So people were already
asking why bother putting up

2845
02:11:37,476 --> 02:11:38,393
with this at all?

2846
02:11:39,311 --> 02:11:41,939
From roughly the mid 1990's through 2005,

2847
02:11:41,939 --> 02:11:44,107
there was no reason to
think that video rental

2848
02:11:44,107 --> 02:11:46,985
as an industry was vulnerable
enough to collapse.

2849
02:11:47,402 --> 02:11:49,071
"Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill."

2850
02:11:50,364 --> 02:11:51,406
"Killer Workout."

2851
02:11:52,783 --> 02:11:55,410
By being made
synonymous with unfulfillment,

2852
02:11:55,410 --> 02:11:58,330
disappointment, both
practical and romantic

2853
02:11:58,455 --> 02:11:59,957
and unpleasant interactions

2854
02:11:59,957 --> 02:12:02,417
with impossibly unhelpful clerks.

2855
02:12:02,417 --> 02:12:04,711
Video stores became tarnished by those

2856
02:12:04,711 --> 02:12:07,589
who presumably frequented
them and benefited the most

2857
02:12:07,589 --> 02:12:09,299
from their existence.

2858
02:12:09,299 --> 02:12:11,426
Writers and filmmakers.

2859
02:12:11,426 --> 02:12:15,472
Mr. Holt, these two return
videos are a day late.

2860
02:12:15,472 --> 02:12:17,266
They were rented yesterday.

2861
02:12:17,266 --> 02:12:19,351
Yeah, but they were
due by 11 o'clock today

2862
02:12:19,351 --> 02:12:22,187
and you returned them 55 minutes late.

2863
02:12:22,187 --> 02:12:24,064
So.
- So.

2864
02:12:24,064 --> 02:12:26,567
Well, they’re overdue, you owe $5.

2865
02:12:26,567 --> 02:12:31,572
55 minutes. You're gonna
charge me for 55 minutes.

2866
02:12:31,905 --> 02:12:32,739
I'm sorry.

2867
02:12:32,739 --> 02:12:34,658
In perfect synchronicity
with the declining fortunes

2868
02:12:34,658 --> 02:12:37,870
of video stores themselves,
depictions of them on screen

2869
02:12:37,870 --> 02:12:40,455
throughout the 2000's
became less frequent,

2870
02:12:40,455 --> 02:12:42,624
and when they did occur,
they were no longer

2871
02:12:42,624 --> 02:12:44,209
in big budget Hollywood films

2872
02:12:44,209 --> 02:12:47,254
or on the most popular television shows.

2873
02:12:47,254 --> 02:12:49,256
Video stores would instead pop up

2874
02:12:49,256 --> 02:12:51,466
in primarily independent films,

2875
02:12:51,466 --> 02:12:55,137
something of a return to
their mid 1980's origins

2876
02:12:55,137 --> 02:12:59,224
and still prominently
featuring Troma movies.

2877
02:13:00,142 --> 02:13:02,936
Whereas showing a video store
was once a way for movies

2878
02:13:02,936 --> 02:13:04,980
to talk about themselves,

2879
02:13:04,980 --> 02:13:07,107
they now are no more remarkable on screen

2880
02:13:07,107 --> 02:13:08,233
than they were in life.

2881
02:13:15,449 --> 02:13:18,201
Guys, can somebody...
- We want Media Giant.

2882
02:13:18,201 --> 02:13:20,037
And that's Media Giant.

2883
02:13:20,037 --> 02:13:21,038
Media Giant!

2884
02:13:23,206 --> 02:13:25,208
That's horrible.
- Okay.

2885
02:13:25,208 --> 02:13:27,127
I know I can't compete
with these big guys,

2886
02:13:27,127 --> 02:13:28,629
but as long as I have you guys,

2887
02:13:28,629 --> 02:13:33,634
my small and loyal following
of geeks, and weirdos,

2888
02:13:33,967 --> 02:13:35,385
I know I'll be all right.

2889
02:13:35,385 --> 02:13:38,722
“Watching the
Detectives" from 2007 features

2890
02:13:38,722 --> 02:13:41,600
an independent video
store called Gumshoe Video

2891
02:13:41,600 --> 02:13:43,936
run by the cinephilic character of Neil,

2892
02:13:43,936 --> 02:13:46,480
realistically portrayed by Cillian Murphy.

2893
02:13:47,439 --> 02:13:49,983
Although made at a time where
the narrative could suggest

2894
02:13:49,983 --> 02:13:51,818
the struggles of an
independent store to remain

2895
02:13:51,818 --> 02:13:54,655
in business during the
industry's precipitous decline.

2896
02:13:54,655 --> 02:13:56,031
Aside from a few references

2897
02:13:56,031 --> 02:13:59,242
to Blockbuster stand-in Media
Giant, the plot of the film

2898
02:13:59,242 --> 02:14:01,411
in no way revolves around this conflict.

2899
02:14:02,412 --> 02:14:04,790
This communal movie viewing party suggests

2900
02:14:04,790 --> 02:14:07,292
that the store remains relevant
by being an integral part

2901
02:14:07,292 --> 02:14:08,752
of the community.

2902
02:14:08,752 --> 02:14:11,380
Though nothing like this
happens again in the film.

2903
02:14:12,255 --> 02:14:14,049
The video store is no longer a place

2904
02:14:14,049 --> 02:14:15,759
where anything remarkable, exciting,

2905
02:14:15,759 --> 02:14:17,552
or noteworthy happens.

2906
02:14:17,552 --> 02:14:20,347
Just as in the retail
landscape at this time,

2907
02:14:20,347 --> 02:14:23,183
it's taken for granted. It simply is.

2908
02:14:24,685 --> 02:14:27,604
Unlike in "Be Kind Rewind,"
the declining fortunes

2909
02:14:27,604 --> 02:14:30,774
of Gumshoe video are not
the movie's main focus.

2910
02:14:30,774 --> 02:14:33,735
Other than occasional references
to business being slow,

2911
02:14:33,735 --> 02:14:36,655
the store's financial
stability is never addressed.

2912
02:14:36,655 --> 02:14:39,533
Its continued existence
is apparently a given

2913
02:14:39,533 --> 02:14:43,453
despite seeming to mostly stock
VHS well into the DVD era.

2914
02:14:44,496 --> 02:14:47,791
Perhaps a robust Troma
presence gives Gumshoe

2915
02:14:47,791 --> 02:14:50,293
an advantage over its
corporate competitors.

2916
02:14:52,004 --> 02:14:53,839
Romantic encounters follow,

2917
02:14:53,839 --> 02:14:55,966
presented with little or no variation

2918
02:14:55,966 --> 02:14:57,968
to what we've been seeing for years.

2919
02:14:57,968 --> 02:15:00,637
Scene after scene, the
movie itself is reflective

2920
02:15:00,637 --> 02:15:03,432
of the video store's
failure to push forward,

2921
02:15:03,432 --> 02:15:05,267
to offer customers any variation

2922
02:15:05,267 --> 02:15:07,269
on the experiences they
had become used to.

2923
02:15:07,269 --> 02:15:08,103
No, I don't mind.

2924
02:15:08,103 --> 02:15:09,646
I'm in the video store right now.

2925
02:15:12,315 --> 02:15:14,276
No, it's one of those little shitty ones.

2926
02:15:16,028 --> 02:15:18,488
Yeah, most people just
want to get in their cars.

2927
02:15:18,488 --> 02:15:20,532
They want to drive to the local store,

2928
02:15:20,532 --> 02:15:22,743
and rent the latest disaster movie,

2929
02:15:22,743 --> 02:15:26,121
you know, whereas there's
not that many people

2930
02:15:26,121 --> 02:15:29,583
that just want to come in
and leisurely stroll around,

2931
02:15:29,583 --> 02:15:32,586
maybe talk about Kubrick,
you know, shoot the...

2932
02:15:32,586 --> 02:15:33,920
Shit, no!

2933
02:15:33,920 --> 02:15:36,339
At one point, Neil and his object

2934
02:15:36,339 --> 02:15:39,885
of desire, Violet sneak
into a media giant location,

2935
02:15:39,885 --> 02:15:42,637
wait for it to close
and set about sabotaging

2936
02:15:42,637 --> 02:15:43,722
the store's inventory.

2937
02:15:45,766 --> 02:15:47,559
So what's on your mind?

2938
02:15:47,559 --> 02:15:49,728
After he leaves, we'll
go out and switch the DVDs,

2939
02:15:49,728 --> 02:15:52,147
so that they're all in the wrong boxes.

2940
02:15:52,147 --> 02:15:54,232
Rather than give
Gumshoe video some practical

2941
02:15:54,232 --> 02:15:55,901
advantage in the battle between corporate

2942
02:15:55,901 --> 02:15:58,403
and independent stores,
this is done merely

2943
02:15:58,403 --> 02:16:01,114
for mischievous flirtation.

2944
02:16:01,114 --> 02:16:03,408
This would actually be impossible.

2945
02:16:03,408 --> 02:16:07,454
DVDs were secured in their
cases with magnetic rings.

2946
02:16:07,454 --> 02:16:09,790
This lack of accuracy may seem slight,

2947
02:16:09,790 --> 02:16:12,125
but it speaks to the larger
cultural indifference

2948
02:16:12,125 --> 02:16:15,128
around video stores and
how they really functioned.

2949
02:16:15,128 --> 02:16:16,296
By the late 2000's,

2950
02:16:16,296 --> 02:16:19,132
their onscreen
representations were actively

2951
02:16:19,132 --> 02:16:22,385
and irreparably diminishing
their reputations.

2952
02:16:22,385 --> 02:16:24,805
The film does contain one substantial

2953
02:16:24,805 --> 02:16:27,724
and oddly prescient
moment when the longevity

2954
02:16:27,724 --> 02:16:29,101
of video rental as a business

2955
02:16:29,101 --> 02:16:31,603
is being discussed among employees.

2956
02:16:31,603 --> 02:16:34,231
What are you gonna do when
this place goes tits up?

2957
02:16:35,482 --> 02:16:38,110
Well, I don't think that's
gonna happen for a few years.

2958
02:16:38,110 --> 02:16:40,946
You know, not until
people can get any movie

2959
02:16:40,946 --> 02:16:45,033
they want beamed directly into
their TV set. Then I’m dead meat.

2960
02:16:45,033 --> 02:16:46,743
But this is tossed aside in favor

2961
02:16:46,743 --> 02:16:47,911
of an impractical notion

2962
02:16:47,911 --> 02:16:50,622
of how the store could
actually continue to be viable.

2963
02:16:50,622 --> 02:16:51,456
I think you need to find a way

2964
02:16:51,456 --> 02:16:53,667
to supplement your business.

2965
02:16:53,667 --> 02:16:55,961
You gotta turn this place
into a singles club.

2966
02:16:55,961 --> 02:16:58,088
People come in here, they tell
you their favorite movies,

2967
02:16:58,088 --> 02:17:00,340
and then you match 'em
up with the perfect mate

2968
02:17:00,340 --> 02:17:01,508
using that information.

2969
02:17:02,509 --> 02:17:04,094
Furthering the
disinterest of this film

2970
02:17:04,094 --> 02:17:06,304
to in any way accurately reflect the state

2971
02:17:06,304 --> 02:17:09,641
of video rental in 2007,
Neil is later questioned

2972
02:17:09,641 --> 02:17:12,644
by goons on behalf of
Media Giant who taunt him.

2973
02:17:12,644 --> 02:17:14,729
So it must really be tough for you.

2974
02:17:16,231 --> 02:17:18,942
All these big franchise video
stores springing up every day,

2975
02:17:18,942 --> 02:17:22,237
must really tick you off
these big guys driving

2976
02:17:22,237 --> 02:17:23,780
you outta business.

2977
02:17:23,780 --> 02:17:26,116
Nevermind that
in 2007, it is more likely

2978
02:17:26,116 --> 02:17:28,201
that both franchise and independent stores

2979
02:17:28,201 --> 02:17:29,703
are closing every day,

2980
02:17:29,703 --> 02:17:32,539
which the film itself points
out a few minutes later

2981
02:17:32,539 --> 02:17:34,875
in a highly accurate scene
concerning the reality

2982
02:17:34,875 --> 02:17:36,877
of video rental stores in this era.

2983
02:17:36,877 --> 02:17:40,505
There is a letter from a
place called Movie Dork Video

2984
02:17:40,505 --> 02:17:42,007
in San Clemente.

2985
02:17:42,007 --> 02:17:44,384
This guy's going under
and he needs to liquidate,

2986
02:17:44,384 --> 02:17:47,804
so he wants 3000 bucks

2987
02:17:47,804 --> 02:17:50,348
and if we buy everything for 3000 bucks,

2988
02:17:50,348 --> 02:17:52,434
he'll give us free
shipping which is great,

2989
02:17:52,434 --> 02:17:54,936
but obviously there's a lot of
crap here that we don't need,

2990
02:17:54,936 --> 02:17:58,690
like eight copies of
"Ernest Goes to Camp,"

2991
02:17:58,690 --> 02:18:01,776
but he does have some
stuff that we don't have.

2992
02:18:01,776 --> 02:18:03,653
So we could just try to take everything

2993
02:18:03,653 --> 02:18:06,281
and save on the shipping,
which is not a bad idea.

2994
02:18:06,281 --> 02:18:08,867
Or we can cherry pick...

2995
02:18:15,123 --> 02:18:17,292
You know, we can do
this later if you want.

2996
02:18:18,501 --> 02:18:20,462
“Watching the
Detectives" doesn't offer

2997
02:18:20,462 --> 02:18:23,548
a closing moment concerning
the future of Gumshoe video,

2998
02:18:23,548 --> 02:18:26,218
nor its competition with Media Giant.

2999
02:18:26,218 --> 02:18:27,385
All that it cares about

3000
02:18:27,385 --> 02:18:29,804
are the romantic lives of Neil and Violet,

3001
02:18:29,804 --> 02:18:31,890
brought together by,
but totally disconnected

3002
02:18:31,890 --> 02:18:33,725
from the much more interesting narrative

3003
02:18:33,725 --> 02:18:35,018
of the store itself.

3004
02:18:35,936 --> 02:18:39,272
Ironically, “Watching the
Detectives" went straight to DVD

3005
02:18:39,272 --> 02:18:41,858
in 2008 after playing at film festivals.

3006
02:18:41,858 --> 02:18:44,402
By the time it would've
been available for rental,

3007
02:18:44,402 --> 02:18:47,864
Neil would likely have
closed Gumshoe video.

3008
02:18:47,864 --> 02:18:50,533
Depictions of video of stores
had declined so sharply

3009
02:18:50,533 --> 02:18:52,827
by the late aughts that to
dramatize their struggle

3010
02:18:52,827 --> 02:18:56,164
to stay in business would have
already seemed incongruous.

3011
02:18:56,164 --> 02:18:59,084
People forsook them before
they actually closed,

3012
02:18:59,084 --> 02:19:01,002
taking their business to Netflix

3013
02:19:01,002 --> 02:19:02,963
or Movies on Demand.

3014
02:19:03,713 --> 02:19:04,965
Councilwoman.

3015
02:19:04,965 --> 02:19:06,800
When the sitcom "Parks and Recreation"

3016
02:19:06,800 --> 02:19:09,135
somewhat realistically used a closing video store

3017
02:19:09,135 --> 02:19:12,555
as a metaphor for government bailouts in 2013,

3018
02:19:12,555 --> 02:19:15,100
the idea that a local
business was barely hanging on

3019
02:19:15,100 --> 02:19:18,770
would've been familiar to
anybody, not just video consumers.

3020
02:19:18,770 --> 02:19:19,896
I took your advice,

3021
02:19:19,896 --> 02:19:22,023
got rid of all those
dusty old foreign films

3022
02:19:22,023 --> 02:19:23,817
and used the money for
the part of our business.

3023
02:19:23,817 --> 02:19:25,568
that's always done pretty well for us.

3024
02:19:25,568 --> 02:19:27,279
Give the people what they want, right?

3025
02:19:27,279 --> 02:19:29,114
This isn't what people want!

3026
02:19:29,114 --> 02:19:31,658
It is definitely what that guy wants.

3027
02:19:31,658 --> 02:19:33,076
I like this store now.

3028
02:19:33,076 --> 02:19:34,035
The comedic notion

3029
02:19:34,035 --> 02:19:36,621
that the stores rejuvenated
success comes entirely

3030
02:19:36,621 --> 02:19:38,248
from renting pornography,

3031
02:19:38,248 --> 02:19:41,501
playfully suggests perhaps
the only way forward

3032
02:19:41,501 --> 02:19:43,670
for video stores is backward.

3033
02:19:45,046 --> 02:19:47,507
But rather than showing how
video stores could manage

3034
02:19:47,507 --> 02:19:49,509
to stay in business, depictions of them

3035
02:19:49,509 --> 02:19:52,929
in these final days more
often would simply make a joke

3036
02:19:52,929 --> 02:19:54,764
of the fact that they existed at all.

3037
02:19:56,016 --> 02:19:58,811
Hey man.
- Welcome to Mondo video.

3038
02:19:58,811 --> 02:19:59,812
How may we help you?

3039
02:20:00,770 --> 02:20:02,147
Ugh, what are you guys doing here?

3040
02:20:02,147 --> 02:20:03,189
We own this store.

3041
02:20:03,189 --> 02:20:05,317
We bought this bitch.

3042
02:20:05,317 --> 02:20:07,652
We wanted to invest
in an emerging market.

3043
02:20:07,652 --> 02:20:08,570
An emerging market?

3044
02:20:08,570 --> 02:20:10,196
Video stores are a dying market.

3045
02:20:10,196 --> 02:20:11,364
This is like one of the only ones left.

3046
02:20:11,364 --> 02:20:13,283
Then we're gonna corner that market.

3047
02:20:22,709 --> 02:20:23,668
Can you believe it?

3048
02:20:23,668 --> 02:20:25,128
Completely turnkey.

3049
02:20:26,004 --> 02:20:27,797
You got your sci-fi, comedies,

3050
02:20:27,797 --> 02:20:31,634
buddy flicks, chick flicks
all on Blu-ray or DVD.

3051
02:20:31,634 --> 02:20:33,720
Well, what do you think?

3052
02:20:33,720 --> 02:20:34,679
It's awesome.

3053
02:20:34,679 --> 02:20:36,931
You should try to get it on
that ancient civilization show

3054
02:20:36,931 --> 02:20:39,267
so that people can see
how cultures used to live.

3055
02:20:40,769 --> 02:20:42,604
In this episode of "South Park,"

3056
02:20:42,604 --> 02:20:46,483
Blockbuster is equated to an
old, abandoned, haunted house.

3057
02:20:49,778 --> 02:20:51,321
Go get it Filmore.

3058
02:20:51,321 --> 02:20:53,866
No way. I ain't going near that place.

3059
02:20:53,866 --> 02:20:55,283
You go get it.

3060
02:21:01,539 --> 02:21:03,876
Hey, you kids looking to rent some DVDs?

3061
02:21:03,876 --> 02:21:05,835
What's he talking about renting a Deeva D?

3062
02:21:06,920 --> 02:21:09,714
Even sadder than
watching video stores close

3063
02:21:09,714 --> 02:21:11,841
is watching their
depictions on screen migrate

3064
02:21:11,841 --> 02:21:13,927
from commercial, populist fair

3065
02:21:13,927 --> 02:21:17,639
to exclusively low
budget independent films.

3066
02:21:17,639 --> 02:21:19,057
You should watch this one.

3067
02:21:19,057 --> 02:21:20,350
It's super tight.

3068
02:21:28,108 --> 02:21:30,777
Without sufficient
resources to make these stores

3069
02:21:30,777 --> 02:21:33,696
or scenes set within
them visually dynamic,

3070
02:21:33,696 --> 02:21:36,241
we now see them on screen
not as we imagined them,

3071
02:21:36,241 --> 02:21:38,284
but as they actually were.

3072
02:21:38,284 --> 02:21:40,203
Long gone are the beautiful interiors

3073
02:21:40,203 --> 02:21:42,038
of "Body Double," "The Lost Boys,"

3074
02:21:42,038 --> 02:21:44,749
"Last Action Hero," or "The Big Hit."

3075
02:21:44,749 --> 02:21:49,212
Instead, stumbling upon a film
such as 2009’s "Stan Helsing"

3076
02:21:49,212 --> 02:21:51,381
with a scene set inside a video store

3077
02:21:51,381 --> 02:21:54,134
would be as disappointing as
finding a still open store

3078
02:21:54,134 --> 02:21:55,802
at this same time.

3079
02:21:55,802 --> 02:21:59,556
Excitement and curiosity
followed by dismay

3080
02:21:59,556 --> 02:22:02,142
because everything you
loved about video stores,

3081
02:22:02,142 --> 02:22:04,686
the selection, the eclectic space itself

3082
02:22:04,686 --> 02:22:08,022
and the colorful characters
you may encounter is gone,

3083
02:22:09,149 --> 02:22:11,151
replaced with only a memory

3084
02:22:11,151 --> 02:22:14,320
of these once proud institutions.

3085
02:22:14,320 --> 02:22:16,489
Hardcore horror, huh?

3086
02:22:16,489 --> 02:22:20,285
Funny. You don't look like you
can handle hardcore horror,

3087
02:22:20,285 --> 02:22:22,620
but you've come to the right place.

3088
02:22:22,620 --> 02:22:24,998
Here in this establishment,

3089
02:22:24,998 --> 02:22:28,126
we have one of the most
coveted collections

3090
02:22:28,126 --> 02:22:30,587
of the morbid and macabre
on digital disc.

3091
02:22:36,134 --> 02:22:38,303
If you're lucky,
that memory allows you

3092
02:22:38,303 --> 02:22:41,556
to revisit a now closed
physical space you once enjoyed

3093
02:22:41,556 --> 02:22:45,435
browsing the aisles of,
images of video stores possess

3094
02:22:45,435 --> 02:22:48,897
the power to transport
us, to remind us of spaces

3095
02:22:48,897 --> 02:22:51,649
that once were familiar
and now are largely gone.

3096
02:22:52,901 --> 02:22:56,154
Other times they make us lament
the sad decline of a culture

3097
02:22:56,154 --> 02:22:59,866
that thrived, was loved, taken for granted

3098
02:22:59,866 --> 02:23:02,535
and then perished ignominiously.

3099
02:23:27,727 --> 02:23:31,856
"Good Dick" from 2008 is
notable for being the final film

3100
02:23:31,856 --> 02:23:34,192
to take place largely at a video store

3101
02:23:34,192 --> 02:23:36,945
in a contemporary non-period setting.

3102
02:23:37,820 --> 02:23:39,739
It also avoids any suggestion

3103
02:23:39,739 --> 02:23:41,616
that the video rental
industry has struggled

3104
02:23:41,616 --> 02:23:43,076
to remain viable.

3105
02:23:43,076 --> 02:23:45,328
Though perhaps this is
logical as it was filmed

3106
02:23:45,328 --> 02:23:48,289
on location at Los Angeles's still popular

3107
02:23:48,289 --> 02:23:51,417
and still open Cinefile Video.

3108
02:23:51,417 --> 02:23:54,712
In terms of location, the
film could do no better.

3109
02:23:54,712 --> 02:23:56,798
Cinefile plays itself,

3110
02:23:56,798 --> 02:23:59,676
as we see not only the exterior sign,

3111
02:23:59,676 --> 02:24:02,679
but also videos bearing
the store's actual address

3112
02:24:02,679 --> 02:24:03,638
and phone number.

3113
02:24:05,056 --> 02:24:06,891
In terms of content,

3114
02:24:06,891 --> 02:24:10,687
"Good Dick" features nothing
remarkable whatsoever.

3115
02:24:10,687 --> 02:24:13,356
It deals unsurprisingly
with the romantic yearning

3116
02:24:13,356 --> 02:24:17,986
of an unnamed protagonist,
and an also unnamed customer.

3117
02:24:17,986 --> 02:24:22,615
By 2008, we had seen it all before.

3118
02:24:22,615 --> 02:24:24,284
Can I make a suggestion?

3119
02:24:27,120 --> 02:24:29,247
I thought this looked like
it had amazing potential too,

3120
02:24:29,247 --> 02:24:31,624
but it is actually really, really bad.

3121
02:24:32,542 --> 02:24:37,046
It's like two definitely underage
European girls hitchhiking

3122
02:24:37,046 --> 02:24:39,841
through the most unattractive
shots of Germany.

3123
02:24:39,841 --> 02:24:44,137
Greasy fat guys like
basically raping them.

3124
02:24:44,137 --> 02:24:46,806
I mean, it is a turnoff.

3125
02:24:46,806 --> 02:24:49,601
Should probably move it to a
different section like bad.

3126
02:24:51,185 --> 02:24:52,979
Aside from references to Troma

3127
02:24:52,979 --> 02:24:55,023
or "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,"

3128
02:24:55,023 --> 02:24:57,358
"Good Dick" has everything
we have come to expect

3129
02:24:57,358 --> 02:24:59,611
from video stores on screen,

3130
02:24:59,611 --> 02:25:02,822
and yet it feels strikingly unsubstantial.

3131
02:25:09,662 --> 02:25:12,165
Using a video store as
its primary location,

3132
02:25:12,165 --> 02:25:15,126
it lacks the intertextuality
that defined the earliest

3133
02:25:15,126 --> 02:25:17,211
and most memorable depictions of them

3134
02:25:17,211 --> 02:25:19,797
from the late 80's and early 90's.

3135
02:25:19,797 --> 02:25:23,009
This is not a glimpse into
a world defined by cinema,

3136
02:25:23,009 --> 02:25:24,594
alive with the possibilities

3137
02:25:24,594 --> 02:25:26,554
of possessing infinite knowledge.

3138
02:25:27,513 --> 02:25:30,308
The film could be set in a
bookstore or a clothing store,

3139
02:25:30,308 --> 02:25:33,770
or a laundromat. Unlike
"Watching the Detectives"

3140
02:25:33,770 --> 02:25:35,730
or "Be Kind Rewind,"

3141
02:25:35,730 --> 02:25:39,067
this late entry to the canon
does not feature a protagonist

3142
02:25:39,067 --> 02:25:42,320
whose life seems inseparable
from his love of movies,

3143
02:25:42,320 --> 02:25:44,030
nor his desire to make them.

3144
02:25:44,989 --> 02:25:47,367
Nameless, he is a cipher.

3145
02:25:47,367 --> 02:25:50,745
He watches movies and
sometimes talks about them,

3146
02:25:50,745 --> 02:25:52,705
but with no passion.

3147
02:25:52,705 --> 02:25:56,459
The film shows us scene
after scene of a video store,

3148
02:25:56,459 --> 02:25:59,337
but never says anything
other than, here we are.

3149
02:26:00,338 --> 02:26:02,715
"Good Dick" has the funereal tone

3150
02:26:02,715 --> 02:26:05,259
of revisiting the final
dying days of somebody

3151
02:26:05,259 --> 02:26:06,969
or something you once loved.

3152
02:26:07,887 --> 02:26:10,807
That it is able to achieve
this inside a video store

3153
02:26:10,807 --> 02:26:14,268
that did not close, weathered
the storm and continues

3154
02:26:14,268 --> 02:26:17,355
to operate is all the more remarkable.

3155
02:26:21,859 --> 02:26:22,819
Place looks good.

3156
02:26:26,823 --> 02:26:27,990
Are you boys in love?

3157
02:26:28,991 --> 02:26:32,161
Sorry, Charlie.
- Love.

3158
02:26:32,161 --> 02:26:36,958
Amour. Dancing. Are you in love?

3159
02:26:36,958 --> 02:26:38,793
There's no use wasting away alone,

3160
02:26:40,002 --> 02:26:41,087
and you need it.

3161
02:26:42,088 --> 02:26:42,964
Fall in love.

3162
02:26:44,173 --> 02:26:47,093
Sure.
- Fall in love quick

3163
02:26:47,093 --> 02:26:48,636
with a girl or a boy.

3164
02:26:51,097 --> 02:26:53,933
Find someone.
- Thank you.

3165
02:26:54,809 --> 02:26:56,310
That's great advice, sir.

3166
02:26:56,310 --> 02:26:57,145
Thank you.

3167
02:26:58,521 --> 02:27:01,524
You know what today is?
- It's your anniversary.

3168
02:27:03,568 --> 02:27:05,737
Yeah. She loved this film.

3169
02:27:10,283 --> 02:27:11,576
Don't forget your tape there.

3170
02:27:11,576 --> 02:27:13,327
Oh, oh, yes, yes, yes.

3171
02:27:21,335 --> 02:27:26,632
I mean it, boys. Make it snappy.

3172
02:27:28,968 --> 02:27:29,969
You're getting old.

3173
02:27:35,600 --> 02:27:36,434
See you.

3174
02:27:38,269 --> 02:27:39,187
Ah, thank you.

3175
02:27:39,187 --> 02:27:40,938
Thank you, Charlie.
- I see you later.

3176
02:27:40,938 --> 02:27:42,523
See you next time.
- You bet.

3177
02:28:11,886 --> 02:28:14,347
The death of
VHS occurred in tandem

3178
02:28:14,347 --> 02:28:16,557
with the demise of the video store.

3179
02:28:16,557 --> 02:28:18,768
While VHS continued to appear in films

3180
02:28:18,768 --> 02:28:22,146
as a recognizable object,
it now existed only

3181
02:28:22,146 --> 02:28:24,649
as a representative object from the past.

3182
02:28:24,649 --> 02:28:28,027
Something containing images or
moments that no longer exist

3183
02:28:28,027 --> 02:28:30,738
or never existed in the first place.

3184
02:28:32,740 --> 02:28:33,783
Have you heard about this video tape

3185
02:28:33,783 --> 02:28:35,409
that kills you when you watch it?

3186
02:28:36,494 --> 02:28:39,580
What kind of tape?
- A tape, a regular tape.

3187
02:28:39,580 --> 02:28:41,332
People rent it. I don't know.

3188
02:28:41,332 --> 02:28:42,792
You start to play it,

3189
02:28:42,792 --> 02:28:44,544
and it's like somebody's nightmare.

3190
02:28:45,670 --> 02:28:49,257
Then suddenly this woman comes on,

3191
02:28:49,257 --> 02:28:51,509
smiling at you, right?

3192
02:28:51,509 --> 02:28:53,928
Seeing you through the screen,

3193
02:28:55,388 --> 02:28:58,724
and as soon as it's
over, your phone rings.

3194
02:28:59,809 --> 02:29:01,853
Someone knows you've watched it,

3195
02:29:03,145 --> 02:29:07,441
and what they say is,
you'll die in seven days.

3196
02:29:08,609 --> 02:29:11,946
The VHS tape makes
its most significant post 2000

3197
02:29:11,946 --> 02:29:14,198
appearance in the remake of "Ringu,"

3198
02:29:14,198 --> 02:29:16,534
a Japanese film from 1998,

3199
02:29:16,534 --> 02:29:19,912
a time at which VHS was
ubiquitous and standard.

3200
02:29:21,038 --> 02:29:22,957
I think they stayed here a night or so.

3201
02:29:22,957 --> 02:29:25,918
Yeah, they were in cabin 12.

3202
02:29:25,918 --> 02:29:26,752
They didn't pay.

3203
02:29:27,837 --> 02:29:29,589
They had a number of complaints,

3204
02:29:29,589 --> 02:29:34,594
about the TV mainly,
reception's never good here.

3205
02:29:34,594 --> 02:29:37,513
That's why we bought
tape players for videos.

3206
02:29:39,223 --> 02:29:40,391
Quite a selection.

3207
02:29:42,268 --> 02:29:45,771
Mostly, they're hand-me-downs
left by other guests.

3208
02:29:45,771 --> 02:29:47,815
Anyway, they didn't pay.

3209
02:29:49,066 --> 02:29:53,112
Kids like that sometimes don't. Miss?

3210
02:29:53,112 --> 02:29:57,199
By 2002, the very same
VHS tape appears as a relic

3211
02:29:57,199 --> 02:29:59,744
adding to its sense of horror and menace.

3212
02:30:00,912 --> 02:30:03,247
The release of "The Ring"
closely followed the moment

3213
02:30:03,247 --> 02:30:07,335
in 2001 when DVD sales first exceeded VHS.

3214
02:30:07,335 --> 02:30:09,086
Just five years later,

3215
02:30:09,086 --> 02:30:12,840
more U.S. households owned
DVD players than VCRs.

3216
02:30:13,716 --> 02:30:18,095
In 1998, 1 million American
homes owned a DVD player.

3217
02:30:18,095 --> 02:30:22,308
By 2001, that number had
increased to 24 million.

3218
02:30:22,308 --> 02:30:25,561
A rate of exponential growth
that outpaced the proliferation

3219
02:30:25,561 --> 02:30:28,272
of VCRs exactly two decades earlier.

3220
02:30:32,693 --> 02:30:34,487
This is DVD.

3221
02:30:36,948 --> 02:30:41,953
And this is what happens
when you watch DVD.

3222
02:30:46,207 --> 02:30:49,001
It's a movie on a disc the size of a CD.

3223
02:30:49,001 --> 02:30:51,712
In 1996, divide
of profit between renting

3224
02:30:51,712 --> 02:30:54,340
and purchasing was in favor of renting.

3225
02:30:54,340 --> 02:30:57,259
8.7 billion to 7.5 billion.

3226
02:30:58,219 --> 02:31:02,348
In 2001, sales accounted for 10.3 billion

3227
02:31:02,348 --> 02:31:06,560
while rentals began to
decrease now to 8.4 billion.

3228
02:31:06,560 --> 02:31:09,730
These five years during
which DVD eclipsed VHS saw

3229
02:31:09,730 --> 02:31:12,400
the transition from one
technology to another,

3230
02:31:12,400 --> 02:31:14,360
and the opportunity to purchase DVDs

3231
02:31:14,360 --> 02:31:16,696
and rent videos at the same store.

3232
02:31:16,696 --> 02:31:19,699
Unlike Blockbuster or any
video rental location,

3233
02:31:19,699 --> 02:31:22,702
the player and the videos were
available in the same space,

3234
02:31:22,702 --> 02:31:25,329
often offered as a package deal.

3235
02:31:25,329 --> 02:31:27,331
Shop right now
at Circuit City and save.

3236
02:31:27,331 --> 02:31:29,709
The now lucrative
DVD market owed more

3237
02:31:29,709 --> 02:31:31,877
to Best Buy than Blockbuster,

3238
02:31:31,877 --> 02:31:34,755
fulfilling the decades long
promise of sell through pricing,

3239
02:31:34,755 --> 02:31:37,425
creating a preferable and
affordable option to rental.

3240
02:31:37,425 --> 02:31:38,259
My name's Hollis.

3241
02:31:38,259 --> 02:31:40,011
I work at the Walmart Home
Entertainment Department.

3242
02:31:40,011 --> 02:31:42,680
The big news is that
Walmart now has DVD players,

3243
02:31:42,680 --> 02:31:43,931
and DVD movies.

3244
02:31:43,931 --> 02:31:44,890
The aggressiveness

3245
02:31:44,890 --> 02:31:47,476
with which these
advertisements push DVD players

3246
02:31:47,476 --> 02:31:49,729
equating them with
necessary home appliances

3247
02:31:49,729 --> 02:31:52,189
such as washing machines
and refrigerators.

3248
02:31:52,189 --> 02:31:55,067
Implied that no lifestyle is
complete without a proper way

3249
02:31:55,067 --> 02:31:57,820
to enjoy movies in the
privacy of your own home.

3250
02:31:57,820 --> 02:31:58,779
If I can afford 'em,

3251
02:31:58,779 --> 02:32:00,948
then anybody can afford 'em.

3252
02:32:00,948 --> 02:32:02,658
Equally curious is the bombast

3253
02:32:02,658 --> 02:32:05,327
proclaiming 3000 titles to choose from.

3254
02:32:05,327 --> 02:32:07,621
A fraction of what
Blockbuster was advertising

3255
02:32:07,621 --> 02:32:09,373
over a decade earlier.

3256
02:32:09,373 --> 02:32:11,375
With over
3000 titles to choose from,

3257
02:32:11,375 --> 02:32:15,046
make sure you see your next movie on DVD.

3258
02:32:15,046 --> 02:32:16,005
Yeah.

3259
02:32:16,005 --> 02:32:17,631
No more late fees.

3260
02:32:17,631 --> 02:32:19,508
No more late fees!

3261
02:32:19,508 --> 02:32:21,469
No more late fees!

3262
02:32:21,469 --> 02:32:23,429
No more late fees!

3263
02:32:23,429 --> 02:32:24,930
No more late fees!

3264
02:32:27,349 --> 02:32:30,144
Much of the
advertising of DVDs boasts

3265
02:32:30,144 --> 02:32:33,439
of the enticing possibility of
eliminating such indignities

3266
02:32:33,439 --> 02:32:36,942
as late fees and return
trips to the video store.

3267
02:32:38,402 --> 02:32:41,989
Notably, no films portray
characters buying videos

3268
02:32:41,989 --> 02:32:43,824
in these types of stores.

3269
02:32:43,824 --> 02:32:46,494
Proving that to depict the
behavior of video acquisition

3270
02:32:46,494 --> 02:32:49,663
in films or television
was to exclusively reflect

3271
02:32:49,663 --> 02:32:51,290
the practice of renting

3272
02:32:51,290 --> 02:32:54,168
and all the possibilities it suggested.

3273
02:32:54,168 --> 02:32:55,419
While films like "The Holiday"

3274
02:32:55,419 --> 02:32:57,755
and "This Means War" kept
the video store alive

3275
02:32:57,755 --> 02:32:59,381
as a somewhat realistic, common

3276
02:32:59,381 --> 02:33:02,593
and familiar public space
well into the 2000's,

3277
02:33:02,593 --> 02:33:04,720
there was no mistaking
the declining fortunes

3278
02:33:04,720 --> 02:33:07,181
in the industry of video rental.

3279
02:33:07,181 --> 02:33:09,225
It's almost as though
stores began to close

3280
02:33:09,225 --> 02:33:12,561
when DVDs eliminated the ability
to charge additional fines

3281
02:33:12,561 --> 02:33:13,687
for not rewinding.

3282
02:33:14,647 --> 02:33:16,357
So what are you doing?

3283
02:33:16,357 --> 02:33:18,317
Oh, just hanging out in my apartment.

3284
02:33:18,317 --> 02:33:19,235
You did get my text,

3285
02:33:19,235 --> 02:33:21,028
right?
- What? Text? What?

3286
02:33:21,028 --> 02:33:22,196
We're all going out tonight?

3287
02:33:22,196 --> 02:33:24,073
Oh, man, that sounds great.

3288
02:33:24,073 --> 02:33:25,116
I wish I could join you.

3289
02:33:25,116 --> 02:33:26,492
I'm just so jammed up.

3290
02:33:26,492 --> 02:33:28,661
I'm totally off the grid,
you know what I mean?

3291
02:33:28,661 --> 02:33:30,454
No, I don't at all.

3292
02:33:30,454 --> 02:33:31,789
I got a bunch of stuff going on.

3293
02:33:31,789 --> 02:33:33,332
There's this thing I gotta do.

3294
02:33:33,332 --> 02:33:34,875
Any other night would've been great,

3295
02:33:34,875 --> 02:33:36,293
darn it to heck!

3296
02:33:36,293 --> 02:33:37,878
Now, in both consumer habits

3297
02:33:37,878 --> 02:33:40,756
and film production, the
shift from old to new

3298
02:33:40,756 --> 02:33:42,758
was a transition of
leaving the video store,

3299
02:33:42,758 --> 02:33:45,719
and video rental habits in the past.

3300
02:33:45,719 --> 02:33:48,556
Where is your VHS section?
- Right over there.

3301
02:33:49,723 --> 02:33:50,558
That's it?

3302
02:33:51,475 --> 02:33:54,061
That's the only tapes you have?

3303
02:33:54,061 --> 02:33:56,230
One for every person
who still has a VCR.

3304
02:33:58,065 --> 02:33:59,733
Although for a time, these films

3305
02:33:59,733 --> 02:34:02,653
and shows also reach out into the future,

3306
02:34:02,653 --> 02:34:05,281
anticipating their own consumption,

3307
02:34:05,281 --> 02:34:08,200
indicating that the video
store holds the past on reserve

3308
02:34:08,200 --> 02:34:10,536
for contemplation in the present

3309
02:34:10,536 --> 02:34:12,913
and even opens up toward the future.

3310
02:34:13,956 --> 02:34:16,917
This is a general condition
of the video store,

3311
02:34:16,917 --> 02:34:20,838
both in social practice and
in media representations.

3312
02:34:20,838 --> 02:34:23,132
If video rental stores asked us,

3313
02:34:23,132 --> 02:34:25,217
what do we want to watch this evening?

3314
02:34:25,217 --> 02:34:28,929
Then they also allowed
us to ask more basically,

3315
02:34:28,929 --> 02:34:30,639
what do we want?

3316
02:34:30,639 --> 02:34:33,767
What is that?
- Oh, "La Strada."

3317
02:34:33,767 --> 02:34:36,312
It's a Fellini movie.
- So random.

3318
02:34:38,105 --> 02:34:40,149
Yeah. They were all
outta "Miss Congeniality 2:

3319
02:34:40,149 --> 02:34:41,942
Armed and Fabulous."

3320
02:34:41,942 --> 02:34:42,943
I went for a random.

3321
02:34:44,028 --> 02:34:44,862
Ew Chad!

3322
02:34:44,862 --> 02:34:46,030
Fuck you.
- Oh, fuck you.

3323
02:34:46,030 --> 02:34:47,156
You love it.

3324
02:34:47,156 --> 02:34:49,658
Hey, does that movie come
with tampons for your pussy?

3325
02:34:50,576 --> 02:34:51,994
You know, Chad,

3326
02:34:51,994 --> 02:34:53,370
I'll be upset if it doesn't.

3327
02:34:55,539 --> 02:34:57,666
We should get "Out of Africa."

3328
02:34:57,666 --> 02:35:00,252
Sarah, this isn't gonna work.

3329
02:35:00,252 --> 02:35:01,253
Okay, fine.

3330
02:35:01,253 --> 02:35:03,797
"Die Hard."
- No, I can't do this anymore.

3331
02:35:05,007 --> 02:35:06,675
What? Rent a movie.

3332
02:35:06,675 --> 02:35:07,509
You and me.

3333
02:35:08,510 --> 02:35:10,387
I told you I didn't want
a serious relationship.

3334
02:35:10,387 --> 02:35:12,181
Given the
generally negative portrayal

3335
02:35:12,181 --> 02:35:15,851
of video stores, it is
tempting to claim that decades

3336
02:35:15,851 --> 02:35:19,813
of such depictions help stage
their real world elimination.

3337
02:35:19,813 --> 02:35:22,233
Don't pretend like I didn't
tell you this a month ago.

3338
02:35:25,194 --> 02:35:28,113
Oh my God. Oh my God, he's shot!

3339
02:35:28,113 --> 02:35:30,157
Somebody call the cops!

3340
02:35:30,157 --> 02:35:33,327
Somebody help!
- I got him.

3341
02:35:33,327 --> 02:35:36,330
Oh my God. Somebody please!

3342
02:35:36,330 --> 02:35:38,082
Somebody, do something!

3343
02:35:38,082 --> 02:35:38,999
No, please!

3344
02:35:40,334 --> 02:35:44,129
Somebody! Why isn't anyone doing anything?

3345
02:35:44,129 --> 02:35:46,215
Is this our shooter?
- Bystander.

3346
02:35:46,215 --> 02:35:49,301
Sean Markham walking
in, took one in the chest.

3347
02:35:49,301 --> 02:35:50,928
Ooh, full vest.

3348
02:35:50,928 --> 02:35:52,429
Should've said, don't wanna watch TV.

3349
02:35:52,429 --> 02:35:54,181
If no one ever
gets what they want

3350
02:35:54,181 --> 02:35:57,351
at the video store, why
bother going to one at all?

3351
02:35:58,519 --> 02:36:01,939
But this betrayal of the
rental space is duplicitous

3352
02:36:01,939 --> 02:36:05,109
as Hollywood made most of its
money from home video revenues

3353
02:36:05,109 --> 02:36:07,403
for more than 20 years.

3354
02:36:07,403 --> 02:36:11,407
"Along Came Polly,"
"The Breakup," "Hitch."

3355
02:36:11,407 --> 02:36:13,659
Where would you look for those movies?

3356
02:36:13,659 --> 02:36:15,160
Comedy.

3357
02:36:15,160 --> 02:36:17,121
Genius.

3358
02:36:17,121 --> 02:36:19,081
These were spaces
of troublesome shopping

3359
02:36:19,081 --> 02:36:21,458
and of unpleasant public interactions.

3360
02:36:21,458 --> 02:36:22,710
Places where different tastes,

3361
02:36:22,710 --> 02:36:26,380
and cultural goods became
visually and dramatically apparent

3362
02:36:26,380 --> 02:36:29,550
where our social differences
also became areas

3363
02:36:29,550 --> 02:36:31,885
of contemplation and tension.

3364
02:36:31,885 --> 02:36:33,220
What would you do to him?

3365
02:36:35,431 --> 02:36:37,808
If you could do anything you wanted to.

3366
02:36:40,060 --> 02:36:41,186
Anything and not get caught.

3367
02:36:41,186 --> 02:36:43,063
Everything on the list?

3368
02:36:43,063 --> 02:36:46,400
Yeah, so just pick a fucking movie.

3369
02:36:46,400 --> 02:36:47,401
Anything?

3370
02:36:49,653 --> 02:36:51,238
Hey, good shit.

3371
02:36:51,238 --> 02:36:53,449
Hey, you know what's fucking hilarious

3372
02:36:53,449 --> 02:36:55,034
is that you chose to act
like a fucking asshole

3373
02:36:55,034 --> 02:36:55,951
on your last day on earth.

3374
02:37:00,497 --> 02:37:01,874
It is not really a question

3375
02:37:01,874 --> 02:37:03,792
of whether such things
ever really happened

3376
02:37:03,792 --> 02:37:05,627
in video rental stores,

3377
02:37:05,627 --> 02:37:07,963
but rather where and how these feelings

3378
02:37:07,963 --> 02:37:10,549
and problems will be dramatized
after the video store

3379
02:37:10,549 --> 02:37:13,218
no longer makes cinematic
sense and portrayals of them

3380
02:37:13,218 --> 02:37:15,679
are limited to period pieces.

3381
02:37:15,679 --> 02:37:18,891
Where in their presence
often says little more than,

3382
02:37:18,891 --> 02:37:21,226
do you remember these spaces?

3383
02:37:21,226 --> 02:37:22,061
Back in the 80's,

3384
02:37:22,061 --> 02:37:23,437
you couldn't just lay on your couch

3385
02:37:23,437 --> 02:37:25,272
and stream a movie to your phone,

3386
02:37:25,272 --> 02:37:27,191
you actually had to spend
an hour of venturing

3387
02:37:27,191 --> 02:37:30,611
to a wondrous place called a video store.

3388
02:37:30,611 --> 02:37:32,780
And it was awesome.

3389
02:37:32,780 --> 02:37:34,281
Let's just make this fast, okay?

3390
02:37:34,281 --> 02:37:37,659
Pick a movie and don't
go behind the curtain!

3391
02:37:37,659 --> 02:37:38,619
Depictions of video stores

3392
02:37:38,619 --> 02:37:40,996
and period pieces
occasionally use the setting

3393
02:37:40,996 --> 02:37:42,915
to make specific points about the era,

3394
02:37:42,915 --> 02:37:45,834
usually the 1980's
regarding access to videos

3395
02:37:45,834 --> 02:37:47,711
and the difficulty that
is no longer relatable

3396
02:37:47,711 --> 02:37:49,671
to modern audiences.

3397
02:37:49,671 --> 02:37:52,966
"Temple of Doom." Overrated.

3398
02:37:52,966 --> 02:37:54,343
You wanna see a good film, kid?

3399
02:37:54,343 --> 02:37:57,012
Watch Bergman’s "The Seventh
Seal" or "Devil's Manners?"

3400
02:37:57,012 --> 02:37:58,639
That's my student film, it is pretty much

3401
02:37:58,639 --> 02:38:00,432
the quintessential-
- No, thank you

3402
02:38:00,432 --> 02:38:01,934
and let's get going.

3403
02:38:01,934 --> 02:38:03,435
We're in a big rush.

3404
02:38:03,435 --> 02:38:06,814
Yeah, you have a movie out.

3405
02:38:06,814 --> 02:38:09,191
"Slap Shot." Overrated.

3406
02:38:09,191 --> 02:38:10,025
If you ask me,

3407
02:38:10,025 --> 02:38:11,610
Paul Newman should...
- I did not ask you,

3408
02:38:11,610 --> 02:38:13,570
and I know I returned that movie.

3409
02:38:13,570 --> 02:38:14,613
Please check again.

3410
02:38:14,613 --> 02:38:16,448
I didn't realize that
my computer was HAL 9,000

3411
02:38:16,448 --> 02:38:17,616
and it could change at will

3412
02:38:17,616 --> 02:38:19,785
and blast us out the pod bay doors.

3413
02:38:19,785 --> 02:38:23,622
How many advanced copies of "Shrek"

3414
02:38:23,622 --> 02:38:25,624
on DVD do you think you can sell?

3415
02:38:26,500 --> 02:38:28,377
Isn't "Shrek" already out on DVD?

3416
02:38:28,377 --> 02:38:32,840
Yeah, but this is like, it's
a new special edition with...

3417
02:38:32,840 --> 02:38:33,799
Yeah, it's wide screen

3418
02:38:33,799 --> 02:38:35,175
and then there's like special footage

3419
02:38:35,175 --> 02:38:36,927
of how they animated

3420
02:38:36,927 --> 02:38:38,220
Donkey and...
- Donkey.

3421
02:38:53,444 --> 02:38:57,281
Is there something I
can help you with, sir?

3422
02:39:00,325 --> 02:39:05,330
Yeah, uh... you have a foreign film section?

3423
02:39:05,539 --> 02:39:06,582
Don’t carry nothin’ foreign,

3424
02:39:06,582 --> 02:39:08,250
but Jap and Mex stuff.

3425
02:39:09,793 --> 02:39:11,962
Three favorite movies go.

3426
02:39:11,962 --> 02:39:14,506
"The Apartment," "Hidden Fortress,"

3427
02:39:14,506 --> 02:39:15,799
"Children of Paradise."

3428
02:39:15,799 --> 02:39:17,259
You, go.

3429
02:39:17,259 --> 02:39:19,845
Favorite movies.
- Did I stutter?

3430
02:39:19,845 --> 02:39:21,555
"Animal House" for sure.

3431
02:39:23,182 --> 02:39:24,558
Eyes on me, Harrington.

3432
02:39:25,517 --> 02:39:29,313
Yeah. "Star Wars."
- "A New Hope."

3433
02:39:30,022 --> 02:39:32,983
A new what now?
- Which "Star Wars?"

3434
02:39:32,983 --> 02:39:35,986
One with the teddy bears, duh. No?

3435
02:39:35,986 --> 02:39:38,030
Occasionally the
film's production designers

3436
02:39:38,030 --> 02:39:40,449
go so far as to accurately
situate a video store

3437
02:39:40,449 --> 02:39:42,701
in the background,
despite it not functioning

3438
02:39:42,701 --> 02:39:45,329
as a location characters physically visit.

3439
02:39:47,164 --> 02:39:49,833
These brief resurrections of
video stores are rewarding

3440
02:39:49,833 --> 02:39:51,960
for various reasons.

3441
02:39:51,960 --> 02:39:53,837
They allow viewers familiar with them

3442
02:39:53,837 --> 02:39:57,174
to briefly relive a time where
these stores reign supreme,

3443
02:39:57,174 --> 02:39:59,593
while showing others who
perhaps never visited

3444
02:39:59,593 --> 02:40:02,513
a video store what unique, colorful

3445
02:40:02,513 --> 02:40:04,890
and offbeat experiences
used to be accessible

3446
02:40:04,890 --> 02:40:09,019
to all who entered, despite
some unavoidable hassles.

3447
02:40:13,357 --> 02:40:17,236
The spaces themselves,
the tapes, the employees,

3448
02:40:18,111 --> 02:40:19,905
all of this was unique.

3449
02:40:28,247 --> 02:40:30,916
It was there and now it's gone.

3450
02:40:37,339 --> 02:40:40,259
Like Westerns or the World War II film,

3451
02:40:40,259 --> 02:40:42,970
future video store narratives
will be told by those

3452
02:40:42,970 --> 02:40:45,806
who never experienced them firsthand.

3453
02:40:45,806 --> 02:40:48,976
How this will change their
depictions remains to be seen,

3454
02:40:48,976 --> 02:40:51,853
but secondhand revisionism
may not be too far away.

3455
02:40:53,480 --> 02:40:56,567
Now younger generations
are completely unaware

3456
02:40:56,567 --> 02:41:00,028
of the thrills associated
with in-person video browsing.

3457
02:41:00,028 --> 02:41:02,656
Oh, hey guys. Welcome.

3458
02:41:02,656 --> 02:41:05,075
Logan's right. This place is sick.

3459
02:41:08,412 --> 02:41:10,289
These boxy things are all movies?

3460
02:41:10,289 --> 02:41:11,290
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

3461
02:41:11,290 --> 02:41:13,542
The boxy things are VHS tapes,

3462
02:41:13,542 --> 02:41:17,879
and they go into a VCR
machine, which we rent also.

3463
02:41:21,967 --> 02:41:25,387
Okay. "Party Girl" is
my new favorite movie.

3464
02:41:25,387 --> 02:41:27,889
Parker Posey is my new dream woman.

3465
02:41:27,889 --> 02:41:30,309
I would marry her today.
- Oh wow. Get in line.

3466
02:41:30,309 --> 02:41:32,894
Oh, I have something for you actually.

3467
02:41:32,894 --> 02:41:34,938
Landmark queer girl cinema,

3468
02:41:34,938 --> 02:41:36,315
"The Watermelon Woman."

3469
02:41:36,315 --> 02:41:37,816
So good. Cheryl Dunye.

3470
02:41:39,109 --> 02:41:41,695
You gotta let me know what you think.

3471
02:41:41,695 --> 02:41:42,696
Don from corporate.

3472
02:41:42,696 --> 02:41:46,116
Oh, Donny, what's going down?

3473
02:41:46,116 --> 02:41:47,451
Every time...

3474
02:41:47,451 --> 02:41:49,369
Look, there's no easy way to say this.

3475
02:41:49,369 --> 02:41:51,079
Seven more Blockbusters just closed,

3476
02:41:51,079 --> 02:41:53,040
you're officially the last one on Earth.

3477
02:41:54,625 --> 02:41:57,669
I don't love the pattern
that's starting to emerge.

3478
02:41:57,669 --> 02:42:00,047
When a streaming
service danced on the grave

3479
02:42:00,047 --> 02:42:02,299
of an industry it eradicated,

3480
02:42:02,299 --> 02:42:06,970
the results were insulting to
all and of interest to none.

3481
02:42:14,186 --> 02:42:16,438
"I Am Legend" is a futuristic dystopia

3482
02:42:16,438 --> 02:42:19,900
that has also accidentally
become a period piece.

3483
02:42:19,900 --> 02:42:22,569
It is a zombie film that
unknowingly captured a world

3484
02:42:22,569 --> 02:42:25,155
on the precipice of obsolescence.

3485
02:42:25,155 --> 02:42:27,949
Sometime around 2012, the
world has been overrun

3486
02:42:27,949 --> 02:42:30,619
with a virus that has turned
everyone except the protagonist

3487
02:42:30,619 --> 02:42:32,162
into zombie-like creatures.

3488
02:42:33,080 --> 02:42:35,374
After establishing that
Will Smith's, Robert Neville

3489
02:42:35,374 --> 02:42:37,959
is alone in a depopulated Manhattan

3490
02:42:37,959 --> 02:42:40,337
with only his dog as a companion,

3491
02:42:40,337 --> 02:42:43,590
we see him drive up to a
video store and enter it.

3492
02:42:43,590 --> 02:42:48,136
This store was Tower Video,
located in Greenwich Village.

3493
02:42:48,136 --> 02:42:50,889
It closed in December, 2006,

3494
02:42:50,889 --> 02:42:54,309
less than three months
after this scene was filmed.

3495
02:42:54,309 --> 02:42:58,689
Hey, morning Marge. Morning Fred.

3496
02:42:58,689 --> 02:43:00,399
What you guys doing here so early?

3497
02:43:01,817 --> 02:43:04,111
A nice sweatshirt there, Fred.

3498
02:43:04,111 --> 02:43:06,071
Don't sit it down anywhere.

3499
02:43:06,071 --> 02:43:07,781
By the time of
"I Am Legend's" release

3500
02:43:07,781 --> 02:43:10,659
one year later, the
apocalyptic implications

3501
02:43:10,659 --> 02:43:13,620
of the story were
actualized in this space.

3502
02:43:13,620 --> 02:43:16,373
Tower Video was itself a zombie returning

3503
02:43:16,373 --> 02:43:17,207
from the dead.

3504
02:43:18,250 --> 02:43:20,335
In the five years between
the film's release

3505
02:43:20,335 --> 02:43:23,088
and its speculative
science fiction narrative,

3506
02:43:23,088 --> 02:43:24,589
the presence of a video store

3507
02:43:24,589 --> 02:43:27,801
of this size would become
even more incongruous.

3508
02:43:27,801 --> 02:43:32,139
By 2012, such stores were
nearly non-existent everywhere,

3509
02:43:32,139 --> 02:43:34,099
and most certainly in Manhattan.

3510
02:43:34,933 --> 02:43:38,103
In a cruel twist of fate,
2012 would be the year

3511
02:43:38,103 --> 02:43:41,398
a video store was shown on
screen in a major Hollywood film

3512
02:43:41,398 --> 02:43:44,151
in a normalized way for the last time,

3513
02:43:44,151 --> 02:43:48,405
not in a period piece, and
not commented on as a relic.

3514
02:43:48,405 --> 02:43:52,075
In fact, it's sort
of a second tier title.

3515
02:43:53,869 --> 02:43:55,454
For one final moment

3516
02:43:55,454 --> 02:43:57,456
in both the reality of "I Am Legend"

3517
02:43:57,456 --> 02:43:59,082
and "This Means War,"

3518
02:43:59,082 --> 02:44:02,711
the corporate chain massive
video store was alive.

3519
02:44:04,004 --> 02:44:06,631
Mannequins mimic the social
interactions one might have

3520
02:44:06,631 --> 02:44:08,216
at a video store.

3521
02:44:08,216 --> 02:44:11,470
They are positioned as
customers entering the store.

3522
02:44:11,470 --> 02:44:13,722
As a family browsing the aisles,

3523
02:44:13,722 --> 02:44:16,141
as a clerk behind the counter,

3524
02:44:16,141 --> 02:44:19,644
Robert addresses a number
of these mannequins by name

3525
02:44:19,644 --> 02:44:21,354
and indicates he has seen them

3526
02:44:21,354 --> 02:44:23,023
and interacted with them before.

3527
02:44:23,940 --> 02:44:24,816
Good morning, Hank.

3528
02:44:24,816 --> 02:44:26,026
Midway through the G’s.

3529
02:44:27,068 --> 02:44:30,155
What's happening here
is profound, meta textual,

3530
02:44:30,155 --> 02:44:33,533
historical, speculative,
emotional, and nostalgic.

3531
02:44:33,533 --> 02:44:36,661
This scene asks audiences
for immediate recognition

3532
02:44:36,661 --> 02:44:39,164
of a space that needs no explanation.

3533
02:44:39,164 --> 02:44:41,124
With the removal of all other humans,

3534
02:44:41,124 --> 02:44:45,545
society has been eliminated
and history effectively ended.

3535
02:44:46,963 --> 02:44:49,800
This film takes America at
a certain moment in time

3536
02:44:49,800 --> 02:44:51,635
and freezes it.

3537
02:44:51,635 --> 02:44:54,679
The film treats the
planet as a time capsule,

3538
02:44:54,679 --> 02:44:58,725
thus dating itself by
depicting this public space.

3539
02:44:58,725 --> 02:45:02,604
Video stores could not appear
in a film made before 1977.

3540
02:45:02,604 --> 02:45:04,231
They did not exist.

3541
02:45:04,231 --> 02:45:06,399
It is unlikely that the
film's video store scene

3542
02:45:06,399 --> 02:45:09,277
would appear at all had "I Am
Legend" been made any later.

3543
02:45:18,411 --> 02:45:21,581
In 1971's "The Omega
Man," which was adapted

3544
02:45:21,581 --> 02:45:23,166
from the same Richard Matheson novel

3545
02:45:23,166 --> 02:45:25,126
on which "I Am Legend" is based.

3546
02:45:25,126 --> 02:45:27,462
We see Charlton Heston threading up

3547
02:45:27,462 --> 02:45:29,089
a 35 millimeter projector

3548
02:45:29,089 --> 02:45:32,050
in his now private once
public movie theater,

3549
02:45:32,050 --> 02:45:35,887
and mouthing along to the
1970 documentary "Woodstock,"

3550
02:45:35,887 --> 02:45:39,099
like "The Omega Man," a
Warner Brothers picture.

3551
02:45:39,099 --> 02:45:41,518
Just to really realize.

3552
02:45:41,518 --> 02:45:44,145
What's really important,
what's really important,

3553
02:45:44,145 --> 02:45:46,690
the fact that if we
can't all live together

3554
02:45:46,690 --> 02:45:48,608
and be happy, you have to be afraid

3555
02:45:48,608 --> 02:45:50,235
to walk out in the street.

3556
02:45:50,235 --> 02:45:52,028
If you have to be afraid

3557
02:45:52,028 --> 02:45:54,573
to smile at somebody, right?

3558
02:45:54,573 --> 02:45:56,575
Rather than what was
left in the projection booth,

3559
02:45:56,575 --> 02:45:59,578
"I Am Legend" offers Will
Smith a video store's worth

3560
02:45:59,578 --> 02:46:03,039
of options and instead of
reciting a three hour documentary

3561
02:46:03,039 --> 02:46:05,709
about a world that no longer exists.

3562
02:46:05,709 --> 02:46:07,419
Can I say something to you.

3563
02:46:07,419 --> 02:46:09,796
Listen, you was really,
really something back there.

3564
02:46:09,796 --> 02:46:12,215
Incredible. Are you talking to me?

3565
02:46:15,510 --> 02:46:16,636
Both "The Omega Man,"

3566
02:46:16,636 --> 02:46:20,223
and "I Am Legend" treat their
dead worlds as time capsules.

3567
02:46:20,223 --> 02:46:23,476
But whereas the 35 millimeter
film exhibition practiced

3568
02:46:23,476 --> 02:46:26,271
by Heston isn't quite extinct.

3569
02:46:26,271 --> 02:46:29,274
"I am Legend" serves as
a repository for ideas

3570
02:46:29,274 --> 02:46:30,567
about the video store.

3571
02:46:31,776 --> 02:46:34,571
The next time they adapt this
story, there will be no way

3572
02:46:34,571 --> 02:46:36,823
to logically include a
version of this scene.

3573
02:46:37,699 --> 02:46:40,577
In a world that has forsaken
analog film spectatorship,

3574
02:46:40,577 --> 02:46:44,331
"The Last Man on Earth" will
be unable to access streaming

3575
02:46:44,331 --> 02:46:46,416
or video on demand options.

3576
02:46:47,417 --> 02:46:50,337
"I Am Legend" was
released just as DVD sales

3577
02:46:50,337 --> 02:46:53,298
and rental revenues were
beginning their steep decline.

3578
02:46:53,298 --> 02:46:56,343
And as Netflix and Redbox,
a service offering DVDs

3579
02:46:56,343 --> 02:46:59,721
out of an ATM like machine
with no human interaction

3580
02:46:59,721 --> 02:47:02,557
whatsoever gained market penetration.

3581
02:47:03,600 --> 02:47:04,935
It is fascinating to consider

3582
02:47:04,935 --> 02:47:08,021
why he bothers renting movies at all.

3583
02:47:08,021 --> 02:47:10,523
Many post-apocalyptic
films depict characters

3584
02:47:10,523 --> 02:47:14,027
gleefully appropriating all
the world's commodities.

3585
02:47:14,027 --> 02:47:17,280
"I Am Legend" indulges in
this capitalist fantasy,

3586
02:47:17,280 --> 02:47:18,490
showing the protagonist

3587
02:47:18,490 --> 02:47:21,159
in an expensive sports car, for instance.

3588
02:47:21,159 --> 02:47:24,454
Yet it depicts him renting
movies for no apparent reason.

3589
02:47:27,207 --> 02:47:29,793
He uses the video store
however as a theater

3590
02:47:29,793 --> 02:47:32,629
to perform sociality itself.

3591
02:47:32,629 --> 02:47:35,382
Although the world of the
film is socially frozen,

3592
02:47:35,382 --> 02:47:37,842
the protagonist brings it
back to life by performing

3593
02:47:37,842 --> 02:47:40,428
the ritual of browsing and renting.

3594
02:47:40,428 --> 02:47:44,474
This formerly public space
is his own private archive,

3595
02:47:44,474 --> 02:47:48,103
the vehicle for certain
behaviors and interactions.

3596
02:47:48,103 --> 02:47:51,731
In this dystopian world, the
video store becomes the site

3597
02:47:51,731 --> 02:47:55,235
of a social utopia, an interactional space

3598
02:47:55,235 --> 02:47:58,947
where people come into contact
around media commodities.

3599
02:47:58,947 --> 02:48:00,615
The videos are not as important

3600
02:48:00,615 --> 02:48:02,659
as the position he takes within it.

3601
02:48:03,827 --> 02:48:05,829
Living in total isolation,

3602
02:48:05,829 --> 02:48:09,165
the protagonist manufactures
a faux public space

3603
02:48:09,165 --> 02:48:11,626
in order to sustain a
realm of private space

3604
02:48:11,626 --> 02:48:13,670
and thus his sense of individuality.

3605
02:48:14,796 --> 02:48:16,756
Importantly for the protagonist

3606
02:48:16,756 --> 02:48:20,719
and thus for the film itself,
society in general is imagined

3607
02:48:20,719 --> 02:48:24,180
as a community of
shoppers and salespeople.

3608
02:48:24,180 --> 02:48:26,516
Initially, he appears
content and energized

3609
02:48:26,516 --> 02:48:28,685
by his pseudo interactions
with these mannequins

3610
02:48:28,685 --> 02:48:31,312
by trivial greetings and goodbyes.

3611
02:48:31,312 --> 02:48:34,941
But the fantasy comes undone
as the film progresses.

3612
02:48:36,818 --> 02:48:40,238
He returns to the video
store after his dog has died,

3613
02:48:40,238 --> 02:48:42,824
and approaches the female
mannequin he eyed earlier.

3614
02:48:57,088 --> 02:48:58,423
I miss my friend.

3615
02:49:01,176 --> 02:49:03,470
I will say hello to you today.

3616
02:49:11,102 --> 02:49:12,145
Hello. Hello.

3617
02:49:32,582 --> 02:49:35,502
Please say hello to me?

3618
02:49:42,342 --> 02:49:44,761
Please say hello to me.

3619
02:49:44,761 --> 02:49:46,930
Perhaps convinced
that this video store theater

3620
02:49:46,930 --> 02:49:50,308
is real, Robert seeks deeper connection,

3621
02:49:50,308 --> 02:49:52,227
but he's disappointed.

3622
02:49:52,227 --> 02:49:55,271
The video store cannot
provide what he seeks.

3623
02:49:55,271 --> 02:49:57,649
He is merely a shopper after all.

3624
02:49:59,109 --> 02:50:01,236
Since "I Am Legend" was released,

3625
02:50:01,236 --> 02:50:03,822
Blockbuster went bankrupt.

3626
02:50:04,906 --> 02:50:07,992
Once the monolithic enemy
of independent video stores,

3627
02:50:07,992 --> 02:50:11,621
it suffered the same fate
and no longer exists.

3628
02:50:13,248 --> 02:50:15,291
Video stores are all equal now.

3629
02:50:16,292 --> 02:50:18,628
Dead spaces brought
back to life by the films

3630
02:50:18,628 --> 02:50:21,464
and television shows that
captured them while they lived.

3631
02:50:22,757 --> 02:50:25,552
Video stores were a part of the world,

3632
02:50:25,552 --> 02:50:27,512
but are no longer a part of ours.

3633
02:50:28,972 --> 02:50:32,100
"I Am Legend" dramatizes a dead world,

3634
02:50:32,100 --> 02:50:34,644
but it also represents a lost way of life.

3635
02:50:35,979 --> 02:50:38,148
The film is proof of a time

3636
02:50:38,148 --> 02:50:40,859
when we thought video stores
would continue to exist

3637
02:50:40,859 --> 02:50:41,776
in the future.

3638
02:50:43,319 --> 02:50:47,323
Now we know they exist only in the past.

3639
02:50:59,127 --> 02:51:01,087
♪ At home at night ♪

3640
02:51:01,087 --> 02:51:03,089
♪ I'm all alone ♪

3641
02:51:03,089 --> 02:51:06,718
♪ Watching the TV screen ♪

3642
02:51:06,718 --> 02:51:11,014
♪ And all at once, she appears to me ♪

3643
02:51:11,014 --> 02:51:14,767
♪ Girl of my dreams ♪

3644
02:51:14,767 --> 02:51:19,022
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3645
02:51:19,022 --> 02:51:22,817
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3646
02:51:22,817 --> 02:51:27,238
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3647
02:51:27,238 --> 02:51:31,075
♪ Sure looks good to me ♪

3648
02:51:31,075 --> 02:51:33,786
♪ Video ♪

3649
02:51:33,786 --> 02:51:36,664
♪ Watching my video ♪

3650
02:51:36,664 --> 02:51:38,499
♪ Oh, oh ♪

3651
02:51:38,499 --> 02:51:42,212
♪ Video ♪

3652
02:51:42,212 --> 02:51:45,548
♪ Sure looks good to me ♪