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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
00:00:32,473 --> 00:00:35,517
and arrows of outrageous fortune,

5
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or to take arms against a sea of troubles

6
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and by opposing end them.

7
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This modern telling
of Hamlet depicts the character

8
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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.

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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.

22
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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
00:01:36,662 --> 00:01:39,748
of the video store, roughly
halfway between its beginnings

27
00:01:39,748 --> 00:01:42,251
in the late 1970's and its near extinction

28
00:01:42,251 --> 00:01:44,420
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
00:02:15,784 --> 00:02:17,953
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
00:03:04,124 --> 00:03:07,252
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
00:04:02,015 --> 00:04:03,142
I'm in deep trouble folks.

75
00:04:03,142 --> 00:04:05,144
They've started the video
revolution without me,

76
00:04:05,144 --> 00:04:06,436
now I gotta play catch up.

77
00:04:06,436 --> 00:04:09,022
Here I am, 750 hard earned bucks,

78
00:04:09,022 --> 00:04:11,233
clutched firmly in my tight little paw.

79
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I'm at a neighborhood video store,

80
00:04:12,985 --> 00:04:13,819
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
00:04:30,752 --> 00:04:32,588
with a VCR in 1980.

88
00:04:32,588 --> 00:04:36,466
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
00:04:47,394 --> 00:04:50,147
in the U.S. will have a VCR.

94
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Is it a fad or for real?

95
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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
00:05:05,704 --> 00:05:08,207
by which point revenue from home video releases

101
00:05:08,207 --> 00:05:11,126
had overtaken the theatrical box office.

102
00:05:11,126 --> 00:05:14,087
All this competition may be
great for the VCR industry,

103
00:05:14,087 --> 00:05:16,548
but it is starting to scare some others.

104
00:05:16,548 --> 00:05:19,843
Specifically, the paid
television industry like HBO

105
00:05:19,843 --> 00:05:22,137
and Cinemax are starting
to feel the effects

106
00:05:22,137 --> 00:05:23,263
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
00:05:31,813 --> 00:05:35,442
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
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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.

133
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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.

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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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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
00:07:01,153 --> 00:07:04,990
also leaned heavily into
their family friendly image.

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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.

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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
00:08:15,227 --> 00:08:16,353
We're DVD freaks.
- We're DVD crazy.

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00:08:16,353 --> 00:08:18,355
Freaks.
- We live our lives 1 DVD

185
00:08:18,355 --> 00:08:19,189
at a time.

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The arrival of DVD at the end

187
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of the 90's shifted video consumption

188
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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
00:08:28,698 --> 00:08:31,118
into stores such as Best Buy and Walmart.

191
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Greatly increasing the
geographic convenience

192
00:08:33,453 --> 00:08:34,496
of movie shopping.

193
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"Dental School."

194
00:08:42,170 --> 00:08:45,882
Me and Veggie Dick
rented that shit in 1994,

195
00:08:45,882 --> 00:08:48,510
but we never watched it
'cause we didn't have a VCR.

196
00:08:49,929 --> 00:08:52,764
But now you could put it on
the shelf in the video store.

197
00:08:52,764 --> 00:08:53,807
Oh yeah!

198
00:08:55,100 --> 00:08:57,310
The video store closed 10 years ago.

199
00:08:59,229 --> 00:09:00,522
It did?

200
00:09:00,522 --> 00:09:02,399
This was the video store.

201
00:09:04,192 --> 00:09:05,902
Unable to overhaul their stock

202
00:09:05,902 --> 00:09:08,989
by repurchasing titles
they already held on VHS,

203
00:09:08,989 --> 00:09:11,867
many independently owned
video stores began to close

204
00:09:11,867 --> 00:09:14,578
during the late 1990's and early 2000's.

205
00:09:14,578 --> 00:09:16,329
Subject to a financial dilemma

206
00:09:16,329 --> 00:09:18,540
that larger chains did not face.

207
00:09:20,459 --> 00:09:23,003
The video store has been an
onscreen mainstay of movies

208
00:09:23,003 --> 00:09:24,921
and television for decades.

209
00:09:24,921 --> 00:09:27,340
From the early 1980's to today,

210
00:09:27,340 --> 00:09:31,136
when it's more a counterculture
emblem in period pieces.

211
00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:37,851
We've seen all these comedies.

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00:09:37,851 --> 00:09:40,228
The horse which is the main expert.

213
00:09:40,228 --> 00:09:41,563
We have to get a new one.

214
00:09:43,023 --> 00:09:45,192
The video store
went from being mysterious

215
00:09:45,192 --> 00:09:49,112
and dangerous, to representing
a broad, unremarkable part

216
00:09:49,112 --> 00:09:50,780
of daily life.

217
00:09:50,780 --> 00:09:52,032
"Cannibal Man."

218
00:10:13,803 --> 00:10:14,930
Um.

219
00:10:14,930 --> 00:10:17,891
Do you have the "Texas
Chainsaw Mascara?"

220
00:10:17,891 --> 00:10:19,893
We watched them transform

221
00:10:19,893 --> 00:10:22,521
from rarefied museums
of knowledge lorded over

222
00:10:22,521 --> 00:10:24,022
by protective clerks,

223
00:10:24,022 --> 00:10:27,359
to a commonly understood cinematic space.

224
00:10:27,359 --> 00:10:31,780
"Free Willy" back yet?
- Still out.

225
00:10:34,032 --> 00:10:35,700
People are pigs!

226
00:10:35,700 --> 00:10:37,410
Sit on movies like they own them!

227
00:10:38,995 --> 00:10:40,455
Freak.

228
00:10:40,455 --> 00:10:43,041
As time passed,
we watched them get erased

229
00:10:43,041 --> 00:10:45,919
from our lives and from our screens.

230
00:10:45,919 --> 00:10:48,588
Depictions of video stores became dull,

231
00:10:48,588 --> 00:10:50,257
mundane, and unremarkable.

232
00:10:51,967 --> 00:10:56,221
Jack. Oh, Jack.

233
00:10:58,348 --> 00:11:01,017
Can I help you?
- Get your loser ass away

234
00:11:01,017 --> 00:11:01,851
from me!

235
00:11:19,369 --> 00:11:21,830
I cannot believe I almost
sucked my dad's dick.

236
00:11:23,373 --> 00:11:25,917
Desperate times call for
desperate measures, kid.

237
00:11:29,796 --> 00:11:32,507
Just as VHS once gave way to DVD,

238
00:11:32,507 --> 00:11:36,094
a new format emerged to once
again lose customers unwilling

239
00:11:36,094 --> 00:11:39,055
to adapt and penalize
stores unable to upgrade.

240
00:11:45,186 --> 00:11:47,814
See you, Joanna.

241
00:11:47,814 --> 00:11:49,316
Just cover myself and sleep.

242
00:11:50,191 --> 00:11:52,944
Slowly, video
stores scenes shrank,

243
00:11:52,944 --> 00:11:55,405
both in duration and importance.

244
00:11:55,405 --> 00:11:57,198
They became transitional spaces,

245
00:11:57,198 --> 00:12:00,493
briefly occupied by the
characters, but unremarked upon.

246
00:12:03,788 --> 00:12:07,334
♪ When he's out betrayin ♪

247
00:12:07,334 --> 00:12:10,795
♪ You'll hear people sayin ♪

248
00:12:10,795 --> 00:12:14,299
♪ Look out for the cheater ♪

249
00:12:14,299 --> 00:12:17,052
And then they were gone.

250
00:12:26,269 --> 00:12:28,688
Video stores have become unfamiliar,

251
00:12:28,688 --> 00:12:31,441
as antiquated as a family
gathered around the radio,

252
00:12:31,441 --> 00:12:33,777
or the sound of a dial up modem.

253
00:12:33,777 --> 00:12:36,613
But unlike broadcast
signals in the internet,

254
00:12:36,613 --> 00:12:38,406
the video store's brief existence

255
00:12:38,406 --> 00:12:41,451
as a physical space has
evolved into nothing.

256
00:12:42,535 --> 00:12:44,579
Every image from inside a video store

257
00:12:44,579 --> 00:12:48,208
is from or about the past.

258
00:12:48,208 --> 00:12:50,502
These spaces became extinct.

259
00:12:50,502 --> 00:12:52,379
Current and future depictions

260
00:12:52,379 --> 00:12:55,340
are set entirely in the past.

261
00:12:55,340 --> 00:12:57,676
A small number of video stores still do

262
00:12:57,676 --> 00:13:01,096
and always will exist, but for many of us,

263
00:13:01,096 --> 00:13:04,182
our only opportunity to
visit a video store now

264
00:13:04,182 --> 00:13:05,642
is to see one on screen.

265
00:13:17,612 --> 00:13:19,072
In the mid 1970's,

266
00:13:19,072 --> 00:13:21,866
the VCR appeared and like radio and TV

267
00:13:21,866 --> 00:13:23,535
The price was extremely high

268
00:13:23,535 --> 00:13:24,619
when they first came out.

269
00:13:24,619 --> 00:13:28,498
Very unaffordable and only
you know the ones that really,

270
00:13:28,498 --> 00:13:29,999
you know, wanted them as the toy

271
00:13:29,999 --> 00:13:32,335
and to be the first one
on the block to get them,

272
00:13:32,335 --> 00:13:35,505
but they were in the
neighborhood of 13 to $1,600.

273
00:13:45,473 --> 00:13:47,058
♪ And on that night ♪

274
00:13:47,058 --> 00:13:48,685
♪ I'm all alone ♪

275
00:13:48,685 --> 00:13:52,522
♪ Watching the TV screen ♪

276
00:13:52,522 --> 00:13:56,901
♪ And all at once, she appears to me ♪

277
00:13:56,901 --> 00:14:00,447
♪ Girl of my dreams ♪

278
00:14:00,447 --> 00:14:04,576
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

279
00:14:04,576 --> 00:14:08,496
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

280
00:14:08,496 --> 00:14:12,876
♪ Watching my video ♪

281
00:14:12,876 --> 00:14:16,880
♪ It sure looks good to me ♪

282
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:17,839
♪ Video ♪

283
00:14:17,839 --> 00:14:19,632
Videotape had existed as a means

284
00:14:19,632 --> 00:14:23,511
for recording filmed
entertainment since 1956.

285
00:14:23,511 --> 00:14:25,430
And by 1957 would be used

286
00:14:25,430 --> 00:14:28,975
to present West Coast
broadcasts of live events.

287
00:14:28,975 --> 00:14:32,395
Sony's Beta Max would appear in 1975,

288
00:14:32,395 --> 00:14:34,773
bringing the promise of
transforming production

289
00:14:34,773 --> 00:14:36,149
or viewing habits.

290
00:14:40,528 --> 00:14:43,406
Now, some of the best
movies on television

291
00:14:43,406 --> 00:14:46,075
aren't on television,
they're on Selectavision.

292
00:14:46,075 --> 00:14:49,829
The four hour video
cassette recorder from RCA.

293
00:14:49,829 --> 00:14:52,081
Because now you can buy
full length uncut movies

294
00:14:52,081 --> 00:14:54,292
on cassettes, movies like
"Pat" and "Hello Dolly."

295
00:14:54,292 --> 00:14:55,710
And lots more.

296
00:14:55,710 --> 00:14:57,837
Hello.
- With Selectavision,

297
00:14:57,837 --> 00:15:00,465
you can go to the movies at your house.

298
00:15:00,465 --> 00:15:02,842
In 1978, 20th Century Fox

299
00:15:02,842 --> 00:15:05,345
was the first major studio
to release its product

300
00:15:05,345 --> 00:15:06,596
on video cassette.

301
00:15:06,596 --> 00:15:09,516
Starting with such popular
titles as Patton, Mash,

302
00:15:09,516 --> 00:15:10,809
and the French Connection.

303
00:15:13,102 --> 00:15:16,397
In 1979, Paramount Pictures
formed a partnership

304
00:15:16,397 --> 00:15:19,317
with the film developing
chain, Fotomat to rent

305
00:15:19,317 --> 00:15:21,194
and sell their films on videotape,

306
00:15:21,194 --> 00:15:24,322
thus solidifying the
relationship between home video

307
00:15:24,322 --> 00:15:26,366
and the booming electronics retail market.

308
00:15:26,366 --> 00:15:27,242
When can I pick up

309
00:15:27,242 --> 00:15:28,284
the pictures?
- Thursday.

310
00:15:28,284 --> 00:15:29,869
Thursday, okay, lemme
make a note of that.

311
00:15:29,869 --> 00:15:32,247
By aligning itself
with the familiar routine

312
00:15:32,247 --> 00:15:35,166
of dropping off film, which
necessitated a second visit

313
00:15:35,166 --> 00:15:36,334
to pick up the prints,

314
00:15:36,334 --> 00:15:39,546
the relationship between renting
movies and social routines

315
00:15:39,546 --> 00:15:42,173
is already taking shape
around existing habits.

316
00:15:58,106 --> 00:15:59,232
Before it became ubiquitous

317
00:15:59,232 --> 00:16:01,526
in the American consumer consciousness,

318
00:16:01,526 --> 00:16:03,903
the videotape was a locus of suspicion

319
00:16:03,903 --> 00:16:05,572
and violence in movies.

320
00:16:05,572 --> 00:16:08,241
With films in the early
80's exploiting its ability

321
00:16:08,241 --> 00:16:11,369
to penetrate the minds and
even bodies of viewers.

322
00:16:12,829 --> 00:16:15,206
Video as a recognizable consumer medium

323
00:16:15,206 --> 00:16:17,750
was only about five years
old when the image of a tape

324
00:16:17,750 --> 00:16:21,045
as sinister and evil was
imprinted on viewers' imaginations

325
00:16:21,045 --> 00:16:24,299
in David Cronenberg's
1983 film, "Videodrome."

326
00:16:24,299 --> 00:16:27,010
Running with a concept that
consumer electronics were coming

327
00:16:27,010 --> 00:16:29,637
to occupy overly parasitic
and dangerous roles

328
00:16:29,637 --> 00:16:31,514
in our lives and homes.

329
00:16:31,514 --> 00:16:35,268
This was first seen in
1977's, "Demon Seed."

330
00:16:47,614 --> 00:16:52,619
Is this an experiment, something?

331
00:16:53,119 --> 00:16:55,622
I have extended
my consciousness to this house

332
00:16:55,622 --> 00:16:58,583
by activating my terminal in the basement.

333
00:16:58,583 --> 00:17:00,919
All electrical and mechanical systems here

334
00:17:00,919 --> 00:17:02,879
are now under my control.

335
00:17:05,214 --> 00:17:07,258
Okay, here we go.

336
00:17:07,258 --> 00:17:08,217
At this point,

337
00:17:08,217 --> 00:17:11,638
videotape was still regarded
largely as a professional tool.

338
00:17:11,638 --> 00:17:14,182
However, Cronenberg was
able to create the notion

339
00:17:14,182 --> 00:17:16,225
of tape as entity,

340
00:17:16,225 --> 00:17:18,853
despite these tapes not
containing commercial films.

341
00:17:24,442 --> 00:17:25,360
What is that wall behind her?

342
00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:29,322
What is that clay?
- Yeah. Wet clay.

343
00:17:29,322 --> 00:17:31,324
I think it's electrified.

344
00:17:31,324 --> 00:17:34,410
Instead, they
capture elicit broadcasts,

345
00:17:34,410 --> 00:17:37,705
transmitting images of such
extreme sex and violence

346
00:17:37,705 --> 00:17:41,793
that they drive the viewer to
the brink of lust and madness.

347
00:17:41,793 --> 00:17:43,461
Got any porno?

348
00:17:43,461 --> 00:17:46,255
You serious?
- Yeah. Gets me in the mood.

349
00:17:51,219 --> 00:17:53,221
What's this "Videodrome?"

350
00:17:53,221 --> 00:17:56,641
Torture, murder.
- Sounds great.

351
00:17:57,558 --> 00:17:59,310
For viewers in 1983,

352
00:17:59,310 --> 00:18:02,313
the process of identifying
videotape with danger,

353
00:18:02,313 --> 00:18:05,483
sexuality and violence had
already begun well before

354
00:18:05,483 --> 00:18:08,277
the concept of easily accessible
video stores had become

355
00:18:08,277 --> 00:18:09,988
a part of the retail landscape.

356
00:18:13,449 --> 00:18:15,284
In the words of Eros Magazine,

357
00:18:15,284 --> 00:18:17,829
"The Gone With the Wind of Adult Films."

358
00:18:17,829 --> 00:18:20,540
"Holly Does Hollywood"
in a Hedonist Heaven."

359
00:18:22,250 --> 00:18:24,544
The first onscreen
depiction of a video store

360
00:18:24,544 --> 00:18:27,964
in a Hollywood film came
one year later in 1984

361
00:18:27,964 --> 00:18:29,966
in Brian De Palma's "Body Double."

362
00:18:31,551 --> 00:18:35,221
It is easy to imagine the
fervently cinephilic De Palma

363
00:18:35,221 --> 00:18:39,142
being an early proponent of
video technology and ownership,

364
00:18:39,142 --> 00:18:42,478
which seemed in 1984 as
the natural evolution

365
00:18:42,478 --> 00:18:45,273
of consuming and possessing
the films you loved.

366
00:18:49,652 --> 00:18:51,821
"Holly Does Hollywood,"

367
00:18:51,821 --> 00:18:54,365
now playing at the X Cinema.

368
00:18:54,365 --> 00:18:56,534
And for you home viewers,
you can pick it up right now

369
00:18:56,534 --> 00:18:59,078
at Tower Records all night video sale.

370
00:18:59,078 --> 00:19:01,581
Jake Scully enters
the Sunset Boulevard location

371
00:19:01,581 --> 00:19:05,001
of Tower Video, searching for
a specific pornographic film

372
00:19:05,001 --> 00:19:09,005
starring Holly Body with
whom he's growing obsessed.

373
00:19:10,673 --> 00:19:14,135
Excuse me, do you have
"Holly Does Hollywood?"

374
00:19:15,261 --> 00:19:17,430
Yeah, we do.
It's in our adult section.

375
00:19:17,430 --> 00:19:18,264
Follow me.

376
00:19:20,016 --> 00:19:22,018
On VHS?
- Yeah, VHS.

377
00:19:22,018 --> 00:19:25,104
Whatever you want, half
inch, three quarter, beta.

378
00:19:26,272 --> 00:19:27,690
The public space

379
00:19:27,690 --> 00:19:30,276
of the video store had
not yet been familiarized

380
00:19:30,276 --> 00:19:31,903
to the average viewer.

381
00:19:31,903 --> 00:19:35,531
De Palma introduced audiences
to the very idea of them.

382
00:19:35,531 --> 00:19:38,284
He created the template
that two subsequent decades

383
00:19:38,284 --> 00:19:42,080
of video store interactions
on screen will follow.

384
00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:44,248
First, the store is seen as an archive

385
00:19:44,248 --> 00:19:45,750
of unfathomable death,

386
00:19:45,750 --> 00:19:48,086
as evidenced by the
knowledgeable clerk offering

387
00:19:48,086 --> 00:19:49,837
that they have the film in several,

388
00:19:49,837 --> 00:19:53,007
albeit historically improbable
and unlikely formats.

389
00:19:54,592 --> 00:19:57,178
Second, "Body Double"
presented the very notion

390
00:19:57,178 --> 00:20:00,598
of video acquisition as
elicit, sexual and dangerous,

391
00:20:00,598 --> 00:20:04,268
years away from the sanitized
safety of blockbuster video.

392
00:20:04,268 --> 00:20:08,231
Here in the early 1980's, the
format is still the domain

393
00:20:08,231 --> 00:20:09,982
of sex and violence.

394
00:20:09,982 --> 00:20:11,359
The colorful moody lighting

395
00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,695
of the Tower Video location
augments this feeling.

396
00:20:14,695 --> 00:20:16,989
The store is atmospheric and alluring,

397
00:20:16,989 --> 00:20:18,950
suggesting mystery and excitement

398
00:20:18,950 --> 00:20:20,993
rather than bland consumerism.

399
00:20:22,203 --> 00:20:25,498
"Videodrome" and "Body Double"
built upon videos beginnings

400
00:20:25,498 --> 00:20:28,084
in the late 70's as a
technological advancement

401
00:20:28,084 --> 00:20:30,920
for capturing images,
connecting consumption,

402
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,465
and production of movies
or images on videotape.

403
00:20:34,465 --> 00:20:35,716
Hello, I was wondering
if you could help me.

404
00:20:35,716 --> 00:20:36,843
Are you the company

405
00:20:36,843 --> 00:20:38,678
that distributes "Holly Does Hollywood"?

406
00:20:38,678 --> 00:20:39,512
Yes.

407
00:20:39,512 --> 00:20:41,305
Both films
connected this production

408
00:20:41,305 --> 00:20:44,559
to pornography rather than
say, family home movies,

409
00:20:44,559 --> 00:20:47,728
or aspirations of
mainstream film production.

410
00:20:47,728 --> 00:20:51,524
Pleasure to meet you.
- Stand over there.

411
00:20:53,401 --> 00:20:54,986
I'm sorry. Mr. Chris...

412
00:20:54,986 --> 00:20:57,321
You ready?
- Yeah.

413
00:20:57,321 --> 00:20:58,156
Go ahead.

414
00:21:03,202 --> 00:21:04,495
I like to watch.

415
00:21:11,210 --> 00:21:14,380
"Disconnected"
also from 1984 features

416
00:21:14,380 --> 00:21:17,341
the video store as an intrinsic
part of the social landscape

417
00:21:17,341 --> 00:21:19,468
with a remarkable ease in casualness,

418
00:21:19,468 --> 00:21:22,138
considering how relatively new they were.

419
00:21:22,138 --> 00:21:23,639
What are you doing here?

420
00:21:24,724 --> 00:21:28,019
Well, I was gonna call but
I decided to stop by instead

421
00:21:29,270 --> 00:21:31,439
and well, frankly, I thought
the store opened up earlier

422
00:21:31,439 --> 00:21:32,732
than it did.

423
00:21:32,732 --> 00:21:34,901
The film presents
a video store as a place

424
00:21:34,901 --> 00:21:37,236
of ordinary romantic fixation,

425
00:21:37,236 --> 00:21:38,988
the same year "Body Double" treats it

426
00:21:38,988 --> 00:21:42,200
as an entrance into the
underworld of pornography.

427
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:46,245
God, all these movies. Hmm.

428
00:21:47,246 --> 00:21:49,749
You don't seem to have too
many porn films though.

429
00:21:51,125 --> 00:21:54,170
Well, you got a lot of horror
and a lot of new stuff.

430
00:21:54,170 --> 00:21:55,671
In "Disconnected"
when the character

431
00:21:55,671 --> 00:21:57,673
of Franklin first visits the video store,

432
00:21:57,673 --> 00:22:00,051
he makes casual observations
about the selection

433
00:22:00,051 --> 00:22:03,596
while admitting that he
himself does not own a VCR.

434
00:22:03,596 --> 00:22:05,848
He's there only to flirt with Alicia,

435
00:22:05,848 --> 00:22:08,184
seemingly the store's lone employee.

436
00:22:08,184 --> 00:22:11,145
However, his banter
reveals several key aspects

437
00:22:11,145 --> 00:22:13,105
of video retail at this time.

438
00:22:13,105 --> 00:22:15,775
You know, this is the
third store I was in today.

439
00:22:15,775 --> 00:22:17,360
You weren't in the other two.

440
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,403
This tossed off
comment contextualizes

441
00:22:19,403 --> 00:22:21,989
the abundance of video
rental stores in this town.

442
00:22:21,989 --> 00:22:25,243
In 1985, more than half of
video store owners stated

443
00:22:25,243 --> 00:22:27,286
that their nearest competition was less

444
00:22:27,286 --> 00:22:29,538
than a quarter mile away and this level

445
00:22:29,538 --> 00:22:32,833
of saturation held steady
throughout the rest of the decade.

446
00:22:32,833 --> 00:22:35,336
His preference for foreign
films, and description

447
00:22:35,336 --> 00:22:37,255
of the size of the subtitles on videotape

448
00:22:37,255 --> 00:22:40,800
and seeming distaste for
horror are also in opposition

449
00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,135
to nearly all other
depictions of video stores

450
00:22:43,135 --> 00:22:44,303
in films of this era.

451
00:22:48,557 --> 00:22:49,392
Hi.

452
00:22:49,392 --> 00:22:50,810
Rather than the intended function

453
00:22:50,810 --> 00:22:53,604
of a video rental store,
bringing a movie to the privacy

454
00:22:53,604 --> 00:22:56,524
of one's own home, we see
here the first instance

455
00:22:56,524 --> 00:22:58,276
of a trend that will remain ubiquitous

456
00:22:58,276 --> 00:23:00,111
for the next two decades.

457
00:23:00,111 --> 00:23:02,655
Bringing one's private life
and romantic entanglements

458
00:23:02,655 --> 00:23:04,865
into the public space of the video store.

459
00:23:05,908 --> 00:23:08,119
I thought... I was gonna get
something to eat and drink,

460
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:11,789
I thought maybe on my way I
could get some food for you.

461
00:23:11,789 --> 00:23:13,791
How would that be?
- That's good.

462
00:23:13,791 --> 00:23:14,625
Because I fear, you know,

463
00:23:14,625 --> 00:23:16,335
you're in the store all by
yourself that, you know,

464
00:23:16,335 --> 00:23:19,338
you probably have to
lock up the whole place

465
00:23:19,338 --> 00:23:20,172
just to get something to eat.

466
00:23:20,172 --> 00:23:22,008
What do you got new in porn?

467
00:23:22,008 --> 00:23:24,135
Well, I have two binders at the end

468
00:23:24,135 --> 00:23:25,594
of the counter.
- Fuck that list, honey,

469
00:23:25,594 --> 00:23:26,929
just tell me what's new and hot.

470
00:23:26,929 --> 00:23:27,763
You know what I mean.

471
00:23:27,763 --> 00:23:29,515
Well, I can't tell you how they are.

472
00:23:29,515 --> 00:23:31,100
I don't watch them.
- Yeah, sure, sure.

473
00:23:31,100 --> 00:23:33,394
The way you look, I bet
you could be in 'em.

474
00:23:33,394 --> 00:23:34,437
Excuse me?

475
00:23:34,437 --> 00:23:37,481
Do you really think that's
appropriate behavior?

476
00:23:37,481 --> 00:23:38,941
Who is this asshole?

477
00:23:38,941 --> 00:23:42,236
Look, why don't you just
go, okay, just please.

478
00:23:42,236 --> 00:23:43,195
Fuck this shit!

479
00:23:53,998 --> 00:23:55,082
Psst! Psst!

480
00:23:59,503 --> 00:24:02,048
The 1987 sketch
comedy omnibus film,

481
00:24:02,048 --> 00:24:05,134
"Amazon Women on the Moon"
played the growing cultural

482
00:24:05,134 --> 00:24:07,261
obsession with videotape for laughs.

483
00:24:08,429 --> 00:24:09,930
Yeah.

484
00:24:09,930 --> 00:24:10,806
Saturday night.

485
00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:15,561
Yeah.

486
00:24:15,561 --> 00:24:16,479
Ain't got a date?

487
00:24:17,980 --> 00:24:21,233
In the segment video
date directed by John Landis,

488
00:24:21,233 --> 00:24:24,028
a young man finds himself
inside a Tower Video

489
00:24:24,028 --> 00:24:26,364
as brightly lit and accessible as the one

490
00:24:26,364 --> 00:24:29,200
in "Body Double" is atmospheric.

491
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:32,620
The presence of a poster
for Russ Meyer's 1975 film,

492
00:24:32,620 --> 00:24:35,790
"Super Vixens" nestled
between contemporary hits,

493
00:24:35,790 --> 00:24:38,334
"Beverly Hills Cop" and "Ghostbusters"

494
00:24:38,334 --> 00:24:39,710
would seem to be a sly joke

495
00:24:39,710 --> 00:24:41,629
about the store's vast selection,

496
00:24:41,629 --> 00:24:44,799
but for the fact that Meyer
himself appears moments later

497
00:24:44,799 --> 00:24:46,592
as the sole clerk and proprietor.

498
00:24:47,843 --> 00:24:50,221
The Lovelorn character is bestowed a tape,

499
00:24:50,221 --> 00:24:53,307
ominously bearing his own
name from a wall full of them.

500
00:24:55,393 --> 00:24:57,895
We are then shown that the
video in question contains

501
00:24:57,895 --> 00:25:00,648
what appears to be an
inexplicably personalized

502
00:25:00,648 --> 00:25:02,400
and interactive videotape.

503
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,569
The contents of which bestow
a pornographic fantasy

504
00:25:05,569 --> 00:25:07,530
much like the videos of Holly Body

505
00:25:07,530 --> 00:25:10,741
that Jake Scully obsesses
over in "Body Double."

506
00:25:12,201 --> 00:25:13,744
You the best, Frank!

507
00:25:18,791 --> 00:25:20,251
You dirty slut!

508
00:25:20,251 --> 00:25:22,336
Frankie! What are you doing here?

509
00:25:22,336 --> 00:25:23,838
I thought you were out of town.

510
00:25:23,838 --> 00:25:26,799
That's what I wanted you to think,

511
00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:30,136
and I expected a little
more from you, Ray.

512
00:25:31,846 --> 00:25:34,014
Numerous arrests for pimping,

513
00:25:34,014 --> 00:25:39,019
child pornography, drug
dealing, murder, no convictions.

514
00:25:39,979 --> 00:25:43,023
Witnesses against Max have
a habit of disappearing.

515
00:25:43,983 --> 00:25:47,736
He is a resident of Vegas, but when in LA,

516
00:25:47,736 --> 00:25:50,990
he operates out of a video
rental store on the west side.

517
00:25:52,700 --> 00:25:55,035
The video store's
identification with violence

518
00:25:55,035 --> 00:25:57,496
is once again on display in 1987's,

519
00:25:57,496 --> 00:26:00,749
"Death Wish 4: The Crackdown."

520
00:26:00,749 --> 00:26:03,461
Charles Bronson's vigilante,
Paul Kiersey discovers

521
00:26:03,461 --> 00:26:06,380
a drug racket operation in
the back of a video store,

522
00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:08,757
perhaps chosen as a front
due to the consistent

523
00:26:08,757 --> 00:26:11,093
and inconspicuous volume of
foot traffic it would see

524
00:26:11,093 --> 00:26:12,178
on any given day.

525
00:26:13,262 --> 00:26:15,806
The back of the video store
is wallpapered with posters,

526
00:26:15,806 --> 00:26:17,391
and ephemera for other titles

527
00:26:17,391 --> 00:26:19,894
from this film studio, Canon films

528
00:26:19,894 --> 00:26:22,438
such as "Forced Testimony,"
"The Naked Face,"

529
00:26:22,438 --> 00:26:23,689
the "Story of O Part 2,"

530
00:26:23,689 --> 00:26:26,525
and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2."

531
00:26:26,525 --> 00:26:28,986
Their prominence on
screen is an early example

532
00:26:28,986 --> 00:26:31,322
of synergy between a
studio producing a film,

533
00:26:31,322 --> 00:26:33,949
and the video shown in the movie itself.

534
00:26:36,076 --> 00:26:37,828
What do you want?
- You.

535
00:26:37,828 --> 00:26:40,080
Hey, I didn't do nothing.

536
00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,875
No, you just sell drugs to children.

537
00:26:42,875 --> 00:26:44,418
Now, come on. It's a business man.

538
00:26:44,418 --> 00:26:46,754
I'm only a supplier, you
know what I'm saying?

539
00:26:46,754 --> 00:26:47,588
I mean, I don't make the kids use drugs,

540
00:26:47,588 --> 00:26:48,422
it's their choice.

541
00:26:48,422 --> 00:26:50,508
Additionally, Cannon's association

542
00:26:50,508 --> 00:26:53,302
with precisely these types
of low budget genre films

543
00:26:53,302 --> 00:26:56,096
further classifies the video
store as a space trafficking

544
00:26:56,096 --> 00:26:59,225
in cheap thrills, sexuality and horror.

545
00:26:59,225 --> 00:27:01,977
How many children have
you killed with this shit?

546
00:27:15,115 --> 00:27:16,534
This relationship with horror

547
00:27:16,534 --> 00:27:19,078
and the identity of the
video store as a captivating

548
00:27:19,078 --> 00:27:22,831
and dangerous space continued
with "The Lost Boys."

549
00:27:22,831 --> 00:27:24,667
Mom!
- But I know this is...

550
00:27:24,667 --> 00:27:26,210
Sam, what are you doing with the bike...

551
00:27:26,210 --> 00:27:27,545
Mom, listen, I gotta tell you something.

552
00:27:27,545 --> 00:27:28,671
It's real important. Shhh!

553
00:27:28,671 --> 00:27:31,048
Santa Carlas's crawling
with vampires, mom.

554
00:27:31,048 --> 00:27:32,591
Excuse me.
- Mom, I'm serious.

555
00:27:32,591 --> 00:27:35,469
As the 80's saw
precipitous increase of video

556
00:27:35,469 --> 00:27:37,012
as a consumer format,

557
00:27:37,012 --> 00:27:39,890
it evolved from complex
technology reserved for

558
00:27:39,890 --> 00:27:41,725
and understood only by the savvy,

559
00:27:41,725 --> 00:27:44,603
and became synonymous with
accessible entertainment.

560
00:27:44,603 --> 00:27:47,565
Stop it right now, just stop it!

561
00:27:47,565 --> 00:27:49,108
And whereas "Body Double"

562
00:27:49,108 --> 00:27:51,694
with its Hitchcock homages
and pornographic imagery

563
00:27:51,694 --> 00:27:54,863
was targeted at adults, the
sexualized teenage thrills

564
00:27:54,863 --> 00:27:57,199
of "The Lost Boys" would more
sufficiently indoctrinate

565
00:27:57,199 --> 00:27:59,910
the notion of video store
spaces into the imaginations

566
00:27:59,910 --> 00:28:01,161
of younger viewers.

567
00:28:07,585 --> 00:28:09,712
In "The Lost Boys," we
see the introduction

568
00:28:09,712 --> 00:28:11,338
of video rentals into stores

569
00:28:11,338 --> 00:28:14,550
whose primary focus was electronics.

570
00:28:14,550 --> 00:28:16,635
Max's video store would certainly

571
00:28:16,635 --> 00:28:18,929
have been one of the
thousands of electronic stores

572
00:28:18,929 --> 00:28:20,806
to make space for videotapes.

573
00:28:20,806 --> 00:28:22,308
As the medium gained traction,

574
00:28:22,308 --> 00:28:24,059
and music scales began to dip.

575
00:28:25,311 --> 00:28:27,688
A brightly lit store
resembling as much a club

576
00:28:27,688 --> 00:28:30,608
as a retail space, with
vampires lurking about

577
00:28:30,608 --> 00:28:34,612
makes this space alluring and dangerous.

578
00:28:34,612 --> 00:28:36,822
Well, second thought.

579
00:28:38,657 --> 00:28:40,409
I told you not to come in here anymore.

580
00:28:50,794 --> 00:28:52,212
Wild kids.

581
00:28:52,212 --> 00:28:53,672
Asparagus, basil.

582
00:28:55,174 --> 00:28:57,760
In stark contrast
is another prominent trend

583
00:28:57,760 --> 00:28:59,678
that began in the mid 1980's,

584
00:28:59,678 --> 00:29:02,598
placing video rental displays
within grocery stores

585
00:29:02,598 --> 00:29:05,309
and other established
routine-based locations.

586
00:29:08,812 --> 00:29:12,107
Hey, Pete.
- Buster.

587
00:29:12,107 --> 00:29:14,485
Answer me a couple of things.

588
00:29:14,485 --> 00:29:15,527
If I can.

589
00:29:15,527 --> 00:29:17,988
Do you have any new Paul Sheldon books?

590
00:29:17,988 --> 00:29:19,448
To maximize convenience,

591
00:29:19,448 --> 00:29:22,284
these displays would offer
only limited options,

592
00:29:22,284 --> 00:29:26,455
typically focusing on new
releases and children's titles.

593
00:29:26,455 --> 00:29:30,000
By the late 1980's, the video
store was no longer a novelty

594
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:31,293
in the retail landscape.

595
00:29:33,671 --> 00:29:34,880
Beginning here and lasting

596
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:36,215
well into the 1990's,

597
00:29:36,632 --> 00:29:38,008
video stores start to appear

598
00:29:38,008 --> 00:29:39,385
in the background of films

599
00:29:39,385 --> 00:29:41,553
without distinction or commentary.

600
00:29:41,553 --> 00:29:43,389
As much a part of the neighborhood routine

601
00:29:43,389 --> 00:29:45,182
as the supermarket or laundromat.

602
00:30:13,377 --> 00:30:16,422
In 1992, "Lethal Weapon
3" shows that at least

603
00:30:16,422 --> 00:30:19,258
in the Valley, independent
store, Odyssey video

604
00:30:19,258 --> 00:30:22,302
can exist directly across the
street from a blockbuster.

605
00:30:42,823 --> 00:30:44,408
However, the video store,

606
00:30:44,408 --> 00:30:47,703
no matter how commonplace it
became continued to be seen

607
00:30:47,703 --> 00:30:50,456
as a site of danger and transgression.

608
00:30:58,756 --> 00:31:00,966
I'm going to the movie.

609
00:31:00,966 --> 00:31:03,010
Two films produced in 1989,

610
00:31:03,010 --> 00:31:07,181
but not released until 1991
extended this representation

611
00:31:07,181 --> 00:31:08,474
into a new decade.

612
00:32:11,954 --> 00:32:14,998
Are your kids
renting a movie this weekend?

613
00:32:15,833 --> 00:32:19,002
Horror films like these are
the most popular choice.

614
00:32:19,002 --> 00:32:21,380
Graphic orgies of blood and violence.

615
00:32:21,380 --> 00:32:24,174
And they watch 15 murders
in an hour and a half.

616
00:32:24,174 --> 00:32:25,968
Children mesmerized.

617
00:32:25,968 --> 00:32:27,678
I like the gore.

618
00:32:28,512 --> 00:32:30,430
Concurrent with
the Satanic panic crusade

619
00:32:30,430 --> 00:32:31,932
against heavy metal music,

620
00:32:31,932 --> 00:32:35,143
the American media took to
familiar fear mongering tactics

621
00:32:35,143 --> 00:32:38,355
regarding the rising
popularity of horror films.

622
00:32:38,355 --> 00:32:39,189
VCR Horrors.

623
00:32:39,189 --> 00:32:40,440
Half of American households

624
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:43,986
now have video cassette
recorders, and for many children,

625
00:32:43,986 --> 00:32:46,071
they're a ticket to R-rated gore

626
00:32:46,071 --> 00:32:48,824
that the kids are too
young to see at the movies.

627
00:32:48,824 --> 00:32:51,743
So do you know what your
children are watching?

628
00:32:51,743 --> 00:32:54,329
Well, parents and psychologists
are very concerned,

629
00:32:54,329 --> 00:32:57,165
and tonight Bob Brown will show us why.

630
00:32:57,165 --> 00:32:59,501
Two films seem to have
provided the impetus

631
00:32:59,501 --> 00:33:02,629
for productions to become
more and more explicit.

632
00:33:02,629 --> 00:33:05,591
The first was "Night of
the Living Dead" in 1968,

633
00:33:05,591 --> 00:33:08,218
and the second was the 1974 release

634
00:33:08,218 --> 00:33:10,637
of "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

635
00:33:10,637 --> 00:33:13,432
Each was made for less than $200,000

636
00:33:13,432 --> 00:33:16,727
and they reportedly have
grossed more than $50 million

637
00:33:16,727 --> 00:33:18,353
a piece.

638
00:33:18,353 --> 00:33:20,647
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and its sequel,

639
00:33:20,647 --> 00:33:22,941
"Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2"

640
00:33:22,941 --> 00:33:24,651
are still two of the biggest hits

641
00:33:24,651 --> 00:33:26,528
in the video rental market.

642
00:33:26,528 --> 00:33:30,324
It is the explosion of that
video rental market that fuels

643
00:33:30,324 --> 00:33:32,326
the modern horror films.

644
00:33:32,326 --> 00:33:34,286
Kids get the movies
from the horror section

645
00:33:34,286 --> 00:33:35,787
of the video store.

646
00:33:35,787 --> 00:33:38,206
Most of the violent movies are rated R,

647
00:33:38,206 --> 00:33:42,377
and aren't supposed to be seen
unless you're 17 years old.

648
00:33:42,377 --> 00:33:44,671
Others are made directly on videotape

649
00:33:44,671 --> 00:33:47,090
and bypass the rating system altogether.

650
00:33:47,090 --> 00:33:48,800
One such film centralizes

651
00:33:48,800 --> 00:33:51,428
the relationship between
renting horror movies

652
00:33:51,428 --> 00:33:53,805
and customer's relationships to them,

653
00:33:53,805 --> 00:33:56,516
1987's "Video Violence."

654
00:33:59,603 --> 00:34:02,439
"Video Violence" is a low
budget shot on video horror film

655
00:34:02,439 --> 00:34:05,025
that takes up a dialogue
with similar movies.

656
00:34:05,025 --> 00:34:07,069
The film was directed by Gary Cohen,

657
00:34:07,069 --> 00:34:09,738
who owned a video store in the 1980's.

658
00:34:09,738 --> 00:34:12,282
Cohen has said he made the
movie because he was intrigued

659
00:34:12,282 --> 00:34:14,743
by the odd logic of his renters

660
00:34:14,743 --> 00:34:16,453
for whom violence was acceptable,

661
00:34:16,453 --> 00:34:19,581
but nudity and sexuality unacceptable,

662
00:34:19,581 --> 00:34:20,958
particularly for children.

663
00:34:22,793 --> 00:34:25,087
What's the rating on this?

664
00:34:25,087 --> 00:34:26,505
Huh?
- The rating, what is it?

665
00:34:26,505 --> 00:34:29,633
Oh, it's probably written on there. R.

666
00:34:29,633 --> 00:34:31,677
Oh, is that for nudity?

667
00:34:31,677 --> 00:34:32,594
I really don't know,

668
00:34:32,594 --> 00:34:33,470
but I doubt it's for nudity.

669
00:34:33,470 --> 00:34:35,055
It's probably for all the violence.

670
00:34:35,055 --> 00:34:35,889
Oh, good.

671
00:34:35,889 --> 00:34:36,723
Okay, then I'll take it.

672
00:34:36,723 --> 00:34:37,557
The kids can watch it.

673
00:34:38,475 --> 00:34:39,893
Additionally, he noticed

674
00:34:39,893 --> 00:34:42,646
that some very low budget
shot on video horror films

675
00:34:42,646 --> 00:34:44,481
were popular among his clientele.

676
00:34:45,357 --> 00:34:46,984
"Video Violence" depicts a man

677
00:34:46,984 --> 00:34:50,070
who has moved from New York
City to Frenchtown, New Jersey

678
00:34:50,070 --> 00:34:52,155
to open a video store.

679
00:34:52,155 --> 00:34:54,950
I'm Joanna Barker, I am
visiting my aunt and uncle

680
00:34:54,950 --> 00:34:57,828
for a short vacation and I
thought I'd like to rent a movie.

681
00:34:57,828 --> 00:35:00,372
They're club members
and I have their card.

682
00:35:00,372 --> 00:35:03,291
The narrative is
striking for several reasons.

683
00:35:03,291 --> 00:35:06,795
As a time capsule of video
store logistics in the 1980's,

684
00:35:06,795 --> 00:35:10,132
for its examination of media
infrastructures of the era,

685
00:35:10,132 --> 00:35:13,301
and for its duplicitous
positioning of video

686
00:35:13,301 --> 00:35:15,178
as a dangerous technology,

687
00:35:15,178 --> 00:35:18,390
functioning as exactly what
it sets out to satirize.

688
00:35:18,390 --> 00:35:21,059
What's the matter?
- Nothing. Nothing.

689
00:35:21,059 --> 00:35:22,477
You just threw us. That's all.

690
00:35:22,477 --> 00:35:24,146
I mean, you're the first
person in ages to ask

691
00:35:24,146 --> 00:35:27,399
for a comedy rather than a slasher film.

692
00:35:27,399 --> 00:35:29,735
The film implicitly
remarks upon the explosion

693
00:35:29,735 --> 00:35:31,987
of new video stores in the late 1980's,

694
00:35:31,987 --> 00:35:33,613
as well as the wild proliferation

695
00:35:33,613 --> 00:35:36,950
of low budget horror videos
the market help facilitate.

696
00:35:36,950 --> 00:35:37,784
How are you today?

697
00:35:37,784 --> 00:35:38,785
Get something for you?

698
00:35:38,785 --> 00:35:40,454
You got that chain saw movie?

699
00:35:42,414 --> 00:35:43,206
I'll get it.

700
00:35:44,082 --> 00:35:45,459
Directed by a video store owner,

701
00:35:45,459 --> 00:35:47,919
"Video Violence" serves
as an insider's record

702
00:35:47,919 --> 00:35:51,173
of the uneven dispersal of
media technology during the era.

703
00:35:52,174 --> 00:35:53,842
Everyone who comes in here has had a VCR

704
00:35:53,842 --> 00:35:55,427
for at least a year or so,
and the nearest rental store

705
00:35:55,427 --> 00:35:57,429
is about 15 miles away.

706
00:35:58,805 --> 00:35:59,639
I guess they were just happy

707
00:35:59,639 --> 00:36:01,308
to tape off a cable.

708
00:36:01,308 --> 00:36:02,392
What cable?

709
00:36:02,392 --> 00:36:04,061
Ain't no cable in Frenchtown

710
00:36:04,061 --> 00:36:05,645
and the reception's for shit too,

711
00:36:05,645 --> 00:36:08,482
and they don't allow any
of those satellite dishes.

712
00:36:08,482 --> 00:36:10,609
This expresses that
the filmmakers were conscious

713
00:36:10,609 --> 00:36:13,278
of the limited use of VCRs at the time,

714
00:36:13,278 --> 00:36:15,655
particularly in more remote locations.

715
00:36:16,615 --> 00:36:19,659
This moment dramatizes how
video rental was tangled up

716
00:36:19,659 --> 00:36:21,870
in a much wider media infrastructure,

717
00:36:21,870 --> 00:36:23,705
comprising many different technologies

718
00:36:23,705 --> 00:36:25,665
and modes of distribution.

719
00:36:25,665 --> 00:36:27,292
Here, these are on time.

720
00:36:27,292 --> 00:36:28,668
One of the
reasons the video store

721
00:36:28,668 --> 00:36:31,379
within the diegesis of "Video
Violence" is successful

722
00:36:31,379 --> 00:36:34,341
is that movies on tape did
not have to compete with TV,

723
00:36:34,341 --> 00:36:36,301
cable, or satellite in the region.

724
00:36:37,385 --> 00:36:38,929
This is weird.

725
00:36:38,929 --> 00:36:39,763
I don't think

726
00:36:39,763 --> 00:36:41,807
that's one of your tapes.
- Let me see.

727
00:36:41,807 --> 00:36:43,350
Yeah, you're right. This isn't a rental.

728
00:36:43,350 --> 00:36:44,643
They must have left my tape in the machine

729
00:36:44,643 --> 00:36:46,812
and returned one of their
their blank cassettes instead.

730
00:36:46,812 --> 00:36:48,396
It happens. Put it aside.

731
00:36:48,396 --> 00:36:51,399
They'll realize their
mistake and be back in later.

732
00:36:51,399 --> 00:36:52,442
You wanna watch it?

733
00:37:00,450 --> 00:37:02,536
Shit, Howard, it ain't
gonna be easy to cut

734
00:37:02,536 --> 00:37:04,788
with his hands tied up like this.

735
00:37:04,788 --> 00:37:05,914
Holy shit.

736
00:37:07,374 --> 00:37:09,334
This looks very, very real,

737
00:37:09,334 --> 00:37:10,168
Look, man, that is real.

738
00:37:10,168 --> 00:37:11,586
That guy getting cut up is Reggie Hobbs.

739
00:37:11,586 --> 00:37:13,672
He's a frigging postmaster.

740
00:37:13,672 --> 00:37:15,465
As the movie
continues, it becomes clear

741
00:37:15,465 --> 00:37:18,301
that some local townspeople
are making snuff videos

742
00:37:18,301 --> 00:37:20,595
and the owner and his wife
get embroiled in solving

743
00:37:20,595 --> 00:37:23,598
the mystery of who is
committing the murders.

744
00:37:23,598 --> 00:37:26,893
The movie reveals that
in fact, the entire town

745
00:37:26,893 --> 00:37:30,355
is engaged in the production
and consumption of the snuff.

746
00:37:58,633 --> 00:38:00,886
Released one year after "Video Violence,"

747
00:38:00,886 --> 00:38:03,680
1988's "Remote Control" is the culmination

748
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,099
of the decades trend that video stores

749
00:38:06,099 --> 00:38:09,978
and obsessive video consumption
will result in experiences

750
00:38:09,978 --> 00:38:12,689
that mirror, for better or worse

751
00:38:12,689 --> 00:38:15,150
the tapes consumers are watching.

752
00:38:15,150 --> 00:38:18,904
Instead of adult fantasy or
slasher inspired violence,

753
00:38:18,904 --> 00:38:20,906
the film tells a story in which videotapes

754
00:38:20,906 --> 00:38:24,618
of a 1950's science fiction
film are distributed by aliens

755
00:38:24,618 --> 00:38:27,204
as a means of brainwashing humans.

756
00:38:27,204 --> 00:38:29,539
The video store in "Remote
Control" is located

757
00:38:29,539 --> 00:38:32,209
inside the lobby of a
closed movie theater,

758
00:38:32,209 --> 00:38:35,754
signaling that as early
as 1988 video was becoming

759
00:38:35,754 --> 00:38:37,756
the dominant means of movie consumption.

760
00:38:46,473 --> 00:38:47,557
Cosmo, stop stackin’

761
00:38:47,557 --> 00:38:49,601
and help me set this display up, will you?

762
00:38:57,442 --> 00:38:59,361
The store boasts
a massive advertisement

763
00:38:59,361 --> 00:39:02,822
for the brainwashing tape
known as "Remote Control."

764
00:39:02,822 --> 00:39:05,242
Though exaggerated, the display reflects

765
00:39:05,242 --> 00:39:07,285
the increasing marketing
techniques of distributors

766
00:39:07,285 --> 00:39:08,370
and video stores.

767
00:39:09,371 --> 00:39:10,580
All right.

768
00:39:10,580 --> 00:39:12,624
Yeah.
- "Remote Control."

769
00:39:13,583 --> 00:39:15,168
This sales guy comes
in here the other day,

770
00:39:15,168 --> 00:39:17,587
he's handing out sample cassettes free

771
00:39:17,587 --> 00:39:18,755
if you run this display.

772
00:39:18,755 --> 00:39:23,760
So I took two and we get
a mirror out of the deal.

773
00:39:35,272 --> 00:39:36,439
"In Remote Control,"

774
00:39:36,439 --> 00:39:38,817
the promotional display becomes nefarious,

775
00:39:38,817 --> 00:39:41,653
turning a common site that you
might see in any video store

776
00:39:41,653 --> 00:39:42,946
into something sinister.

777
00:39:46,199 --> 00:39:47,033
Come on, Cosmo.

778
00:39:47,033 --> 00:39:48,660
Don't crack up on me now, huh?

779
00:39:48,660 --> 00:39:50,161
Come on.

780
00:39:50,161 --> 00:39:52,289
The young man discovers
an evil alien plot and

781
00:39:52,289 --> 00:39:54,874
must race against time to save mankind

782
00:39:54,874 --> 00:39:56,751
from self-destruction.

783
00:39:56,751 --> 00:39:59,713
Aliens. That's what was
controlling the woman in the movie.

784
00:40:02,048 --> 00:40:04,592
Like "Disconnected,"
the film accurately depicts

785
00:40:04,592 --> 00:40:07,846
that at this time, not
far from most video stores

786
00:40:07,846 --> 00:40:09,472
is another video store.

787
00:40:09,472 --> 00:40:11,641
That guy handing out sample
cassettes must have given 'em

788
00:40:11,641 --> 00:40:12,684
to other stores.

789
00:40:13,810 --> 00:40:15,520
Where's the nearest video store?

790
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:19,566
Satellite Video on Arsley Road.

791
00:40:21,860 --> 00:40:24,112
Having vanquished the
threat from their own store,

792
00:40:24,112 --> 00:40:26,573
the characters have to visit
all the other video stores

793
00:40:26,573 --> 00:40:28,742
in town to make sure no other copies

794
00:40:28,742 --> 00:40:30,493
of "Remote Control" are circulating.

795
00:40:30,493 --> 00:40:35,498
Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo, come on.

796
00:40:40,670 --> 00:40:41,504
Get down!

797
00:40:43,673 --> 00:40:45,050
You too!

798
00:40:45,050 --> 00:40:47,302
What's that display doing there?

799
00:40:47,302 --> 00:40:48,428
Why did you aim it at my eyes?

800
00:40:48,428 --> 00:40:49,929
I'm sorry, but you're
gonna have to get away

801
00:40:49,929 --> 00:40:50,847
from the counter.

802
00:40:51,973 --> 00:40:54,351
Oh, don't worry. It's not a holdup.

803
00:41:00,273 --> 00:41:02,359
I'm the manager, eat shit and die!

804
00:41:04,194 --> 00:41:06,404
The spectacle
and cinematic reality

805
00:41:06,404 --> 00:41:08,990
of the videotapes themselves upend

806
00:41:08,990 --> 00:41:10,784
the previously mundane existence

807
00:41:10,784 --> 00:41:11,868
of the characters,

808
00:41:11,868 --> 00:41:14,329
suggesting that the
tape you decide to rent,

809
00:41:14,329 --> 00:41:17,457
be it pornography,
horror, or science fiction

810
00:41:17,457 --> 00:41:21,211
will have an immediate and
overt influence on your life.

811
00:41:29,052 --> 00:41:31,388
Meta textual commentary that plays

812
00:41:31,388 --> 00:41:33,598
with a relationship between tapes rented

813
00:41:33,598 --> 00:41:36,643
and violence befalling the
characters also features

814
00:41:36,643 --> 00:41:38,937
in the shot on super
eight millimeter film,

815
00:41:38,937 --> 00:41:40,397
"The Dead Next Door."

816
00:41:57,205 --> 00:41:59,165
Ultimately, no film better represents

817
00:41:59,165 --> 00:42:00,834
the shifting video retail landscape

818
00:42:00,834 --> 00:42:03,920
at the close of the 1980's
and the dawn of the 1990's

819
00:42:03,920 --> 00:42:05,213
than Troma Entertainment's,

820
00:42:05,213 --> 00:42:07,424
"The Toxic Avenger Part III:

821
00:42:07,424 --> 00:42:09,968
The Last Temptation of Toxie."

822
00:42:09,968 --> 00:42:12,220
Drop those video cassettes,

823
00:42:12,220 --> 00:42:15,223
or I'll blow your brains out!

824
00:42:16,808 --> 00:42:18,977
Released in November, 1989,

825
00:42:18,977 --> 00:42:21,813
the film is both a summation
of the independent ethos

826
00:42:21,813 --> 00:42:23,857
that defined Troma throughout the 80's

827
00:42:23,857 --> 00:42:25,942
and a stunningly accurate forecast

828
00:42:25,942 --> 00:42:28,403
of the corporate takeover
of the video store industry

829
00:42:28,403 --> 00:42:30,196
that will define the 90's.

830
00:42:30,196 --> 00:42:33,199
There's too much variety in this store.

831
00:42:33,199 --> 00:42:35,577
Now that this is a company town,

832
00:42:35,577 --> 00:42:39,080
you're all gonna rent
company tapes, right?

833
00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,124
No!
- That's right.

834
00:42:41,124 --> 00:42:44,335
From now on, only the top 20
video tapes will be available

835
00:42:44,335 --> 00:42:45,420
in this store.

836
00:42:45,420 --> 00:42:48,214
The top five, "The Apocalypse"
self improvement tapes

837
00:42:48,214 --> 00:42:50,049
from Apocalypse Inc.

838
00:42:50,049 --> 00:42:51,801
But we like variety.

839
00:42:51,801 --> 00:42:53,928
We like having a lot of choices.

840
00:42:53,928 --> 00:42:56,139
We don't want just top 20.

841
00:42:56,139 --> 00:42:58,641
We like those movies from Troma!

842
00:42:58,641 --> 00:43:00,393
Screw Troma movies!

843
00:43:02,228 --> 00:43:04,189
When a New York
City based chemical company

844
00:43:04,189 --> 00:43:06,232
called Apocalypse Inc moves

845
00:43:06,232 --> 00:43:08,485
to take over Tromaville New Jersey,

846
00:43:08,485 --> 00:43:11,029
there outlandish goons
enact plans to strip

847
00:43:11,029 --> 00:43:12,947
the town of its individuality,

848
00:43:12,947 --> 00:43:15,408
forcing the corporate
agenda on the townspeople

849
00:43:15,408 --> 00:43:17,952
and specifically their video store.

850
00:43:20,288 --> 00:43:24,501
Tear it up!

851
00:43:25,793 --> 00:43:27,253
Many of the posters hanging above

852
00:43:27,253 --> 00:43:30,131
the store's tapes advertise
other Troma releases

853
00:43:30,131 --> 00:43:34,135
such as "Combat Shock," "Troma's War,"

854
00:43:34,135 --> 00:43:38,264
"Class of Newcomb High,"
"Redneck Zombies,"

855
00:43:38,264 --> 00:43:40,266
and the first "Toxic Avenger" film.

856
00:43:41,476 --> 00:43:45,313
But if this seems like a bit
of sly self-referential winking

857
00:43:45,313 --> 00:43:46,814
on behalf of Troma's founder

858
00:43:46,814 --> 00:43:49,317
and this film's
co-director, Lloyd Kaufman,

859
00:43:49,317 --> 00:43:51,736
the next decade will see
Troma posters decorating

860
00:43:51,736 --> 00:43:54,030
the walls of video stores
and mainstream films,

861
00:43:54,030 --> 00:43:56,950
and television to almost
an astonishing degree.

862
00:43:58,618 --> 00:44:01,538
Whether it's "Femme Fontaine: Killer Babe for the CIA"

863
00:44:01,538 --> 00:44:02,622
being subconsciously

864
00:44:02,622 --> 00:44:04,040
introduced to teenage viewers

865
00:44:04,040 --> 00:44:06,501
of a broadcast television drama.

866
00:44:06,501 --> 00:44:10,380
A shelf with many Troma
films categorized as classics

867
00:44:10,380 --> 00:44:11,798
in a subversive comedy.

868
00:44:14,884 --> 00:44:17,387
"The Toxic Avenger" himself
being used as shorthand

869
00:44:17,387 --> 00:44:20,098
for a budding psychopath's
desensitization to violence

870
00:44:20,098 --> 00:44:21,432
in a European art film.

871
00:44:27,105 --> 00:44:30,233
Troma release "Evil Clutch"
being used as window dressing

872
00:44:30,233 --> 00:44:33,820
to represent disreputable
Times Square style exploitation

873
00:44:33,820 --> 00:44:36,906
in an early 90's Hollywood action comedy.

874
00:44:36,906 --> 00:44:40,994
Or "Tromeo and Juliet" being
featured in a mainstream

875
00:44:40,994 --> 00:44:43,454
as mainstream gets summer blockbuster.

876
00:44:43,454 --> 00:44:44,414
It's all stopped up,

877
00:44:44,414 --> 00:44:46,624
so you're gonna have to pee in the si-

878
00:44:50,962 --> 00:44:52,505
You still think I'm paranoid?

879
00:44:52,505 --> 00:44:53,339
Yeah.

880
00:44:58,511 --> 00:44:59,971
As time progressed,

881
00:44:59,971 --> 00:45:03,057
Troma Entertainment was
consistently front and center,

882
00:45:03,057 --> 00:45:06,185
wherever movies used video
stores and film exhibition

883
00:45:06,185 --> 00:45:07,604
to talk about themselves.

884
00:45:13,901 --> 00:45:17,322
However, here at the end of
the 1980's, these heavies

885
00:45:17,322 --> 00:45:19,949
from Apocalypse Inc literally destroy

886
00:45:19,949 --> 00:45:22,452
the store's eclectic selection in favor

887
00:45:22,452 --> 00:45:25,413
of homogenous offerings
from the major studios,

888
00:45:25,413 --> 00:45:27,749
anticipating how Troma films will be seen

889
00:45:27,749 --> 00:45:30,793
as esoteric rather than
mainstream adjacent

890
00:45:30,793 --> 00:45:31,961
as they would've been throughout

891
00:45:31,961 --> 00:45:34,380
the less regulated video store era

892
00:45:34,380 --> 00:45:36,716
that is now coming to a close.

893
00:45:36,716 --> 00:45:39,636
Yeah!

894
00:45:39,636 --> 00:45:40,553
The gleeful destruction

895
00:45:40,553 --> 00:45:44,682
of this store was in 1989 a
comedic set piece with little

896
00:45:44,682 --> 00:45:46,184
or no broader meaning.

897
00:45:47,018 --> 00:45:49,354
However, looking back on it now,

898
00:45:49,354 --> 00:45:52,690
what was once farce has become tragedy.

899
00:45:52,690 --> 00:45:57,445
Toxie, the character thus
represents an independent company.

900
00:45:57,445 --> 00:45:59,697
He is literally Troma's mascot

901
00:45:59,697 --> 00:46:01,407
and an independent video store,

902
00:46:01,407 --> 00:46:03,576
such as the one in which
this scene takes place,

903
00:46:03,576 --> 00:46:06,245
fighting what is soon
to be a losing battle

904
00:46:06,245 --> 00:46:08,623
against the Blockbusters of the world.

905
00:46:08,623 --> 00:46:11,709
Whose total dominance of
the video rental landscape

906
00:46:11,709 --> 00:46:15,004
will reach its apex in the 1990's.

907
00:46:15,922 --> 00:46:17,507
People of "Tromaville,"

908
00:46:17,507 --> 00:46:21,302
"The Toxic Avenger's"
back better than ever.

909
00:46:22,303 --> 00:46:24,013
Toxic Avenger's back.

910
00:46:24,013 --> 00:46:26,766
He's a real man.
- Yeah, he is.

911
00:46:32,397 --> 00:46:34,023
Thank you. Thank you, Toxic.

912
00:46:34,023 --> 00:46:35,566
You saved us.

913
00:46:35,566 --> 00:46:37,485
Yeah, but it was a rough day,

914
00:46:37,485 --> 00:46:39,821
even for a hideously deformed creature

915
00:46:39,821 --> 00:46:41,698
of superhuman size and strength.

916
00:46:42,615 --> 00:46:45,535
What a mensch.

917
00:47:04,011 --> 00:47:06,973
From the late
1980's through the 1990's

918
00:47:06,973 --> 00:47:09,434
due to the increased
prominence of chain stores,

919
00:47:09,434 --> 00:47:12,270
video stores caught up with
theaters as a primary location

920
00:47:12,270 --> 00:47:13,855
of movie culture in America,

921
00:47:14,689 --> 00:47:19,110
whereas there were only 94
blockbuster locations in 1987.

922
00:47:19,110 --> 00:47:24,115
By 1991, there were over 1600
stores operating in 44 states.

923
00:47:24,198 --> 00:47:25,199
Volume eight of "Police Woman"

924
00:47:25,199 --> 00:47:28,453
is missing 11 seconds off its end credits.

925
00:47:28,453 --> 00:47:30,705
Anybody else complained about it?

926
00:47:30,705 --> 00:47:33,166
No one else has ever rented it.

927
00:47:33,166 --> 00:47:34,917
It's American history.

928
00:47:34,917 --> 00:47:36,085
Throughout the 90's,

929
00:47:36,085 --> 00:47:38,629
blockbuster status as the
industry leader allowed it

930
00:47:38,629 --> 00:47:42,300
to explore further non-video
based business endeavors.

931
00:47:42,300 --> 00:47:44,677
Each year, thousands of
children are reported missing

932
00:47:44,677 --> 00:47:46,095
and there's something you can do now

933
00:47:46,095 --> 00:47:47,638
to help safeguard your child

934
00:47:47,638 --> 00:47:49,515
just in case the unthinkable happens.

935
00:47:49,515 --> 00:47:51,559
It's called Kidprint,
and here's how it works.

936
00:47:51,559 --> 00:47:52,935
Throughout the month of June,

937
00:47:52,935 --> 00:47:54,771
bring your child in a blank video tape

938
00:47:54,771 --> 00:47:56,898
into your local blockbuster video store.

939
00:47:56,898 --> 00:47:58,983
Blockbuster will tape
your child free of charge,

940
00:47:58,983 --> 00:48:00,860
and you'll have the tape for safekeeping.

941
00:48:00,860 --> 00:48:02,945
Police say, this can be a
vital tool in the search

942
00:48:02,945 --> 00:48:03,946
for missing children.

943
00:48:03,946 --> 00:48:05,782
Contact your local blockbuster video

944
00:48:05,782 --> 00:48:08,034
to learn more about Kidprint.

945
00:48:08,034 --> 00:48:09,202
Its growth and expansion

946
00:48:09,202 --> 00:48:10,703
were of constant interest.

947
00:48:11,579 --> 00:48:14,207
Suddenly, a new retail empire existed

948
00:48:14,207 --> 00:48:16,125
where there had been nothing.

949
00:48:16,125 --> 00:48:19,003
It took video stores just
over a decade to achieve

950
00:48:19,003 --> 00:48:21,798
what took cinemas more
than half a century.

951
00:48:21,798 --> 00:48:24,634
Proliferation of identical
impersonal chains

952
00:48:24,634 --> 00:48:27,845
that replaced unique local and
one of a kind establishments.

953
00:48:30,139 --> 00:48:31,933
I need this fucking stupid bullshit job,

954
00:48:31,933 --> 00:48:34,143
like I need to get my fucking head torn off.

955
00:48:39,816 --> 00:48:40,650
Video Update

956
00:48:40,650 --> 00:48:43,694
is continuing its unbelievable
deal for you every Tuesday

957
00:48:43,694 --> 00:48:44,987
throughout the holiday season.

958
00:48:44,987 --> 00:48:47,323
The 1990's
witnessed the standardization

959
00:48:47,323 --> 00:48:49,742
of the video store space
in terms of architecture,

960
00:48:49,742 --> 00:48:52,370
the large clean store
design of corporate chains.

961
00:48:52,370 --> 00:48:55,581
Geography as corporate chains
became the norm in many parts

962
00:48:55,581 --> 00:48:58,334
of the country and taste,
with a large number

963
00:48:58,334 --> 00:49:01,587
of Hollywood movies and lack
of imagination and marketing.

964
00:49:03,214 --> 00:49:05,174
♪ Come see the difference ♪

965
00:49:05,174 --> 00:49:07,468
♪ At Nature Video ♪

966
00:49:07,468 --> 00:49:09,345
Its here. They got it.

967
00:49:09,345 --> 00:49:11,597
They have lots and lots
of kids stuff for us.

968
00:49:11,597 --> 00:49:13,641
One of
the largest selections,

969
00:49:13,641 --> 00:49:15,434
32 different categories.

970
00:49:15,434 --> 00:49:16,269
See it.

971
00:49:17,436 --> 00:49:19,730
This alteration in
video store culture occurred

972
00:49:19,730 --> 00:49:22,733
in the context of an
explosion and standardization

973
00:49:22,733 --> 00:49:25,778
of retail spaces more
broadly in the 1990's.

974
00:49:26,779 --> 00:49:28,698
The book world was overtaken at this time

975
00:49:28,698 --> 00:49:31,325
by superstores such as Borders,

976
00:49:31,325 --> 00:49:33,244
and Barnes and Noble.

977
00:49:33,244 --> 00:49:36,914
Like Blockbuster, these
enormous well organized stores

978
00:49:36,914 --> 00:49:39,625
appealed to customer's desire for options.

979
00:49:39,625 --> 00:49:41,961
As depicted on screen during these years,

980
00:49:41,961 --> 00:49:45,256
the video stores shifted from
a place of forbidden knowledge

981
00:49:45,256 --> 00:49:48,759
into a space as normalized as bookstores.

982
00:49:48,759 --> 00:49:51,262
Now, to depict a video store on screen

983
00:49:51,262 --> 00:49:55,266
was to portray familiar and
even mundane behavior in spaces.

984
00:49:56,142 --> 00:49:57,810
This is a great movie.

985
00:50:00,646 --> 00:50:05,026
Ah, this is a bad, bad movie.

986
00:50:05,026 --> 00:50:07,278
They're all bad movies.

987
00:50:09,405 --> 00:50:11,699
Every movie in this store is a bad movie.

988
00:50:12,700 --> 00:50:14,994
Throughout the 1990's and beyond,

989
00:50:14,994 --> 00:50:18,122
representations of video stores
became intrinsically linked

990
00:50:18,122 --> 00:50:21,709
to socially awkward interactions,
either romantic courtship

991
00:50:21,709 --> 00:50:23,920
or undesirable encounters.

992
00:50:23,920 --> 00:50:25,963
These encounters took on various forms,

993
00:50:25,963 --> 00:50:29,842
many featuring rude, irritating,
or unhelpful employees.

994
00:50:29,842 --> 00:50:32,178
This frustration was now commonplace,

995
00:50:32,178 --> 00:50:34,221
creating and solidifying stereotypes

996
00:50:34,221 --> 00:50:36,682
of video store employees
that have outlasted

997
00:50:36,682 --> 00:50:38,017
the stores themselves.

998
00:50:39,352 --> 00:50:40,311
You put your mom down

999
00:50:40,311 --> 00:50:42,647
as a reference.
- Yeah. Why not?

1000
00:50:42,647 --> 00:50:44,273
She's like super well respected.

1001
00:50:45,107 --> 00:50:46,484
You're such a dingus.

1002
00:50:48,945 --> 00:50:51,322
Just to be clear, we
weren't fired, you know,

1003
00:50:51,322 --> 00:50:54,533
The mall burned down and like
killed a bunch of people.

1004
00:50:56,369 --> 00:50:58,913
Thanks for sharing. Didn't know.

1005
00:50:58,913 --> 00:50:59,956
Nearly as common,

1006
00:50:59,956 --> 00:51:01,916
especially in the medium of television

1007
00:51:01,916 --> 00:51:05,211
are encounters tied to romantic failure.

1008
00:51:05,211 --> 00:51:06,462
Look, you're gonna have to help me out here

1009
00:51:06,462 --> 00:51:08,422
because I only have three.

1010
00:51:08,422 --> 00:51:12,051
I can help with that.
- Oh my God.

1011
00:51:13,219 --> 00:51:14,553
Richard?

1012
00:51:14,553 --> 00:51:15,846
Video stores were used

1013
00:51:15,846 --> 00:51:17,682
to suggest the excitement, romance,

1014
00:51:17,682 --> 00:51:19,642
and drama of the cinema as opposed

1015
00:51:19,642 --> 00:51:21,602
to the mundane experience of browsing.

1016
00:51:22,687 --> 00:51:24,522
Oh yes. "Wuthering Heights."

1017
00:51:24,522 --> 00:51:27,441
Kathy, Kathy, my wild sweet.

1018
00:51:27,441 --> 00:51:29,860
Okay. No, Kathy.

1019
00:51:29,860 --> 00:51:30,903
How about, how about...

1020
00:51:31,862 --> 00:51:32,697
Oh, excuse me.

1021
00:51:34,365 --> 00:51:36,283
How about Katie?

1022
00:51:36,283 --> 00:51:37,785
Katie?
- "The Way We Were."

1023
00:51:38,703 --> 00:51:41,872
Oh, "See ya, Hubbell,".
-Right.

1024
00:51:41,872 --> 00:51:42,957
And then what does he say?

1025
00:51:42,957 --> 00:51:44,250
What does he say?

1026
00:51:44,250 --> 00:51:46,877
"See you, Katie."
- Right.

1027
00:51:47,962 --> 00:51:50,006
Because video
stores were defined primarily

1028
00:51:50,006 --> 00:51:53,968
by renting, the tapes must
be returned to the store.

1029
00:51:53,968 --> 00:51:56,721
They circulate home into
the viewer's private lives

1030
00:51:56,721 --> 00:51:58,597
before getting pulled back,

1031
00:51:58,597 --> 00:52:01,642
but this circulation
creates potential conflict.

1032
00:52:01,642 --> 00:52:04,812
Being in public at the
video store it seems

1033
00:52:04,812 --> 00:52:06,689
was a cause for concern.

1034
00:52:07,565 --> 00:52:09,066
You're welcome.

1035
00:52:10,901 --> 00:52:12,528
In this way, the
video rental experience

1036
00:52:12,528 --> 00:52:15,156
took on a significance
that extended beyond

1037
00:52:15,156 --> 00:52:17,366
the video stores themselves.

1038
00:52:17,366 --> 00:52:18,909
Don't you hate that.

1039
00:52:18,909 --> 00:52:21,078
Come all the way down here
yourself to the store,

1040
00:52:21,078 --> 00:52:22,204
wait patiently, and then somebody

1041
00:52:22,204 --> 00:52:25,374
who calls in from home gets
preferential treatment.

1042
00:52:25,374 --> 00:52:27,710
I can help the next person in line.

1043
00:52:30,504 --> 00:52:32,965
It accords with an
uneasiness people might feel

1044
00:52:32,965 --> 00:52:34,884
while shopping in public.

1045
00:52:34,884 --> 00:52:36,844
We may run into someone
we don't wanna see.

1046
00:52:36,844 --> 00:52:39,847
We may be judged or
ridiculed for our tastes.

1047
00:52:39,847 --> 00:52:41,223
We seek satisfaction,

1048
00:52:41,223 --> 00:52:44,018
but worry that our
desires will not be met.

1049
00:52:44,018 --> 00:52:45,770
Don't even think about it!

1050
00:52:49,190 --> 00:52:51,233
I'm looking for "How Green Was My Valley."

1051
00:52:51,233 --> 00:52:52,068
Huh?

1052
00:52:53,277 --> 00:52:56,363
It is a beautifully
acted depiction of life

1053
00:52:56,363 --> 00:52:58,032
in a small town in Wales.

1054
00:52:58,032 --> 00:52:59,742
It won five Academy awards.

1055
00:52:59,742 --> 00:53:00,868
It's a classic.
- Oh.

1056
00:53:00,868 --> 00:53:03,079
Well, this is a shot in the dark,

1057
00:53:03,079 --> 00:53:06,207
but you might try looking
in the classics section.

1058
00:53:09,168 --> 00:53:11,420
This problem
is repeatedly dramatized

1059
00:53:11,420 --> 00:53:13,756
through scenes where
characters have unexpected

1060
00:53:13,756 --> 00:53:15,508
or unpleasant interactions,

1061
00:53:15,508 --> 00:53:18,803
which are in part driven by
an eruption of private issues

1062
00:53:18,803 --> 00:53:20,805
into public space.

1063
00:53:20,805 --> 00:53:22,264
How about this one, Amelia?

1064
00:53:23,599 --> 00:53:25,518
Bugs that latch onto people's flesh

1065
00:53:25,518 --> 00:53:28,312
and make their insides explode, sure.

1066
00:53:28,312 --> 00:53:29,563
You don't like those kind of movies?

1067
00:53:29,563 --> 00:53:31,148
I love 'em if they're well done.

1068
00:53:32,274 --> 00:53:33,442
In "Walking and Talking",

1069
00:53:33,442 --> 00:53:36,112
the character, Amelia, rents a
movie while chatting amiably

1070
00:53:36,112 --> 00:53:37,822
with a scruffy clerk name Bill.

1071
00:53:38,739 --> 00:53:40,282
After several interactions,

1072
00:53:40,282 --> 00:53:44,453
some of which involve movies,
he asks her on a date.

1073
00:53:44,453 --> 00:53:46,580
They clearly have different tastes,

1074
00:53:46,580 --> 00:53:48,916
and although she feels awkward about it,

1075
00:53:48,916 --> 00:53:50,626
she agrees to go out with him,

1076
00:53:50,626 --> 00:53:53,379
which leads to him spending
the night at her apartment.

1077
00:53:57,216 --> 00:53:58,342
Hi, it's me.

1078
00:53:58,342 --> 00:54:01,512
Oh, I guess you're still out with the...

1079
00:54:01,512 --> 00:54:02,346
What is his name, anyway?

1080
00:54:02,346 --> 00:54:04,140
You always just call him the ugly guy.

1081
00:54:05,015 --> 00:54:06,684
God, I can't believe
you're still out with him.

1082
00:54:06,684 --> 00:54:09,186
Does this mean he'll give
you free video rentals?

1083
00:54:09,186 --> 00:54:10,396
After he avoids her,

1084
00:54:10,396 --> 00:54:12,398
the only place she can reliably find him

1085
00:54:12,398 --> 00:54:13,649
is behind the counter.

1086
00:54:16,735 --> 00:54:19,280
Hi, Bill.
- Hi. How you doing?

1087
00:54:22,032 --> 00:54:27,037
Fine. I was wondering, do
you have "Jaws" in stock?

1088
00:54:28,164 --> 00:54:29,165
Yeah, I think so.

1089
00:54:32,084 --> 00:54:32,918
I haven't seen you around.

1090
00:54:32,918 --> 00:54:33,836
Where you been?

1091
00:54:33,836 --> 00:54:35,296
You haven't rented lately.

1092
00:54:36,422 --> 00:54:37,506
The moment is awkward,

1093
00:54:37,506 --> 00:54:39,842
in part because the many
other customers are caught up

1094
00:54:39,842 --> 00:54:41,760
in an unwelcome emotional scene.

1095
00:54:43,387 --> 00:54:47,266
Rented lately. Are you crazy?

1096
00:54:47,266 --> 00:54:50,227
I had sex with you two weeks ago

1097
00:54:50,227 --> 00:54:53,564
and now you're asking me
why I haven't rented lately!

1098
00:54:53,564 --> 00:54:54,607
I don't know.

1099
00:54:54,607 --> 00:54:55,900
I didn't know what to say.

1100
00:54:56,817 --> 00:54:58,485
How about, how about
why haven't you called me?

1101
00:54:58,485 --> 00:54:59,486
How about that?

1102
00:55:00,654 --> 00:55:03,490
I was busy, okay.
- Fine.

1103
00:55:08,954 --> 00:55:10,164
In these exchanges,

1104
00:55:10,164 --> 00:55:12,166
the video store facilitates a movement

1105
00:55:12,166 --> 00:55:15,336
from a casual transaction
of cash for entertainment

1106
00:55:15,336 --> 00:55:18,214
to a romantic encounter
to something more serious

1107
00:55:18,214 --> 00:55:19,882
than either party had intended.

1108
00:55:19,882 --> 00:55:20,925
Suggesting that the video store

1109
00:55:20,925 --> 00:55:25,095
is a place mandating
casualness and nothing more.

1110
00:55:25,095 --> 00:55:27,139
What is it that you want, buddy?

1111
00:55:32,478 --> 00:55:35,898
Your company. The
pleasure of your company.

1112
00:55:38,067 --> 00:55:40,486
I want your input on video rentals.

1113
00:55:40,486 --> 00:55:41,695
I stand there for hours,

1114
00:55:41,695 --> 00:55:42,905
I can't pick anything out.

1115
00:55:44,156 --> 00:55:46,575
Yes, I was standing
over there by that desk.

1116
00:55:46,575 --> 00:55:48,202
No, you were sitting in the chair,

1117
00:55:48,202 --> 00:55:52,248
but suddenly you started
walking toward me very slowly,

1118
00:55:52,248 --> 00:55:53,082
very slowly.

1119
00:55:53,082 --> 00:55:55,084
The interplay between
film literate characters

1120
00:55:55,084 --> 00:55:57,294
espousing knowledge as a means of flirting

1121
00:55:57,294 --> 00:56:01,799
quickly became a staple of video store interaction.

1122
00:56:01,799 --> 00:56:02,925
Oh.
- Oh, I'm so sorry.

1123
00:56:02,925 --> 00:56:04,927
Oh, I'm sorry. You take it.
- No, no, no, that's okay.

1124
00:56:04,927 --> 00:56:05,761
You take it.

1125
00:56:05,761 --> 00:56:06,762
Are you sure?
- You know what?

1126
00:56:06,762 --> 00:56:07,596
You're not gonna like it.

1127
00:56:07,596 --> 00:56:08,430
It's got a twist

1128
00:56:08,430 --> 00:56:10,391
and you'll see it coming from a mile away.

1129
00:56:10,391 --> 00:56:12,434
And how would you know what I like?

1130
00:56:12,434 --> 00:56:14,228
I know movies and women.

1131
00:56:15,688 --> 00:56:17,356
Really?
- Mhm-hmm.

1132
00:56:18,565 --> 00:56:21,527
Okay. Well then why don't you tell me

1133
00:56:21,527 --> 00:56:22,361
what I want.

1134
00:56:25,990 --> 00:56:27,783
"The Lady Vanishes."
- Mhm-hmm.

1135
00:56:27,783 --> 00:56:28,617
Why is that?

1136
00:56:28,617 --> 00:56:31,787
Well, firstly, you can never
go wrong with Hitchcock ever.

1137
00:56:31,787 --> 00:56:33,414
It's got comedy, drama, romance.

1138
00:56:33,414 --> 00:56:34,707
It's a thriller.

1139
00:56:34,707 --> 00:56:36,542
It's classy, but not stuffy,

1140
00:56:36,542 --> 00:56:37,418
and it's a little obscure.

1141
00:56:37,418 --> 00:56:38,877
So if you haven't seen it,

1142
00:56:38,877 --> 00:56:41,088
you’ll thank me for introducing you to it.

1143
00:56:41,088 --> 00:56:44,008
If you have, you'll know
what a good choice it was.

1144
00:56:45,384 --> 00:56:47,219
Well, I have seen it

1145
00:56:47,219 --> 00:56:48,053
and it is a really

1146
00:56:48,053 --> 00:56:49,346
good choice.
- Mhm-hmm.

1147
00:56:49,346 --> 00:56:51,015
However, not as good as "Rebecca"

1148
00:56:51,015 --> 00:56:53,434
and "Notorious," "Vertigo"

1149
00:56:53,434 --> 00:56:56,645
or pretty much any of his
films from 1960 to 1972.

1150
00:56:56,645 --> 00:57:00,733
In fact, it's sort of a second tier title.

1151
00:57:00,733 --> 00:57:02,609
The possibilities
of creating romance

1152
00:57:02,609 --> 00:57:05,279
by bonding over cinema,
specifically acclaimed

1153
00:57:05,279 --> 00:57:08,699
and classic films move video
store's image on screen

1154
00:57:08,699 --> 00:57:10,951
toward bastions of film history

1155
00:57:10,951 --> 00:57:14,872
and away from seeming like
esoteric specialty stores.

1156
00:57:14,872 --> 00:57:18,834
This image remained an onscreen
cliche right up to the point

1157
00:57:18,834 --> 00:57:21,211
at which these spaces were
no longer a relevant part

1158
00:57:21,211 --> 00:57:22,546
of the retail landscape.

1159
00:57:23,422 --> 00:57:26,216
The script for "This Means
War" was nearly a decade old

1160
00:57:26,216 --> 00:57:27,426
when it went into production,

1161
00:57:27,426 --> 00:57:29,553
which explains the incongruous appearance

1162
00:57:29,553 --> 00:57:34,058
of a massive sprawling
video store as late as 2012.

1163
00:57:34,058 --> 00:57:36,643
An HMV Megastore location doubles

1164
00:57:36,643 --> 00:57:38,937
for the mom and pop sounding Vick’s Video,

1165
00:57:38,937 --> 00:57:41,523
suggesting the type of
scene more common in films

1166
00:57:41,523 --> 00:57:43,025
from an earlier era.

1167
00:57:43,817 --> 00:57:45,027
Are you gonna rent that?

1168
00:57:46,153 --> 00:57:49,198
Yeah. Yeah.
- Definitely.

1169
00:57:49,198 --> 00:57:51,909
Two seemingly charming
singles might wanna rent

1170
00:57:51,909 --> 00:57:55,496
the same tape, in this case,
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."

1171
00:57:55,496 --> 00:57:57,081
Just holding it in your hands.

1172
00:57:57,081 --> 00:57:58,415
No, no, I'm definitely...

1173
00:57:58,415 --> 00:57:59,458
I mean, I'm definitely
gonna rent this one.

1174
00:57:59,458 --> 00:58:00,292
I'll give you it.

1175
00:58:00,292 --> 00:58:01,502
You want this one?

1176
00:58:01,502 --> 00:58:03,170
No, I came for that one.

1177
00:58:03,170 --> 00:58:04,838
It's a great movie.

1178
00:58:04,838 --> 00:58:06,215
Excuse me.

1179
00:58:06,215 --> 00:58:09,510
Hey, how you doing?
- Hi.

1180
00:58:09,510 --> 00:58:10,803
Look, you know what, I was thinking,

1181
00:58:10,803 --> 00:58:13,514
I was thinking if you
want the video that badly,

1182
00:58:13,514 --> 00:58:15,891
why don't you give me your phone number

1183
00:58:15,891 --> 00:58:17,601
and then when I finish
watching it tonight,

1184
00:58:17,601 --> 00:58:20,187
no, I can give you a call
and then maybe bring it over.

1185
00:58:20,187 --> 00:58:21,814
These characters later engage

1186
00:58:21,814 --> 00:58:24,942
in a romance, then separate
and near the end of the film,

1187
00:58:24,942 --> 00:58:27,486
come together again in
the same video store.

1188
00:58:27,486 --> 00:58:28,404
Wow, hi.

1189
00:58:28,404 --> 00:58:29,905
How you been?

1190
00:58:29,905 --> 00:58:31,198
How have you been?

1191
00:58:31,198 --> 00:58:33,283
You know, I've been better.

1192
00:58:33,283 --> 00:58:34,952
You know, I called you,

1193
00:58:34,952 --> 00:58:36,412
I called you a couple times.
- Yeah I know.

1194
00:58:36,412 --> 00:58:37,246
I never heard back from you.

1195
00:58:37,246 --> 00:58:38,330
I've been meaning to call you back.

1196
00:58:38,330 --> 00:58:40,499
Yeah, but you just, what?

1197
00:58:40,499 --> 00:58:42,584
Never got around to it.

1198
00:58:42,584 --> 00:58:45,337
Although a romance
originates in a video store,

1199
00:58:45,337 --> 00:58:49,341
it ends without classical
Hollywood closure.

1200
00:58:49,341 --> 00:58:52,052
While the video store makes
a chance encounter possible,

1201
00:58:52,052 --> 00:58:55,013
it nevertheless leads
to frustrated desires.

1202
00:58:56,390 --> 00:58:58,642
Why do you have to come from that place?

1203
00:58:58,642 --> 00:59:00,060
You know what I mean?

1204
00:59:00,060 --> 00:59:01,728
You think I wanna go home and snuggle,

1205
00:59:01,728 --> 00:59:03,814
and read subtitles and
watching black and white?

1206
00:59:03,814 --> 00:59:05,065
The guy sucks blood.
- Can we ever go

1207
00:59:05,065 --> 00:59:06,817
to a goddamn video store without getting

1208
00:59:06,817 --> 00:59:07,943
into an argument?
- Not as long

1209
00:59:07,943 --> 00:59:09,069
as you have such shitty taste in movies.

1210
00:59:09,069 --> 00:59:11,363
I don't have shitty taste in movies.

1211
00:59:11,363 --> 00:59:13,323
How can you not appreciate
German expressionism?

1212
00:59:13,323 --> 00:59:14,158
I love German expressionism.

1213
00:59:14,158 --> 00:59:15,534
Right.
- What I don't like

1214
00:59:15,534 --> 00:59:17,911
is what you turn into when
you watch that damn movie.

1215
00:59:17,911 --> 00:59:19,079
You start getting all fixated on death,

1216
00:59:19,079 --> 00:59:20,122
like, I'm gonna die. You're gonna die.

1217
00:59:20,122 --> 00:59:20,956
The cat's gonna die.

1218
00:59:20,956 --> 00:59:22,499
Everybody's gonna die.
- Fine. Fine.

1219
00:59:22,499 --> 00:59:24,084
You watch your stupid titty movie.

1220
00:59:24,084 --> 00:59:25,043
I'll watch my death movie.

1221
00:59:25,043 --> 00:59:27,254
You return yours. I'll return mine.

1222
00:59:30,424 --> 00:59:32,217
I'd like to rent
"Breakfast at Tiffany's."

1223
00:59:32,217 --> 00:59:33,343
This is out.

1224
00:59:33,343 --> 00:59:36,221
Someone has it.
- Out, oh no,

1225
00:59:36,221 --> 00:59:37,181
I've been to four other places.

1226
00:59:37,181 --> 00:59:38,515
You're the only ones that have had it.

1227
00:59:38,515 --> 00:59:41,268
Well, I can put her on
reserve for you if you'd like.

1228
00:59:41,268 --> 00:59:42,311
Maybe we could call them

1229
00:59:42,311 --> 00:59:43,604
and ask them to return it.

1230
00:59:44,897 --> 00:59:46,565
Seinfeld made use of the location

1231
00:59:46,565 --> 00:59:48,150
in several episodes.

1232
00:59:48,150 --> 00:59:52,362
Reveling as always in social awkwardness and humiliation.

1233
00:59:53,197 --> 00:59:54,239
Hey, what do you know?

1234
00:59:54,239 --> 00:59:56,783
Look at that. A lesbian sighting.

1235
00:59:58,076 --> 00:59:58,911
My lucky day.

1236
00:59:59,786 --> 01:00:02,831
They're so fascinating. Why is that?

1237
01:00:02,831 --> 01:00:04,583
'Cause they don't want us.

1238
01:00:06,210 --> 01:00:07,377
You gotta respect that.

1239
01:00:08,837 --> 01:00:10,964
Oh my god, it's Susan.

1240
01:00:10,964 --> 01:00:12,799
But what do we do?

1241
01:00:14,468 --> 01:00:17,721
George.
- Susan.

1242
01:00:17,721 --> 01:00:19,223
Hi.
- Hi.

1243
01:00:19,223 --> 01:00:21,391
Watching characters
engage in the very behavior

1244
01:00:21,391 --> 01:00:23,936
that we ourselves may
frequently experience

1245
01:00:23,936 --> 01:00:26,396
while renting a videotape became ingrained

1246
01:00:26,396 --> 01:00:29,024
into our way of watching
movies and television.

1247
01:00:29,024 --> 01:00:31,193
"Seinfeld" acknowledges
the world of choice,

1248
01:00:31,193 --> 01:00:32,945
possibility, and consumption.

1249
01:00:32,945 --> 01:00:36,114
While as a network sitcom
acting as an antithesis

1250
01:00:36,114 --> 01:00:38,909
to the physical experience of
journeying to a video store

1251
01:00:38,909 --> 01:00:40,035
and selecting a film.

1252
01:00:41,245 --> 01:00:43,121
These films and shows from the past

1253
01:00:43,121 --> 01:00:45,749
are forever reaching out to the future.

1254
01:00:45,749 --> 01:00:47,834
The real one they were
moving toward in the time

1255
01:00:47,834 --> 01:00:49,753
of their production and now to the one

1256
01:00:49,753 --> 01:00:53,090
that we know no longer exists.

1257
01:00:53,090 --> 01:00:55,384
Starting in the early 1990's,

1258
01:00:55,384 --> 01:00:58,303
video stores on screen
became spaces for film

1259
01:00:58,303 --> 01:01:00,847
and television to talk about itself.

1260
01:01:00,847 --> 01:01:03,392
I need to rent "The English Patient."

1261
01:01:03,392 --> 01:01:04,226
May I suggest to you a movie

1262
01:01:04,226 --> 01:01:05,686
that does not completely blow?

1263
01:01:05,686 --> 01:01:07,020
No, because it was on cable last night

1264
01:01:07,020 --> 01:01:08,313
and put the baby to sleep.

1265
01:01:08,313 --> 01:01:09,856
In fact, it's the only thing
that's put the baby to sleep

1266
01:01:09,856 --> 01:01:10,774
because the baby never sleeps.

1267
01:01:10,774 --> 01:01:12,192
And if the baby doesn't
sleep, then I don't sleep.

1268
01:01:12,192 --> 01:01:13,944
And if I don't sleep, I
get angry, I get irritable

1269
01:01:13,944 --> 01:01:15,654
and I no longer maintain
my sunny disposition.

1270
01:01:15,654 --> 01:01:17,990
So Pacey, if you have even the
slightest bit of human decency

1271
01:01:17,990 --> 01:01:19,157
you will rent this movie to me immediately,

1272
01:01:19,157 --> 01:01:20,576
and bring 181 minutes of peace

1273
01:01:20,576 --> 01:01:22,494
in my otherwise wretched life.

1274
01:01:22,494 --> 01:01:24,121
The esoteric representations

1275
01:01:24,121 --> 01:01:27,124
of the video store in the
1980's have faded away,

1276
01:01:27,124 --> 01:01:29,668
replaced by an acknowledgement
of video stores

1277
01:01:29,668 --> 01:01:31,795
as a regular part of our lives.

1278
01:01:39,344 --> 01:01:42,347
"The Holiday" connects the
video store to media production,

1279
01:01:42,347 --> 01:01:45,017
in this case with official
movie production culture

1280
01:01:45,017 --> 01:01:46,560
in Hollywood.

1281
01:01:46,560 --> 01:01:49,980
In the film, a British woman
named Iris goes to Los Angeles

1282
01:01:49,980 --> 01:01:51,815
for a vacation.

1283
01:01:51,815 --> 01:01:54,276
Renting the house of a
movie trailer editor,

1284
01:01:54,276 --> 01:01:56,820
Iris ecstatically
discovers the house's owner

1285
01:01:56,820 --> 01:01:59,698
has a veritable archive of DVDs.

1286
01:02:07,205 --> 01:02:08,790
Iris later develops a friendship

1287
01:02:08,790 --> 01:02:10,792
with a film composer named Miles,

1288
01:02:10,792 --> 01:02:12,544
a development which promotes the fantasy

1289
01:02:12,544 --> 01:02:14,921
that everybody proximal to Hollywood works

1290
01:02:14,921 --> 01:02:17,716
or has worked in the movie business.

1291
01:02:17,716 --> 01:02:20,469
At Blockbuster, they pick out
a movie to watch together,

1292
01:02:20,469 --> 01:02:22,971
indicating that despite
the library of options

1293
01:02:22,971 --> 01:02:25,724
she has at home, the experience
of browsing in public

1294
01:02:25,724 --> 01:02:29,311
is always more appealing
as it leaves open a variety

1295
01:02:29,311 --> 01:02:31,897
of dramatic possibilities.

1296
01:02:31,897 --> 01:02:33,357
Have you seen this?

1297
01:02:33,357 --> 01:02:35,067
Oh, "Chariots of Fire," loved it.

1298
01:02:40,947 --> 01:02:44,201
Such a great score by Vangelis.

1299
01:02:44,201 --> 01:02:45,869
He took electronic scores to a new level.

1300
01:02:45,869 --> 01:02:49,081
It was groundbreaking. I'm
gonna test you on this later.

1301
01:02:49,081 --> 01:02:51,583
Okay. "Driving Miss Daisy," Hans.

1302
01:02:51,583 --> 01:02:52,417
Very unexpected.

1303
01:02:52,417 --> 01:02:54,419
Do you remember how great it was?

1304
01:03:00,092 --> 01:03:01,259
It's sassy.

1305
01:03:01,259 --> 01:03:03,845
Miles thus enters the
video store with an abundance

1306
01:03:03,845 --> 01:03:06,056
of previous viewing experiences.

1307
01:03:06,056 --> 01:03:09,351
He is a former spectator whose
knowledge of movies guides

1308
01:03:09,351 --> 01:03:12,354
the couple through the aisles
and from shelf to shelf.

1309
01:03:12,354 --> 01:03:15,607
The film also offers a range
of possibilities to the viewers

1310
01:03:15,607 --> 01:03:17,401
of "The Holiday" itself.

1311
01:03:17,401 --> 01:03:20,612
We might be as steeped in
film experience as Miles,

1312
01:03:20,612 --> 01:03:22,614
in which case we can recognize the humor

1313
01:03:22,614 --> 01:03:24,616
in his rendition of the songs.

1314
01:03:24,616 --> 01:03:26,785
If we are a novice as Iris,

1315
01:03:26,785 --> 01:03:28,161
then we might read this performance

1316
01:03:28,161 --> 01:03:29,579
as a series of advertisements

1317
01:03:29,579 --> 01:03:32,374
for future viewing
experiences we could have.

1318
01:03:32,374 --> 01:03:35,043
♪ Where have you gone Joe Dimaggio ♪

1319
01:03:35,043 --> 01:03:37,087
I bet you didn't know that
was all written for the movie.

1320
01:03:37,087 --> 01:03:39,005
It was a score, technically.

1321
01:03:39,005 --> 01:03:41,758
I did know that one.
- Can't go anywhere.

1322
01:03:41,758 --> 01:03:43,343
The humor of this scene requires

1323
01:03:43,343 --> 01:03:45,846
that viewers at least know
that Dustin Hoffman starred

1324
01:03:45,846 --> 01:03:47,305
in the earlier film.

1325
01:03:47,305 --> 01:03:49,433
And that in a place like Los Angeles,

1326
01:03:49,433 --> 01:03:52,769
video culture exists side by
side with production culture.

1327
01:03:53,854 --> 01:03:55,981
Perhaps just as the video store serves

1328
01:03:55,981 --> 01:03:59,109
as a commercial archive for
film texts from different eras,

1329
01:03:59,109 --> 01:04:01,528
Los Angeles houses many of these figures

1330
01:04:01,528 --> 01:04:04,573
who are not frozen in time,
but continue to consume

1331
01:04:04,573 --> 01:04:06,324
and love films.

1332
01:04:07,409 --> 01:04:08,285
The scene closes

1333
01:04:08,285 --> 01:04:10,746
with typical video store
frustration however,

1334
01:04:10,746 --> 01:04:13,498
when Miles sees his girlfriend
passing the store outside

1335
01:04:13,498 --> 01:04:14,458
with another man.

1336
01:04:16,918 --> 01:04:17,753
What?

1337
01:04:24,718 --> 01:04:26,636
Once again, the video store leads

1338
01:04:26,636 --> 01:04:29,973
to surprising, negative
social interactions.

1339
01:04:31,558 --> 01:04:33,643
Quick, where are the
Schwarzenegger films?

1340
01:04:33,643 --> 01:04:34,644
Foreign films are in the back.

1341
01:04:34,644 --> 01:04:36,605
Hoffman's
appearance alongside a DVD

1342
01:04:36,605 --> 01:04:38,732
of "The Graduate" is one in a long line

1343
01:04:38,732 --> 01:04:40,692
of video stores appearing on screen

1344
01:04:40,692 --> 01:04:43,653
to provide meta textual
commentary on the intersection

1345
01:04:43,653 --> 01:04:45,572
of home videos and cinema.

1346
01:04:45,572 --> 01:04:50,118
Specifically, the movies are
talking about themselves.

1347
01:04:50,118 --> 01:04:51,870
It isn't possible.

1348
01:04:51,870 --> 01:04:53,246
What's not possible.

1349
01:04:53,246 --> 01:04:55,874
He's fantastic, this is
his best performance ever.

1350
01:04:55,874 --> 01:04:58,126
But that was you.

1351
01:04:58,126 --> 01:04:59,544
You were in that movie!

1352
01:05:00,462 --> 01:05:02,547
You are in a movie?

1353
01:05:02,547 --> 01:05:06,760
Yes. It was called,
"The Girl of My Dreams."

1354
01:05:06,760 --> 01:05:07,761
It starred you.

1355
01:05:08,595 --> 01:05:09,513
As a matter of fact,

1356
01:05:09,513 --> 01:05:12,390
we had this very romantic scene together.

1357
01:05:12,390 --> 01:05:13,308
To fully understand

1358
01:05:13,308 --> 01:05:15,477
how video stores were depicted on screen,

1359
01:05:15,477 --> 01:05:18,188
increasingly required that
the viewer had knowledge

1360
01:05:18,188 --> 01:05:19,773
of other movies.

1361
01:05:19,773 --> 01:05:23,443
The store we see in "Last Action
Hero" is called Acme Video,

1362
01:05:23,443 --> 01:05:26,488
but it is in every way a Blockbuster,

1363
01:05:26,488 --> 01:05:29,241
from the blue and yellow
color scheme to the font.

1364
01:05:30,408 --> 01:05:33,245
The elegant alluring camera
movement down the aisles,

1365
01:05:33,245 --> 01:05:34,955
which are absurdly festooned

1366
01:05:34,955 --> 01:05:36,957
with an improbable amount of lights,

1367
01:05:36,957 --> 01:05:39,125
declare the video store as glitzy,

1368
01:05:39,125 --> 01:05:42,838
and exciting as a cinema,
and every bit its equal.

1369
01:05:42,838 --> 01:05:44,381
Posters for "Boys in The Hood,"

1370
01:05:44,381 --> 01:05:45,715
"Bram Stoker's Dracula,"

1371
01:05:45,715 --> 01:05:46,758
and a "League of Their Own"

1372
01:05:46,758 --> 01:05:49,886
all come courtesy of "Last
Action Hero's" studio,

1373
01:05:49,886 --> 01:05:51,930
Columbia Pictures pulling a move

1374
01:05:51,930 --> 01:05:54,057
from the Canon Films playbook.

1375
01:05:54,057 --> 01:05:57,602
The protagonist, Danny is
shocked to come upon a standee

1376
01:05:57,602 --> 01:05:59,771
for "Terminator 2: Judgment Day,"

1377
01:05:59,771 --> 01:06:01,982
starring Sylvester Stallone.

1378
01:06:01,982 --> 01:06:04,818
Connecting this moment to the comparable standee glimpse

1379
01:06:04,818 --> 01:06:07,445
briefly in "The Lost World: Jurassic Park,"

1380
01:06:07,445 --> 01:06:09,531
which advertises a
fictitious Schwarzenegger

1381
01:06:09,531 --> 01:06:12,617
starring King Lear film,
which itself connects

1382
01:06:12,617 --> 01:06:15,328
to "Last Action Heroes"
nearly identical joke

1383
01:06:15,328 --> 01:06:18,373
of an adaptation of "Hamlet"
starring Schwarzenegger proxy,

1384
01:06:18,373 --> 01:06:19,749
Jack Slater.

1385
01:06:19,749 --> 01:06:24,754
To be or not to be.

1386
01:06:24,921 --> 01:06:25,755
Not to be.

1387
01:06:28,258 --> 01:06:30,135
A gag that itself anticipates

1388
01:06:30,135 --> 01:06:31,970
our Blockbuster browsing Hamlet.

1389
01:06:31,970 --> 01:06:33,179
All of which circles back,

1390
01:06:33,179 --> 01:06:35,849
not to a desolate moody Blockbuster,

1391
01:06:35,849 --> 01:06:38,643
but to the preposterously glamorized store

1392
01:06:38,643 --> 01:06:39,895
in "Last Action Hero."

1393
01:06:41,313 --> 01:06:44,941
To be or not to be, to
rent or not to rent.

1394
01:06:44,941 --> 01:06:47,277
Highbrow, lowbrow and on and on.

1395
01:06:48,069 --> 01:06:50,906
On the way out, Danny
observes that the clerk is

1396
01:06:50,906 --> 01:06:53,700
Way too attractive to be
working at a video store.

1397
01:06:53,700 --> 01:06:56,202
Coming as the character
does from the real world,

1398
01:06:56,202 --> 01:06:57,996
that is to say our own,

1399
01:06:57,996 --> 01:07:00,624
he expects to find a no less cliche clerk

1400
01:07:00,624 --> 01:07:04,628
so frequently depicted on
screen, a cinephile nerd,

1401
01:07:04,628 --> 01:07:07,422
such as the one scene in
Kirk Wong's, "The Big Hit."

1402
01:07:08,757 --> 01:07:10,383
Here's your fucking tape back!

1403
01:07:12,427 --> 01:07:14,137
Ah! Let's see here.

1404
01:07:16,640 --> 01:07:19,017
Ooh, late charges.

1405
01:07:21,144 --> 01:07:23,355
Oh mama, what's this!

1406
01:07:23,355 --> 01:07:25,106
Tape's not rewound.

1407
01:07:25,106 --> 01:07:27,275
Oh, that's gonna cost you!

1408
01:07:27,275 --> 01:07:29,903
You know I'm taking
a lot of shit from you!

1409
01:07:29,903 --> 01:07:33,073
I put up with your high
prices, your lousy selection,

1410
01:07:33,073 --> 01:07:35,367
and your rude phone calls.
- Sorry about that.

1411
01:07:35,367 --> 01:07:36,201
I just want to tell you

1412
01:07:36,201 --> 01:07:37,327
one thing.
- What?

1413
01:07:38,203 --> 01:07:40,038
I will never, ever rent tapes

1414
01:07:40,038 --> 01:07:41,706
from this store again,
you snotty little...

1415
01:07:44,292 --> 01:07:46,252
I'ma finish what I
started, mother fucker.

1416
01:07:46,252 --> 01:07:47,545
Like "Last Action Hero,"

1417
01:07:47,545 --> 01:07:49,130
"The Big Hit" presents a video store

1418
01:07:49,130 --> 01:07:51,549
of immaculately production
designed opulence,

1419
01:07:51,549 --> 01:07:54,803
the likes of which could only
exist in a Hollywood film.

1420
01:07:54,803 --> 01:07:57,889
The film was produced by
Columbia subsidiary TriStar,

1421
01:07:57,889 --> 01:07:59,432
which explains the prominent poster

1422
01:07:59,432 --> 01:08:02,018
for that same studio's "Godzilla" remake,

1423
01:08:02,018 --> 01:08:05,271
which in an unusual bit
of anticipatory marketing

1424
01:08:05,271 --> 01:08:08,233
was released in theaters one
month after "The Big Hit."

1425
01:08:11,736 --> 01:08:14,447
In much the same way that
video stores on screen used

1426
01:08:14,447 --> 01:08:16,658
the characters longing for romantic films

1427
01:08:16,658 --> 01:08:18,660
to actualize romance in their lives,

1428
01:08:18,660 --> 01:08:20,745
"The Big Hit" places the hapless clerk

1429
01:08:20,745 --> 01:08:23,623
in the middle of the melee,
suggesting the possibility

1430
01:08:23,623 --> 01:08:26,835
that as with "Last Action
Hero," cinephiles are likely

1431
01:08:26,835 --> 01:08:29,629
to be thrown out of their
own humdrum existence

1432
01:08:29,629 --> 01:08:33,800
and into what resembles
or is a scene in a movie.

1433
01:08:33,800 --> 01:08:35,385
The sequence features a display,

1434
01:08:35,385 --> 01:08:36,970
declaring one of the other characters

1435
01:08:36,970 --> 01:08:40,390
as the number one customer
of the month adult section.

1436
01:08:40,390 --> 01:08:43,101
Thus carrying on the tradition
of the private being made,

1437
01:08:43,101 --> 01:08:46,479
in this case, comedically
and absurdly public.

1438
01:08:54,195 --> 01:08:55,739
Not to mention the tradition of posters

1439
01:08:55,739 --> 01:08:58,867
for Troma films being
staples of video store decor.

1440
01:08:58,867 --> 01:09:00,994
"The Big Hit" brings
things full circle back

1441
01:09:00,994 --> 01:09:03,872
to the late 80's with larger
than life advertisements

1442
01:09:03,872 --> 01:09:07,834
for "Sgt. Kabukiman
NYPD," "Tromeo and Juliet",

1443
01:09:07,834 --> 01:09:10,795
and of course "The
Toxic Avenger Part II."

1444
01:09:12,255 --> 01:09:14,466
Why this store has a
massive display of posters

1445
01:09:14,466 --> 01:09:16,968
for Troma films from roughly a decade ago

1446
01:09:16,968 --> 01:09:20,472
alongside contemporary
films is never addressed.

1447
01:09:20,472 --> 01:09:22,599
By 1998, it didn't need to be.

1448
01:09:22,599 --> 01:09:25,310
Video stores simply made sense.

1449
01:09:25,310 --> 01:09:27,645
Their categories, their aesthetic,

1450
01:09:27,645 --> 01:09:31,608
and the unpredictable but
generally undesirable interactions

1451
01:09:31,608 --> 01:09:35,028
that took place within needed
no further explanation.

1452
01:09:35,028 --> 01:09:36,488
Well, ain't that a bitch?

1453
01:09:38,990 --> 01:09:40,742
They were everywhere.

1454
01:09:40,742 --> 01:09:43,244
They were a part of our lives,

1455
01:09:43,244 --> 01:09:45,705
and it seemed as though
they always would be.

1456
01:10:10,396 --> 01:10:13,483
Can you rent this?
- Absolutely not.

1457
01:10:14,317 --> 01:10:16,361
Go pick out something
from the children's section.

1458
01:10:16,361 --> 01:10:18,822
Those movies suck.
- Watch your language.

1459
01:10:22,283 --> 01:10:25,370
A report from
1989 found that nearly 70%

1460
01:10:25,370 --> 01:10:28,164
of all video stores carried adult titles

1461
01:10:28,164 --> 01:10:31,417
with the exception of family
video and movie gallery.

1462
01:10:31,417 --> 01:10:33,419
Corporate stores refused to carry them.

1463
01:10:43,012 --> 01:10:46,099
These movies are almost
always held in a section,

1464
01:10:46,099 --> 01:10:49,060
proverbially known as the back room.

1465
01:10:50,270 --> 01:10:51,688
No, I guess that's it.

1466
01:10:51,688 --> 01:10:52,939
Ah. Yep, that's it.

1467
01:10:54,524 --> 01:10:55,567
I'll just take this.

1468
01:10:55,567 --> 01:10:56,818
Whatever the kid's getting.

1469
01:10:56,818 --> 01:11:00,446
This area might be
separated by a curtain or a door

1470
01:11:00,446 --> 01:11:02,699
and a sign reading, "Adults Only,"

1471
01:11:02,699 --> 01:11:05,910
or forbidding those under
the age of 18 from entering.

1472
01:11:05,910 --> 01:11:09,205
"Bi Bi Guys", featuring
Curious Geordie.

1473
01:11:11,249 --> 01:11:12,792
Interesting choice.

1474
01:11:12,792 --> 01:11:15,336
Does the wife know you're
looking into your options?

1475
01:11:16,254 --> 01:11:17,088
I got the...

1476
01:11:18,214 --> 01:11:19,424
Had the wrong box by accident.

1477
01:11:19,424 --> 01:11:21,718
Oh, right.
- Would you mind exchanging

1478
01:11:21,718 --> 01:11:23,428
that for me for something?

1479
01:11:23,428 --> 01:11:24,262
You know, whatever.

1480
01:11:24,262 --> 01:11:26,222
Anything you get your hands on, you know.

1481
01:11:26,222 --> 01:11:30,059
So then you want something..?
- That's non-bi.

1482
01:11:32,103 --> 01:11:33,897
It'll be like you work here.

1483
01:11:33,897 --> 01:11:35,940
What am I qualified to do?

1484
01:11:35,940 --> 01:11:37,859
Within the
heavily categorized world

1485
01:11:37,859 --> 01:11:41,196
of the video store, the back
room is a space of private

1486
01:11:41,196 --> 01:11:43,323
and guarded knowledge.

1487
01:11:43,323 --> 01:11:45,491
There are at least three
characteristics of the back room

1488
01:11:45,491 --> 01:11:46,659
that make it remarkable.

1489
01:11:46,659 --> 01:11:49,287
I am being totally serious.
- Are you joking around?

1490
01:11:49,287 --> 01:11:51,206
No, I am not joking around.

1491
01:11:51,206 --> 01:11:53,416
First, as it
is located in a special,

1492
01:11:53,416 --> 01:11:57,337
semi hidden space, the back
room attempts to provide privacy

1493
01:11:57,337 --> 01:12:01,174
in public and thereby indicates
ambivalence toward the genre

1494
01:12:01,174 --> 01:12:02,717
of videos located there.

1495
01:12:09,641 --> 01:12:11,809
Ooh, this looks good.

1496
01:12:12,685 --> 01:12:13,937
Gets really good reviews.

1497
01:12:15,480 --> 01:12:17,899
Time and again,
the back room on screen

1498
01:12:17,899 --> 01:12:21,903
is depicted to both normalize
adult films and acknowledge

1499
01:12:21,903 --> 01:12:24,572
the semi elicit feelings
that browsers may have

1500
01:12:24,572 --> 01:12:26,199
in this section.

1501
01:12:26,199 --> 01:12:30,787
This video store, your video store boasts

1502
01:12:30,787 --> 01:12:32,705
the largest collection of adult videos

1503
01:12:32,705 --> 01:12:35,792
in all of northern Louisiana.

1504
01:12:35,792 --> 01:12:38,378
Leave it to humans to
make sex this depressing.

1505
01:12:38,378 --> 01:12:40,713
You're welcome to put your
own stamp on it, of course,

1506
01:12:40,713 --> 01:12:43,424
but I wouldn't change it too much.

1507
01:12:43,424 --> 01:12:45,718
Humans love their porn.

1508
01:12:45,718 --> 01:12:47,512
Second, pornographic materials

1509
01:12:47,512 --> 01:12:48,513
are commonly organized

1510
01:12:48,513 --> 01:12:51,474
into their own highly specific categories.

1511
01:12:51,474 --> 01:12:54,560
Although there will also be a
comparably sized new releases

1512
01:12:54,560 --> 01:12:55,770
wall within the section.

1513
01:12:56,938 --> 01:12:58,398
I can't tell the difference.

1514
01:12:58,398 --> 01:13:00,108
Well, what do you want?
- Anything.

1515
01:13:00,108 --> 01:13:02,610
But you have a preference
in terms of content.

1516
01:13:02,610 --> 01:13:05,822
Like women and women or men and men.

1517
01:13:06,906 --> 01:13:08,741
The fuck are you insinuating?

1518
01:13:08,741 --> 01:13:09,742
I don't know your preferences,

1519
01:13:09,742 --> 01:13:11,744
I'm only trying to help you here, Oscar.

1520
01:13:12,996 --> 01:13:15,707
26 unrelated categories except for X,

1521
01:13:15,707 --> 01:13:17,333
which has its own room.

1522
01:13:19,085 --> 01:13:21,212
Finally, back
rooms are remarkable

1523
01:13:21,212 --> 01:13:23,756
in terms of the revenue they generate.

1524
01:13:23,756 --> 01:13:25,842
How about adult movies?

1525
01:13:30,388 --> 01:13:31,472
Because corporate chains

1526
01:13:31,472 --> 01:13:33,099
would not carry such material,

1527
01:13:33,099 --> 01:13:34,767
independent stores relied on this section

1528
01:13:34,767 --> 01:13:36,602
as a mark of distinction.

1529
01:13:36,602 --> 01:13:38,438
Accordingly, we are left with the notion

1530
01:13:38,438 --> 01:13:42,233
that any depiction of a
backroom or adult video section

1531
01:13:42,233 --> 01:13:45,320
is taking place within a
non-corporate, independent

1532
01:13:45,320 --> 01:13:47,488
and autonomously run video store.

1533
01:13:47,488 --> 01:13:50,074
And you will not find a back room

1534
01:13:50,074 --> 01:13:51,409
in our video store.

1535
01:13:51,409 --> 01:13:52,243
No.
- No.

1536
01:13:52,243 --> 01:13:55,288
No, no, that filth is better
left to the Sin Cities.

1537
01:13:55,288 --> 01:13:57,373
I'd like to rent this tape.

1538
01:13:57,373 --> 01:13:58,458
Sofia Ludens, huh?

1539
01:13:59,500 --> 01:14:00,752
You know it?

1540
01:14:00,752 --> 01:14:03,212
You get arrested for
watching this stuff.

1541
01:14:03,212 --> 01:14:06,090
Yeah.
- No.

1542
01:14:07,091 --> 01:14:08,468
Pornos, man, what do you expect?

1543
01:14:08,468 --> 01:14:11,763
What rents here more than anything else. The adult stuff, right?

1544
01:14:11,763 --> 01:14:13,056
Mhm-hmm.

1545
01:14:13,056 --> 01:14:14,932
Right. I think you'd be
a little more discerning

1546
01:14:14,932 --> 01:14:16,434
about the type of stuff you carry.

1547
01:14:21,147 --> 01:14:22,065
China.

1548
01:14:45,296 --> 01:14:48,257
Well, I guess I like to watch videos.

1549
01:14:48,257 --> 01:14:50,009
Well, you see right there.

1550
01:14:50,009 --> 01:14:52,887
Have you ever thought about
working in a video store

1551
01:14:52,887 --> 01:14:54,097
or even owning one?

1552
01:14:55,473 --> 01:14:58,434
No. Hm.

1553
01:15:07,360 --> 01:15:08,361
Yeah. Hmm.

1554
01:15:13,032 --> 01:15:15,243
Hmm.

1555
01:15:15,243 --> 01:15:17,328
Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

1556
01:15:24,210 --> 01:15:28,214
Bride's head's going to
get revisited tonight, baby.

1557
01:15:28,214 --> 01:15:29,757
No.

1558
01:15:29,757 --> 01:15:31,676
Where would "Cuffs and Collars" be?

1559
01:15:31,676 --> 01:15:35,555
Action Adventure. Action
Comedy, Action Action?

1560
01:15:35,555 --> 01:15:37,390
Make a left.
- Okay.

1561
01:15:47,358 --> 01:15:50,445
Today I am here more for someone.

1562
01:15:50,445 --> 01:15:51,863
Do you know what I'm saying?

1563
01:15:52,947 --> 01:15:54,740
Did you wanna rent a porno movie?

1564
01:15:54,740 --> 01:15:57,118
No. I mean, yes.

1565
01:16:00,079 --> 01:16:02,540
With Blockbuster
and other corporate chains

1566
01:16:02,540 --> 01:16:04,459
not offering adult titles,

1567
01:16:04,459 --> 01:16:06,627
the ubiquity of their
depiction on screens,

1568
01:16:06,627 --> 01:16:08,629
specifically in mainstream entertainment

1569
01:16:08,629 --> 01:16:10,423
is all the more striking.

1570
01:16:12,383 --> 01:16:17,388
Porn is a $12
billion industry in annual sales.

1571
01:16:18,556 --> 01:16:19,640
In all likelihood,

1572
01:16:19,640 --> 01:16:22,643
the average viewer would have
only a passing familiarity

1573
01:16:22,643 --> 01:16:25,688
with the backroom, perhaps
limited only to gazing

1574
01:16:25,688 --> 01:16:27,857
at its mysterious barrier.

1575
01:16:27,857 --> 01:16:31,569
And yet over and over pornography
became one of the central

1576
01:16:31,569 --> 01:16:34,697
characteristics of the
video store on screen.

1577
01:16:34,697 --> 01:16:37,116
The emergence of this as
a common dramatic beat

1578
01:16:37,116 --> 01:16:40,745
throughout the 1990's and
into the 2000's would extend

1579
01:16:40,745 --> 01:16:43,414
the ways the video store had
already been used as a site

1580
01:16:43,414 --> 01:16:46,417
of different forms of public humiliation.

1581
01:16:46,417 --> 01:16:48,711
I thought it was you.

1582
01:16:48,711 --> 01:16:49,921
Mom.
- I was just dropping

1583
01:16:49,921 --> 01:16:51,214
by with the wedding snaps.

1584
01:16:51,214 --> 01:16:53,633
I tell you that photographer
should be sacked.

1585
01:16:53,633 --> 01:16:55,635
He made me look like a thug.

1586
01:16:55,635 --> 01:16:57,386
A thug in lilac.

1587
01:16:57,386 --> 01:16:58,971
Anything good?
- No, no.

1588
01:17:00,848 --> 01:17:01,933
There's a lady who needs your copy

1589
01:17:01,933 --> 01:17:03,226
of "Georgie's Bush."

1590
01:17:04,477 --> 01:17:06,229
"Georgie's Bush."

1591
01:17:06,229 --> 01:17:07,104
Do you have any?

1592
01:17:08,564 --> 01:17:10,733
Do you have any Cookie Tushala movies?

1593
01:17:12,109 --> 01:17:13,986
I'll check. We're probably all out.

1594
01:17:15,029 --> 01:17:16,906
Is that Katie Collins?

1595
01:17:16,906 --> 01:17:18,199
Hi.
- Hi, Katie.

1596
01:17:18,199 --> 01:17:20,785
As the video store
became commonplace, the curation

1597
01:17:20,785 --> 01:17:24,163
of private viewing experiences
would increasingly take place

1598
01:17:24,163 --> 01:17:26,040
in the presence of pornography,

1599
01:17:26,040 --> 01:17:27,708
or at least peripheral to it.

1600
01:17:27,708 --> 01:17:29,126
Does Ryan know you're here?

1601
01:17:31,003 --> 01:17:34,840
Wait till he hears who we
saw renting, "Vagina Town."

1602
01:17:36,384 --> 01:17:38,928
Thanks.
- It's a classic.

1603
01:17:42,974 --> 01:17:44,934
Jack.
- Yeah.

1604
01:17:44,934 --> 01:17:46,519
I was noticing a lot of these tapes

1605
01:17:46,519 --> 01:17:48,354
look like they've been used.

1606
01:17:48,354 --> 01:17:49,772
What's the deal?

1607
01:17:49,772 --> 01:17:50,773
Are you moving from another location?

1608
01:17:50,773 --> 01:17:55,027
No. Bought 500 tapes
from a guy in New York.

1609
01:17:55,027 --> 01:17:56,404
Said his store was going out of business,

1610
01:17:56,404 --> 01:17:58,364
wanted to unload his stock.

1611
01:17:58,364 --> 01:18:00,575
I argued him down to two grand in cash.

1612
01:18:00,575 --> 01:18:02,868
Five bucks a tape. That's great.

1613
01:18:02,868 --> 01:18:04,245
The direct to
video erotic thriller,

1614
01:18:04,245 --> 01:18:07,331
"Double Cross" features a
protagonist getting a fresh start

1615
01:18:07,331 --> 01:18:10,126
in a new town by opening up a video store,

1616
01:18:10,126 --> 01:18:13,254
which he explains in
endearingly precise detail.

1617
01:18:14,213 --> 01:18:16,674
I hope you left him
all the porno titles.

1618
01:18:16,674 --> 01:18:18,134
No. Kept them.

1619
01:18:18,134 --> 01:18:20,469
It isn't long
before his curatorial choices

1620
01:18:20,469 --> 01:18:23,556
bring unwanted attention
from local law enforcement.

1621
01:18:25,766 --> 01:18:27,727
Hi, can I help you?

1622
01:18:28,603 --> 01:18:30,396
Are you Jack Connelly?

1623
01:18:30,396 --> 01:18:32,273
Conealy, what can I do for you?

1624
01:18:32,273 --> 01:18:34,734
You can load up your
crates of porno movies back

1625
01:18:34,734 --> 01:18:37,486
in your car and get your
ass out of the valley.

1626
01:18:44,619 --> 01:18:45,453
You know, Melissa,

1627
01:18:45,453 --> 01:18:46,621
these are actually X-ray glasses.

1628
01:18:47,872 --> 01:18:48,706
Really?

1629
01:18:50,207 --> 01:18:51,167
I could see a freckle

1630
01:18:51,167 --> 01:18:52,877
on that girl's right breast.

1631
01:18:52,877 --> 01:18:55,338
Jack! Maybe you can get
away with that kind of talk

1632
01:18:55,338 --> 01:18:57,590
in New York, but this is a small town.

1633
01:19:04,513 --> 01:19:05,514
Oh.

1634
01:19:05,514 --> 01:19:06,599
As the romantic tension

1635
01:19:06,599 --> 01:19:09,143
of the film builds beyond mere flirtation,

1636
01:19:09,143 --> 01:19:12,104
this erotically charged moment
makes good on the promise

1637
01:19:12,104 --> 01:19:15,107
of private lives being put
on public display within

1638
01:19:15,107 --> 01:19:17,902
and because of the video store.

1639
01:19:17,902 --> 01:19:22,907
Jack! Jack, have you had breakfast yet?

1640
01:19:29,246 --> 01:19:30,998
"Double Cross"
shows that adult sexuality

1641
01:19:30,998 --> 01:19:34,126
can infiltrate the video store
if invited in via a healthy

1642
01:19:34,126 --> 01:19:37,088
and often remarked upon
selection of pornography.

1643
01:19:37,088 --> 01:19:41,217
But it is unusually for
depictions of video stores

1644
01:19:41,217 --> 01:19:44,387
entirely unconcerned
with movies themselves.

1645
01:19:44,387 --> 01:19:47,765
No specific films are ever
cited by the characters.

1646
01:19:47,765 --> 01:19:50,226
Despite the frequent
references to pornography,

1647
01:19:50,226 --> 01:19:52,603
we never see if those videos
are kept in a back room,

1648
01:19:52,603 --> 01:19:54,647
or where they're kept at all.

1649
01:19:56,941 --> 01:19:59,902
I can't believe you broke a cop's nose.

1650
01:19:59,902 --> 01:20:02,446
I told you, you shouldn't
have kept those porno titles.

1651
01:20:02,446 --> 01:20:03,656
Yeah, you're probably right.

1652
01:20:03,656 --> 01:20:05,658
I'm gonna get some ice on this.

1653
01:20:06,951 --> 01:20:11,914
Jack, do you like pizza?
- Of course, I'm American,

1654
01:20:12,123 --> 01:20:12,957
aren't I?

1655
01:20:12,957 --> 01:20:14,625
It's our national food, pepperoni.

1656
01:20:18,462 --> 01:20:20,589
"Roadhouse," "Road to Hong Kong." "Road to Rio."

1657
01:20:20,589 --> 01:20:21,882
"RoboCop," "RoboCop," "RoboCop."

1658
01:20:21,882 --> 01:20:23,968
There's no "RoboCop 2."
- Somebody rented it.

1659
01:20:23,968 --> 01:20:26,887
Anxieties of the
private made public as related

1660
01:20:26,887 --> 01:20:29,807
to sexual activity occasionally manifest

1661
01:20:29,807 --> 01:20:32,476
as an amateur pornographic home movie made

1662
01:20:32,476 --> 01:20:35,438
by the characters,
accidentally being returned

1663
01:20:35,438 --> 01:20:39,525
to the video store in place of
the intended commercial VHS.

1664
01:20:39,525 --> 01:20:42,820
We're looking for "RoboCop 2."

1665
01:20:42,820 --> 01:20:44,321
It's out.
- Could you tell us

1666
01:20:44,321 --> 01:20:45,364
who rented it?

1667
01:20:45,364 --> 01:20:48,325
Why?
- Because I need to see it.

1668
01:20:48,325 --> 01:20:49,660
Why?
- What do you mean why?

1669
01:20:49,660 --> 01:20:50,953
Because, because, because she...

1670
01:20:50,953 --> 01:20:51,787
You know what happened?

1671
01:20:51,787 --> 01:20:52,621
She saw the first one,

1672
01:20:52,621 --> 01:20:54,582
and then inadvertently
she saw the third one.

1673
01:20:54,582 --> 01:20:55,666
So until she sees the second one,

1674
01:20:55,666 --> 01:20:57,001
she's hanging.
- Sorry.

1675
01:20:57,835 --> 01:21:00,004
Okay, can I just ask you...
- What are you doing?

1676
01:21:00,004 --> 01:21:01,297
Nothing.
- I'll have to ask you

1677
01:21:01,297 --> 01:21:03,257
not to do that.

1678
01:21:03,257 --> 01:21:04,550
As the language of video stores

1679
01:21:04,550 --> 01:21:07,303
on screen became mostly
a tool for films talking

1680
01:21:07,303 --> 01:21:09,263
to themselves about cinema,

1681
01:21:09,263 --> 01:21:11,474
then the incorporation
of the back room extends

1682
01:21:11,474 --> 01:21:14,226
that dialogue to the one
form of theatrical cinema

1683
01:21:14,226 --> 01:21:16,479
that was fully eradicated by the invention

1684
01:21:16,479 --> 01:21:19,940
of home video, pornography
and adult features.

1685
01:21:21,025 --> 01:21:24,028
Excuse me. What movie is this?

1686
01:21:24,028 --> 01:21:24,862
What movie is this?

1687
01:21:24,862 --> 01:21:27,156
Have you been living in
a cardboard box, lady?

1688
01:21:27,156 --> 01:21:30,993
No, I'm from Utah.
- Oh, I'm sorry.

1689
01:21:33,579 --> 01:21:35,873
So let's talk about the future.

1690
01:21:35,873 --> 01:21:38,959
Let's talk about what video
means to this industry,

1691
01:21:38,959 --> 01:21:41,670
and let's talk about how
all of us, not one of us,

1692
01:21:41,670 --> 01:21:43,380
how all of us are gonna profit.

1693
01:21:43,380 --> 01:21:44,632
Fears about videotape

1694
01:21:44,632 --> 01:21:46,258
destroying theatrical exhibition

1695
01:21:46,258 --> 01:21:48,928
were by the 1990's irrelevant.

1696
01:21:48,928 --> 01:21:49,929
The video industry,

1697
01:21:49,929 --> 01:21:52,807
specifically the video
rental industry had learned

1698
01:21:52,807 --> 01:21:56,393
how to exist in symbiosis
with theatrical exhibition,

1699
01:21:56,393 --> 01:21:59,522
aligning with it rather
than supplanting it.

1700
01:21:59,522 --> 01:22:01,899
Such was not the case for pornography

1701
01:22:01,899 --> 01:22:05,528
where public exhibition was
quickly made all but extinct

1702
01:22:05,528 --> 01:22:08,155
when challenged by new notions
of at-home consumption.

1703
01:22:08,155 --> 01:22:09,615
I got the connection to the equipment

1704
01:22:09,615 --> 01:22:10,908
and the mail order distribution.

1705
01:22:10,908 --> 01:22:12,993
Not to mention those kids out there

1706
01:22:12,993 --> 01:22:15,246
who are hot fucking
action to the max Jack.

1707
01:22:16,747 --> 01:22:17,706
This is the future.

1708
01:22:18,541 --> 01:22:20,417
Video tape tells the truth.

1709
01:22:20,417 --> 01:22:22,002
Fictionalized scenes showing

1710
01:22:22,002 --> 01:22:24,755
the efforts one had to go
through to obtain pornography

1711
01:22:24,755 --> 01:22:27,550
in the slim window between
theatrical exhibition

1712
01:22:27,550 --> 01:22:30,302
and the internet are now
the only way of knowing

1713
01:22:30,302 --> 01:22:33,222
that such a thing ever existed at all.

1714
01:22:33,222 --> 01:22:35,516
Thus, the presence of pornography,

1715
01:22:35,516 --> 01:22:38,310
the brutal collision of public and private

1716
01:22:38,310 --> 01:22:40,771
is an exaggeration of
the awkwardness and shame

1717
01:22:40,771 --> 01:22:43,732
that according to movies and
television was unavoidable

1718
01:22:43,732 --> 01:22:45,234
when visiting the video store.

1719
01:22:46,569 --> 01:22:48,779
Do you always rent adult
titles with your daughter in tow

1720
01:22:48,779 --> 01:22:50,072
or is this the first time?

1721
01:22:51,407 --> 01:22:53,742
Excuse me.
- Well, when you rent porn,

1722
01:22:53,742 --> 01:22:55,703
do you usually do it with family around

1723
01:22:55,703 --> 01:22:57,997
or is this like a, you
know, special occasion?

1724
01:23:00,082 --> 01:23:01,458
Do I have to answer this?

1725
01:23:01,458 --> 01:23:02,543
I'm a grad student.

1726
01:23:02,543 --> 01:23:05,838
I'm writing a thesis
paper, A Bird in the Hand,

1727
01:23:05,838 --> 01:23:09,341
the family man and the
pornographic fixation.

1728
01:23:09,341 --> 01:23:11,343
Movies and TV
shows would have you believe

1729
01:23:11,343 --> 01:23:13,095
that the video store was the domain

1730
01:23:13,095 --> 01:23:15,431
of humiliation and mishaps.

1731
01:23:15,431 --> 01:23:18,183
So there is no greater shame
than summoning up the courage

1732
01:23:18,183 --> 01:23:20,853
to rent a pornographic movie, only to face

1733
01:23:20,853 --> 01:23:23,355
the final gauntlet of an invasive clerk

1734
01:23:23,355 --> 01:23:25,941
or an accidental encounter
with someone you know.

1735
01:23:26,901 --> 01:23:30,529
♪ No one can fill me up the way you do ♪

1736
01:23:30,529 --> 01:23:32,197
♪ I'm hooked on ♪

1737
01:23:32,197 --> 01:23:33,908
♪ Come on now ♪

1738
01:23:33,908 --> 01:23:35,618
♪ I need a hit ♪

1739
01:23:35,618 --> 01:23:38,787
♪ I need a fix of you ♪

1740
01:23:46,170 --> 01:23:49,924
♪ I need to breathe you in ♪

1741
01:23:49,924 --> 01:23:50,758
♪ Come on ♪

1742
01:23:50,758 --> 01:23:53,344
♪ Be my oxygen ♪

1743
01:23:54,762 --> 01:23:56,472
Perhaps the most confounding idea

1744
01:23:56,472 --> 01:23:57,973
to be gleaned in retrospect

1745
01:23:57,973 --> 01:24:01,352
is the way in which mainstream primetime television dealt

1746
01:24:01,352 --> 01:24:04,730
with the notion of video stores stocking pornography.

1747
01:24:05,773 --> 01:24:08,108
Broadcast at family friendly times,

1748
01:24:08,108 --> 01:24:09,777
these shows made the curious decision

1749
01:24:09,777 --> 01:24:13,155
to both depict pornography
as common and accessible

1750
01:24:13,155 --> 01:24:15,324
while never failing to
also portray the idea

1751
01:24:15,324 --> 01:24:18,786
of actually renting it as
shameful or humiliating.

1752
01:24:18,786 --> 01:24:21,664
Excuse me. We're gonna
be here for a while,

1753
01:24:21,664 --> 01:24:23,248
so why don't you just go back there.

1754
01:24:23,248 --> 01:24:24,917
Yep. We're not judging.

1755
01:24:29,213 --> 01:24:32,216
An extremely 1990's
paradox wherein adults

1756
01:24:32,216 --> 01:24:35,594
are interested in sexuality
but unwilling to admit it.

1757
01:24:35,594 --> 01:24:39,056
In fact, it's preferable to
make a mockery of yourself

1758
01:24:39,056 --> 01:24:41,016
rather than simply admit that you rent

1759
01:24:41,016 --> 01:24:42,393
and enjoy pornography.

1760
01:24:42,393 --> 01:24:44,144
Oh my God.
- That's Phoebe.

1761
01:24:44,144 --> 01:24:45,562
Where did you get that?

1762
01:24:45,562 --> 01:24:48,315
Well, down at the adult
video place on Bleeker.

1763
01:24:48,315 --> 01:24:50,859
And I saw Joey was about to go in,

1764
01:24:50,859 --> 01:24:54,363
so I ran in ahead of him to surprise him

1765
01:24:54,363 --> 01:24:59,368
and then I pretended that I
didn't know he was in there.

1766
01:25:03,205 --> 01:25:05,958
I don't believe you've seen this.

1767
01:25:05,958 --> 01:25:09,378
Oh, lovely.
- Yeah.

1768
01:25:09,378 --> 01:25:11,380
What do you think their parents think?

1769
01:25:12,464 --> 01:25:15,384
So what's your son
doing now, Dr. Stevens?

1770
01:25:15,384 --> 01:25:17,803
Oh, he's a public fornicator.

1771
01:25:19,096 --> 01:25:21,098
Pornography at
this time was packaged

1772
01:25:21,098 --> 01:25:24,893
in oversized boxes, and the
appearance of one as an object

1773
01:25:24,893 --> 01:25:27,021
of fascination and mockery on "Seinfeld"

1774
01:25:27,021 --> 01:25:29,273
is both anomalous for the show,

1775
01:25:29,273 --> 01:25:31,233
but typical for the culture of the time.

1776
01:25:32,151 --> 01:25:35,446
This video store keeps its
adult titles out in the open,

1777
01:25:35,446 --> 01:25:37,906
directly behind foreign and adventure.

1778
01:25:37,906 --> 01:25:41,326
Something seldom done and
virtually never shown on screen.

1779
01:25:42,453 --> 01:25:45,914
Jerry holding up a big box
porno tape on Must See TV

1780
01:25:45,914 --> 01:25:49,001
is in retrospect, fascinating.

1781
01:25:49,001 --> 01:25:50,711
His dismissal and lambasting

1782
01:25:50,711 --> 01:25:53,297
of it however was much more common.

1783
01:25:53,297 --> 01:25:55,924
What these films and TV shows
watched by millions of people

1784
01:25:55,924 --> 01:25:59,261
are saying is that adult
videos and adult sexuality

1785
01:25:59,261 --> 01:26:02,723
are the domain of the
undesirable and perverted.

1786
01:26:02,723 --> 01:26:04,933
If you visit a video
store to rent pornography,

1787
01:26:04,933 --> 01:26:06,351
you will most likely run

1788
01:26:06,351 --> 01:26:08,562
into the last person you want to see

1789
01:26:08,562 --> 01:26:10,689
and regret your decision.

1790
01:26:10,689 --> 01:26:14,068
Over and over again the viewer
is being told, don't do it.

1791
01:26:17,362 --> 01:26:19,031
Taking a walk on the wild side.

1792
01:26:20,699 --> 01:26:22,951
Oh.

1793
01:26:25,162 --> 01:26:27,414
Hey, little boy,

1794
01:26:27,414 --> 01:26:28,332
are you lost?

1795
01:26:29,208 --> 01:26:31,585
Donna?
- Having fun.

1796
01:26:33,087 --> 01:26:35,297
Why? You wanna have fun with me?

1797
01:26:35,297 --> 01:26:39,301
I don't think so.
- Are you sure?

1798
01:26:39,301 --> 01:26:41,553
Ew, this is disgusting. Come on.

1799
01:26:41,553 --> 01:26:43,013
Donna.

1800
01:26:43,013 --> 01:26:44,640
Donna Martin, is that you?

1801
01:26:45,682 --> 01:26:48,268
Hi, Father Chris,
- Look at this.

1802
01:26:48,268 --> 01:26:49,978
You're all grown up now.

1803
01:26:49,978 --> 01:26:51,188
Yep. 18.

1804
01:26:52,773 --> 01:26:55,400
We see on primetime
television a contradiction

1805
01:26:55,400 --> 01:26:58,153
that is central to attempting
to understand the morality

1806
01:26:58,153 --> 01:26:59,988
of the 1990's.

1807
01:26:59,988 --> 01:27:01,990
Video stores are everywhere.

1808
01:27:01,990 --> 01:27:05,786
You visit them frequently,
they're full of pornography,

1809
01:27:05,786 --> 01:27:07,621
but it's not there for you,

1810
01:27:07,621 --> 01:27:09,540
it's there for someone else.

1811
01:27:09,540 --> 01:27:11,792
Time and time again throughout the 1990's

1812
01:27:11,792 --> 01:27:15,129
and into the 2000's, interactions
at video stores were shown

1813
01:27:15,129 --> 01:27:18,882
as unpleasant,
embarrassing, and pointless.

1814
01:27:18,882 --> 01:27:20,551
If by some miracle you were able

1815
01:27:20,551 --> 01:27:22,719
to find the movie you wanted,

1816
01:27:22,719 --> 01:27:25,055
avoid unwanted encounters
with former paramours

1817
01:27:25,055 --> 01:27:27,891
and not be seen demonstrating
a healthy interest

1818
01:27:27,891 --> 01:27:30,519
in adult sexuality, there
was still one more hurdle

1819
01:27:30,519 --> 01:27:31,895
to clear.

1820
01:27:31,895 --> 01:27:34,106
The self-appointed enforcer of the rules,

1821
01:27:34,106 --> 01:27:37,776
the arbiter of taste, the final
frustration one must endure

1822
01:27:37,776 --> 01:27:40,863
before completing this
humiliating, awkward,

1823
01:27:40,863 --> 01:27:43,490
disappointing trip to the video store,

1824
01:27:43,490 --> 01:27:47,161
the rude, unhelpful clerk.

1825
01:27:47,161 --> 01:27:48,495
Hey, close your eyes when you pass

1826
01:27:48,495 --> 01:27:50,080
the adult section!

1827
01:27:50,080 --> 01:27:51,415
Cosmo, let's shut this stuff off

1828
01:27:51,415 --> 01:27:52,249
and go home.

1829
01:28:07,389 --> 01:28:08,682
Throughout the 1990's,

1830
01:28:08,682 --> 01:28:10,851
the video store became
a common, normalized

1831
01:28:10,851 --> 01:28:14,271
and unremarkable location
within the retail landscape.

1832
01:28:14,271 --> 01:28:16,106
The bastion of the
store's archival depths,

1833
01:28:16,106 --> 01:28:19,401
its frustrations, its
humiliations and its human touch

1834
01:28:19,401 --> 01:28:21,528
was the video clerk.

1835
01:28:21,528 --> 01:28:23,780
Hey, did your girlfriend like the movie?

1836
01:28:23,780 --> 01:28:25,616
Liked it? Dude, she loved it.

1837
01:28:25,616 --> 01:28:27,743
It was the best fucking
love story she's ever seen.

1838
01:28:27,743 --> 01:28:28,744
I mean, she liked it so much,

1839
01:28:28,744 --> 01:28:30,120
she got on her knees and proposed to me.

1840
01:28:30,120 --> 01:28:32,331
Congratulations. When's the big day?

1841
01:28:32,331 --> 01:28:34,666
Dude, I wanted to get
some, not get married.

1842
01:28:34,666 --> 01:28:36,710
Anyway, I told her I
wasn't ready for that yet,

1843
01:28:36,710 --> 01:28:37,878
so she broke up with me.

1844
01:28:37,878 --> 01:28:39,296
Sorry to hear that.

1845
01:28:39,296 --> 01:28:41,298
Hey, you know Forrest Hump just came in.

1846
01:28:41,298 --> 01:28:43,300
What about "Riding Miss Daisy?"

1847
01:28:45,552 --> 01:28:46,720
As time went on,

1848
01:28:46,720 --> 01:28:48,889
the video store became a launching pad

1849
01:28:48,889 --> 01:28:51,516
for more acceptable passions,

1850
01:28:51,516 --> 01:28:53,185
namely film production.

1851
01:28:53,185 --> 01:28:54,978
It's pretty clear, Vinny's
not here for his love

1852
01:28:54,978 --> 01:28:56,897
for retail, Vinny's actually here

1853
01:28:56,897 --> 01:28:59,608
because he wants to be the
next Quentin Tarantino.

1854
01:28:59,608 --> 01:29:02,861
You know what? I have
a feeling I'm on my way.

1855
01:29:02,861 --> 01:29:05,781
Oh, I see you, film fans.

1856
01:29:05,781 --> 01:29:07,199
This is Quentin Tarantino.

1857
01:29:07,199 --> 01:29:08,492
Why are you here today

1858
01:29:08,492 --> 01:29:10,369
in this particular video store?

1859
01:29:10,369 --> 01:29:12,079
Well, because I used to
work at this video store

1860
01:29:12,079 --> 01:29:12,955
for five years.

1861
01:29:12,955 --> 01:29:15,666
I was behind the counter
charging people late fees,

1862
01:29:15,666 --> 01:29:17,000
recommending movies and stuff.

1863
01:29:17,000 --> 01:29:18,794
And now as everything's
kind of come full circle,

1864
01:29:18,794 --> 01:29:20,295
because my movies come out on video,

1865
01:29:20,295 --> 01:29:21,171
and this is the opening day,

1866
01:29:21,171 --> 01:29:23,173
and so I'm here to send it off.

1867
01:29:23,173 --> 01:29:25,550
Two former video
clerks emerged in the 90's

1868
01:29:25,550 --> 01:29:27,803
as acclaimed independent filmmakers,

1869
01:29:27,803 --> 01:29:29,930
forever defining the stereotype,

1870
01:29:29,930 --> 01:29:32,766
but only one of these directors
rendered the experiences

1871
01:29:32,766 --> 01:29:34,851
of video clerk life on screen.

1872
01:29:36,270 --> 01:29:38,021
Are either one of these any good?

1873
01:29:39,690 --> 01:29:41,692
Sir?
- What?

1874
01:29:41,692 --> 01:29:43,860
Are either one of these any good?

1875
01:29:43,860 --> 01:29:45,404
I don't watch movies.

1876
01:29:45,404 --> 01:29:48,282
Clerks appeared
as easy stereotypes.

1877
01:29:48,282 --> 01:29:51,034
Clerks became a consistent
and recognizable part

1878
01:29:51,034 --> 01:29:52,536
of the video store routine.

1879
01:29:52,536 --> 01:29:55,163
Behind the counter or
walking through the aisles,

1880
01:29:55,163 --> 01:29:58,166
we all knew this person and what they did.

1881
01:29:58,166 --> 01:30:02,504
In many cases, clerks were assholes.

1882
01:30:02,504 --> 01:30:04,923
Well, what about these two?
- Oh, they suck.

1883
01:30:06,508 --> 01:30:09,011
These are the same two movies!

1884
01:30:09,011 --> 01:30:10,887
You weren't paying any attention.

1885
01:30:10,887 --> 01:30:12,014
No, I wasn't.

1886
01:30:13,015 --> 01:30:15,017
I don't think your
manager would appreciate!

1887
01:30:15,017 --> 01:30:17,311
I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am.

1888
01:30:17,311 --> 01:30:19,021
I beg your pardon.
- Your ruse.

1889
01:30:19,021 --> 01:30:20,897
Your cunning attempt to trick me.

1890
01:30:20,897 --> 01:30:22,733
Sometimes this was
because they simply didn't know

1891
01:30:22,733 --> 01:30:25,944
what they were doing
or didn't care at all.

1892
01:30:25,944 --> 01:30:27,946
At other times though,
clerks were unhelpful

1893
01:30:27,946 --> 01:30:29,990
because they knew too much.

1894
01:30:29,990 --> 01:30:32,284
Clerks were crucial
aspect of the video store

1895
01:30:32,284 --> 01:30:34,578
because they helped change movie culture,

1896
01:30:34,578 --> 01:30:36,455
and they did this because
of the way they interacted

1897
01:30:36,455 --> 01:30:39,124
with movies and other people.

1898
01:30:39,124 --> 01:30:41,543
Like any retail worker,
the video clerk engaged

1899
01:30:41,543 --> 01:30:42,878
in social interactions.

1900
01:30:42,878 --> 01:30:44,254
But video clerks were different

1901
01:30:44,254 --> 01:30:45,589
because movies are different.

1902
01:30:45,589 --> 01:30:46,423
Hey, you're not allowed

1903
01:30:46,423 --> 01:30:47,716
to rent here anymore!
- Yeah.

1904
01:30:48,800 --> 01:30:51,428
Shopping for
videos required taste,

1905
01:30:51,428 --> 01:30:54,014
and the clerk was expected to
have some knowledge of movies

1906
01:30:54,014 --> 01:30:55,265
and tastes of their own.

1907
01:30:56,183 --> 01:30:57,559
You know who I can do without?

1908
01:30:57,559 --> 01:30:59,436
I can do without the
people in the video store.

1909
01:30:59,436 --> 01:31:02,230
Which ones?
- All of them.

1910
01:31:02,230 --> 01:31:03,940
What would you get for a 6-year-old boy

1911
01:31:03,940 --> 01:31:05,776
who chronically wets his bed?

1912
01:31:05,776 --> 01:31:07,527
So do you have any new movies in?

1913
01:31:08,779 --> 01:31:11,531
Do you have that one with
that guy who was in that movie

1914
01:31:11,531 --> 01:31:13,575
that was out last year?

1915
01:31:13,575 --> 01:31:15,202
They never rent quality flicks.

1916
01:31:15,202 --> 01:31:17,371
They always pick the most
intellectually devoid movie

1917
01:31:17,371 --> 01:31:18,747
on the racks.

1918
01:31:18,747 --> 01:31:21,291
Ooh, "Navy Seals."

1919
01:31:21,291 --> 01:31:22,334
It's like in order to join,

1920
01:31:22,334 --> 01:31:24,544
they have to have an IQ
less than their shoe size.

1921
01:31:24,544 --> 01:31:26,713
These were spaces of interaction.

1922
01:31:26,713 --> 01:31:29,299
At the video store, movie
tastes were declared

1923
01:31:29,299 --> 01:31:32,803
and defined through an
overtly social process.

1924
01:31:32,803 --> 01:31:36,139
In so many movies, this
appeared as a conflict.

1925
01:31:36,139 --> 01:31:37,641
Do you sell videotapes?
- Yeah.

1926
01:31:37,641 --> 01:31:38,517
What are you looking for?

1927
01:31:38,517 --> 01:31:41,478
"Happy Scrappy: Hero Pup."
- One second.

1928
01:31:41,478 --> 01:31:43,188
I'm on the phone with the
distribution house now.

1929
01:31:43,188 --> 01:31:45,315
Lemme make sure they got it.

1930
01:31:45,315 --> 01:31:46,316
Okay. What's it called again?

1931
01:31:46,316 --> 01:31:47,776
"Happy Scrappy: Hero Pup."

1932
01:31:47,776 --> 01:31:49,986
Happy scrappy.
- She loves it.

1933
01:31:49,986 --> 01:31:50,821
Obviously.

1934
01:31:52,280 --> 01:31:54,366
Yeah. Hi, this is RST Video calling.

1935
01:31:54,366 --> 01:31:56,451
Customer number 4352.

1936
01:31:56,451 --> 01:31:57,828
I'd like to place an order.

1937
01:31:58,703 --> 01:32:00,831
Okay, I need one each
of the following tapes,

1938
01:32:00,831 --> 01:32:02,124
"Whispers in The Wind,"

1939
01:32:02,124 --> 01:32:04,709
"To Each His Own," "Put It
Where It Doesn't Belong."

1940
01:32:04,709 --> 01:32:06,378
"My Pipes Need Cleaning."

1941
01:32:06,378 --> 01:32:08,380
"All Tit Fucking Volume Eight."

1942
01:32:08,380 --> 01:32:09,631
I Need Your Cock."

1943
01:32:09,631 --> 01:32:11,633
"Ass Worshiping Rimjobbers."

1944
01:32:11,633 --> 01:32:14,219
"My Cunt and Eight Shafts." "Come Clean."

1945
01:32:14,219 --> 01:32:16,138
"Cum Gargling Naked Sluts."

1946
01:32:16,138 --> 01:32:17,514
"Cum Buns 3."

1947
01:32:17,514 --> 01:32:18,890
"Cuming in Socks."

1948
01:32:18,890 --> 01:32:20,267
"Come On Eileen."

1949
01:32:20,267 --> 01:32:22,352
"Huge Black Cocks with Pearly White Cum."

1950
01:32:22,352 --> 01:32:23,854
"Girls who Crave Cock."

1951
01:32:23,854 --> 01:32:25,355
"Girls who Crave Cunt."

1952
01:32:25,355 --> 01:32:27,899
"Men Alone II: The K-Y Connection."

1953
01:32:27,899 --> 01:32:29,526
"Pink Pussy Lips."

1954
01:32:29,526 --> 01:32:32,654
Oh yeah, and "All Holes
Filled with Hard Cock".

1955
01:32:32,654 --> 01:32:35,031
Yep. Oh, wait a minute.

1956
01:32:35,031 --> 01:32:36,491
What was that called again?

1957
01:32:36,491 --> 01:32:38,493
The video clerk stood between you

1958
01:32:38,493 --> 01:32:40,036
and the movie you wanted to watch,

1959
01:32:40,036 --> 01:32:43,415
and they could cause trouble
if they didn't wanna help.

1960
01:32:43,415 --> 01:32:46,877
Haven't you had enough
violence, Chip Sutton,

1961
01:32:46,877 --> 01:32:48,837
turn that filth off.

1962
01:32:48,837 --> 01:32:49,713
Sorry, ma'am.

1963
01:32:50,672 --> 01:32:53,008
Do you have the musical, "Annie?"

1964
01:32:53,008 --> 01:32:54,259
Sure do.

1965
01:32:55,302 --> 01:32:57,888
Did you bring back "Ghost Dad?"

1966
01:32:57,888 --> 01:32:59,389
There you go.

1967
01:32:59,389 --> 01:33:02,184
I just love Bill Cosby pictures.

1968
01:33:02,184 --> 01:33:04,186
Ms. Jensen, I've told you,

1969
01:33:04,186 --> 01:33:06,563
you have to rewind the
tapes before returning 'em.

1970
01:33:06,563 --> 01:33:07,397
Oh!

1971
01:33:11,526 --> 01:33:13,403
Clerks could
be shown as unhelpful

1972
01:33:13,403 --> 01:33:14,821
and disinterested in cultivating

1973
01:33:14,821 --> 01:33:17,240
a pleasant transactional experience,

1974
01:33:17,240 --> 01:33:19,701
but they were seldom depicted as dumb.

1975
01:33:20,911 --> 01:33:23,455
What's that Werewolf
movie with ET's mom in it?

1976
01:33:23,455 --> 01:33:25,457
"The Howling", Horror, straight ahead.

1977
01:33:25,457 --> 01:33:26,374
Okay, thanks.

1978
01:33:27,709 --> 01:33:29,419
They appear
frustrated, resentful,

1979
01:33:29,419 --> 01:33:32,130
and arrogant, which is all the more ironic

1980
01:33:32,130 --> 01:33:35,258
because they are working
in such a humble setting.

1981
01:33:35,258 --> 01:33:37,344
I got just what you
need right here, boys.

1982
01:33:37,344 --> 01:33:38,887
Best tape in the whole damn store.

1983
01:33:38,887 --> 01:33:42,349
"Smokey and the Bandit." Huh.

1984
01:33:42,349 --> 01:33:43,183
Who's in that?

1985
01:33:44,726 --> 01:33:48,396
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr's in that boys.

1986
01:33:48,396 --> 01:33:50,774
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr.

1987
01:33:51,691 --> 01:33:52,526
Get out.

1988
01:33:53,485 --> 01:33:54,319
You can't have this...

1989
01:33:54,319 --> 01:33:55,904
Go home!

1990
01:33:55,904 --> 01:33:58,448
Get your raggedy little Steven
Seagal loving asses out here.

1991
01:33:58,448 --> 01:34:00,534
Who's in this? Burt Reynolds.

1992
01:34:00,534 --> 01:34:02,744
These snob
clerks were everywhere,

1993
01:34:02,744 --> 01:34:04,663
making humor and creating discomfort out

1994
01:34:04,663 --> 01:34:07,582
of unnecessarily frustrating
shopping experiences.

1995
01:34:08,875 --> 01:34:11,211
Clerks seem like silly know-it-alls.

1996
01:34:11,211 --> 01:34:14,422
Whatever knowledge and taste
they have becomes a handicap.

1997
01:34:14,422 --> 01:34:17,217
Hey, do you have "The Verdict?"

1998
01:34:17,217 --> 01:34:18,468
I hear it's very good.

1999
01:34:18,468 --> 01:34:21,179
Mm. "Verdict."

2000
01:34:21,179 --> 01:34:23,139
Who's in that?
- You know Paul Newman?

2001
01:34:24,349 --> 01:34:25,976
Yes. It's right above your right hand.

2002
01:34:25,976 --> 01:34:26,810
"The Verdict."

2003
01:34:26,810 --> 01:34:27,852
There you go.
- Great.

2004
01:34:27,852 --> 01:34:28,728
I don't know if you're gonna like it.

2005
01:34:28,728 --> 01:34:29,563
It's too predictable.

2006
01:34:29,563 --> 01:34:31,314
You realize halfway through
he is gonna win the case.

2007
01:34:31,314 --> 01:34:32,274
No surprises.

2008
01:34:34,901 --> 01:34:36,027
Well, now I know how it ends,

2009
01:34:36,027 --> 01:34:37,445
so I guess I don't have to rent it.

2010
01:34:37,445 --> 01:34:38,780
All right, all right.
- That one.

2011
01:34:38,780 --> 01:34:39,614
Thank you very much.
- I'm sorry.

2012
01:34:39,614 --> 01:34:41,241
I rented this movie
on your recommendation.

2013
01:34:41,241 --> 01:34:42,742
It's nothing but a lame story

2014
01:34:42,742 --> 01:34:44,369
with a lot of lesbian sex scenes.

2015
01:34:44,369 --> 01:34:45,954
And you didn't like it.

2016
01:34:45,954 --> 01:34:47,330
I watched it with my parents!

2017
01:34:47,330 --> 01:34:48,582
It was very uncomfortable.

2018
01:34:48,582 --> 01:34:51,293
Come on, it's kind of hot.
- No, it's not.

2019
01:34:51,293 --> 01:34:53,211
All right, I'm sorry.

2020
01:34:53,211 --> 01:34:55,005
Gonna tell you what I'm
gonna recommend this,

2021
01:34:55,005 --> 01:34:56,256
"Haunted Slumber Party."

2022
01:34:56,256 --> 01:34:58,049
It's actually a pretty decent film.

2023
01:34:58,049 --> 01:35:00,468
No lesbian sex scenes?
- I think there's two.

2024
01:35:00,468 --> 01:35:02,345
You're a pig.

2025
01:35:02,345 --> 01:35:05,098
♪ Never guessed got this good ♪

2026
01:35:05,098 --> 01:35:08,268
♪ Really didn't think it could ♪

2027
01:35:08,268 --> 01:35:10,854
♪ Do it again ♪

2028
01:35:11,938 --> 01:35:13,356
Excuse me. Hello?

2029
01:35:14,190 --> 01:35:15,025
Excuse me.

2030
01:35:16,192 --> 01:35:17,611
What's up?
- Hi.

2031
01:35:19,904 --> 01:35:22,907
Okay. Of these two,

2032
01:35:24,034 --> 01:35:25,535
which would be good for me

2033
01:35:25,535 --> 01:35:29,914
and you know, if I was
watching alone with a girl?

2034
01:35:29,914 --> 01:35:31,207
Yeah, there you go.

2035
01:35:33,001 --> 01:35:34,461
"When Harry Met Sally."

2036
01:35:36,046 --> 01:35:36,963
Could you maintain a rod

2037
01:35:36,963 --> 01:35:39,007
and watch Billy Crystal at the same time?

2038
01:35:41,051 --> 01:35:43,094
Nah. Don't feel bad. No one can.

2039
01:35:43,094 --> 01:35:44,804
Clerks had to recommend movies,

2040
01:35:44,804 --> 01:35:47,265
which was a complex process.

2041
01:35:47,265 --> 01:35:49,184
The clerk had to assess
the person before them

2042
01:35:49,184 --> 01:35:52,020
to grasp their tastes and desires.

2043
01:35:52,020 --> 01:35:54,397
The clerk had to make
a judgment based on his

2044
01:35:54,397 --> 01:35:57,400
or her own tastes and knowledge
about this customer's needs.

2045
01:35:58,360 --> 01:36:00,403
I can tell you're under a lot of change

2046
01:36:00,403 --> 01:36:01,738
and stress right now.

2047
01:36:05,742 --> 01:36:07,285
Really?
- You're having trouble

2048
01:36:07,285 --> 01:36:12,290
sleeping.
- Yeah. How'd you know?

2049
01:36:14,000 --> 01:36:16,419
Your hair.
- My hair?

2050
01:36:16,419 --> 01:36:18,004
I mean, it's beautiful.

2051
01:36:18,004 --> 01:36:19,130
Maybe a little brittle,

2052
01:36:19,130 --> 01:36:21,174
but that's probably from your diet

2053
01:36:21,174 --> 01:36:26,137
or maybe it's from, forgive
me for saying what's happening

2054
01:36:27,138 --> 01:36:28,640
in your heart.

2055
01:36:28,640 --> 01:36:29,849
And what's happening

2056
01:36:29,849 --> 01:36:32,560
in my heart?
- Not enough.

2057
01:36:35,814 --> 01:36:37,107
I'm sorry.

2058
01:36:37,107 --> 01:36:40,610
I say what's on my mind
too much. I'm stupid.

2059
01:36:41,861 --> 01:36:44,364
I'm Callum. Bye.
- I'm Lorna.

2060
01:36:46,783 --> 01:36:47,617
Bye Callum.

2061
01:36:50,120 --> 01:36:52,247
Hey, you wanna go out with me sometime?

2062
01:36:55,959 --> 01:36:57,252
Okay.

2063
01:36:57,252 --> 01:36:59,504
You take out a lot of videos.
- Do I?

2064
01:37:01,756 --> 01:37:03,383
You should join our video addicts club.

2065
01:37:03,383 --> 01:37:05,260
It's for people who take
out too many videos.

2066
01:37:05,260 --> 01:37:07,345
Too many.
- Oh, you know a lot.

2067
01:37:08,388 --> 01:37:10,432
Get a dollar off every new release.

2068
01:37:10,432 --> 01:37:11,933
Do you wanna go out with me?

2069
01:37:12,976 --> 01:37:14,811
You know, on a date?

2070
01:37:15,854 --> 01:37:17,480
You're Green, right?

2071
01:37:17,480 --> 01:37:18,898
You do the special effects makeup?

2072
01:37:18,898 --> 01:37:20,358
Yeah. How'd you know that?

2073
01:37:20,358 --> 01:37:22,193
Well, I was going over the register

2074
01:37:22,193 --> 01:37:24,821
and I asked Miss Kenny,
who this Green guy was

2075
01:37:24,821 --> 01:37:29,117
who rented "Mutation Mountain"
six times with exact change,

2076
01:37:29,117 --> 01:37:30,744
and then she told me your story.

2077
01:37:32,537 --> 01:37:35,123
What's your story?
- I don't know.

2078
01:37:35,123 --> 01:37:37,208
I'm Angevin. Angevin Duvet.

2079
01:37:57,145 --> 01:37:58,855
Tastes connect people,

2080
01:37:58,855 --> 01:38:00,648
and can even make them fall in love.

2081
01:38:01,608 --> 01:38:02,484
In the video store,

2082
01:38:02,484 --> 01:38:05,028
taste could become an erotic force.

2083
01:38:05,028 --> 01:38:08,823
Excuse me, I'm looking for "Solaris"

2084
01:38:08,823 --> 01:38:11,367
or "Solaris", I think it's Tarkovsky.

2085
01:38:12,952 --> 01:38:15,121
Yeah, I think you're right.

2086
01:38:17,791 --> 01:38:19,334
You know your movie's playing

2087
01:38:19,334 --> 01:38:21,461
at the Mercer tomorrow night?
- Yeah.

2088
01:38:23,838 --> 01:38:25,173
I'm renting it for after,

2089
01:38:25,173 --> 01:38:27,467
just, you know, in case I miss something.

2090
01:38:27,467 --> 01:38:29,636
Don't worry, you're gonna do fine.

2091
01:38:29,636 --> 01:38:30,929
Excuse me.

2092
01:38:30,929 --> 01:38:33,473
Just remember, a
celebration of human values

2093
01:38:33,473 --> 01:38:35,141
and the power of love in a hostile

2094
01:38:35,141 --> 01:38:38,478
or indifferent universe,
he'll eat it up.

2095
01:38:38,478 --> 01:38:39,646
Who?
- This guy's

2096
01:38:39,646 --> 01:38:40,605
in film school, right?

2097
01:38:40,605 --> 01:38:42,232
Your date. He's undergrad.

2098
01:38:42,232 --> 01:38:44,484
He has some Elmore Leonard thing on 16.

2099
01:38:44,484 --> 01:38:45,902
he did summer after high school

2100
01:38:45,902 --> 01:38:47,779
that he's very touchy about.

2101
01:38:49,614 --> 01:38:51,199
How am I doing?

2102
01:38:51,199 --> 01:38:52,450
You're freaking me out.

2103
01:38:53,785 --> 01:38:55,203
And then Vicki laughed,

2104
01:38:55,203 --> 01:38:56,955
and it wasn't like a
cheap fake laugh either.

2105
01:38:56,955 --> 01:38:57,831
it was like...

2106
01:38:57,831 --> 01:38:59,916
It was a real genuine laugh.

2107
01:38:59,916 --> 01:39:00,834
Of course she laughed, Robin.

2108
01:39:00,834 --> 01:39:02,043
It's my muppet joke. It's hilarious.

2109
01:39:02,043 --> 01:39:04,629
My point is that Vicki laughed,

2110
01:39:04,629 --> 01:39:07,423
and everything was just
like it was perfect.

2111
01:39:07,423 --> 01:39:09,133
Taste represents
where we come from

2112
01:39:09,133 --> 01:39:10,635
and where we want to go.

2113
01:39:10,635 --> 01:39:13,012
Taste is a marker of
our class, our gender,

2114
01:39:13,012 --> 01:39:14,639
our age, and our education.

2115
01:39:15,932 --> 01:39:18,101
Going into the video store
meant declaring yourself

2116
01:39:18,101 --> 01:39:20,353
by declaring your taste in movies,

2117
01:39:20,353 --> 01:39:22,272
your appreciation for classical films

2118
01:39:22,272 --> 01:39:23,481
and your intellectual ability

2119
01:39:23,481 --> 01:39:26,150
to cultivate your own
understanding of them,

2120
01:39:26,150 --> 01:39:29,487
and the video clerk was the
one who judged everything.

2121
01:39:31,030 --> 01:39:33,032
Oh, I think I found our morning movie.

2122
01:39:35,201 --> 01:39:36,953
"Dr. Zhivago."

2123
01:39:36,953 --> 01:39:38,621
Ah, you know, I don't do double VHS.

2124
01:39:38,621 --> 01:39:40,248
But it's about doomed love.

2125
01:39:40,248 --> 01:39:42,375
Oh, that's relatable.
- Precisely.

2126
01:39:42,375 --> 01:39:46,588
Also, Julie Christie
is bonkers hot in this,

2127
01:39:46,588 --> 01:39:49,424
like, seriously, the
most beautiful creature

2128
01:39:49,424 --> 01:39:50,925
I have ever seen in my life.

2129
01:39:50,925 --> 01:39:52,677
To this day, the stereotype

2130
01:39:52,677 --> 01:39:55,221
of the video clerk remains
understandable and vivid

2131
01:39:55,221 --> 01:39:57,056
to modern audiences.

2132
01:39:57,056 --> 01:39:59,893
They are the most lasting
representational artifact

2133
01:39:59,893 --> 01:40:01,895
of video stores.

2134
01:40:04,188 --> 01:40:07,567
In order to fully understand
the impact video stores had,

2135
01:40:07,567 --> 01:40:09,944
we must understand who populated them,

2136
01:40:09,944 --> 01:40:12,405
and created the experiences
that brought customers

2137
01:40:12,405 --> 01:40:16,951
to a bountiful world of choices
and later pushed them away

2138
01:40:16,951 --> 01:40:20,663
due to excessive fees
and personal humiliation.

2139
01:40:20,663 --> 01:40:25,460
What are you returning?
- "Rochelle, Rochelle."

2140
01:40:25,460 --> 01:40:26,836
Oh, "Rochelle, Rochelle."

2141
01:40:26,836 --> 01:40:28,338
A young girl’s strange, erotic journey

2142
01:40:28,338 --> 01:40:29,756
from Milan to Minsk.
- Yeah.

2143
01:40:31,132 --> 01:40:32,592
That'll be 3.49.

2144
01:40:33,635 --> 01:40:35,762
3.49. It says 1.49.

2145
01:40:35,762 --> 01:40:36,596
Well, you didn't rewind it.

2146
01:40:36,596 --> 01:40:38,222
There's a $2 charge for not rewinding.

2147
01:40:39,265 --> 01:40:40,224
There's no signs here.

2148
01:40:40,224 --> 01:40:41,059
This is an outrage.

2149
01:40:41,059 --> 01:40:42,143
What?
- George, don't give him

2150
01:40:42,143 --> 01:40:43,144
any money for that.

2151
01:40:43,144 --> 01:40:45,647
It'll cost you less to
keep it another day,

2152
01:40:45,647 --> 01:40:47,607
rewind it and bring it back tomorrow.

2153
01:40:47,607 --> 01:40:49,275
Don't give them the satisfaction.

2154
01:40:50,818 --> 01:40:53,154
I'm not giving you the satisfaction.

2155
01:40:53,154 --> 01:40:54,405
I'm gonna watch it again.

2156
01:40:55,448 --> 01:40:56,616
How could that hurt.

2157
01:40:58,952 --> 01:41:00,954
On screen and in reality,

2158
01:41:00,954 --> 01:41:03,289
the video store is a
safe haven for the nerd

2159
01:41:03,289 --> 01:41:06,292
of the 80's and 90's
where possessing an excess

2160
01:41:06,292 --> 01:41:08,461
of useless knowledge becomes an asset.

2161
01:41:38,449 --> 01:41:39,659
Excuse me. I was wondering,

2162
01:41:39,659 --> 01:41:42,245
do you have any Baby Jane Hudson films here.

2163
01:41:42,245 --> 01:41:45,164
Blanche Hudson. I'm sorry. I wish we did.

2164
01:41:45,164 --> 01:41:46,582
You remember them?

2165
01:41:46,582 --> 01:41:50,253
Sure I do. Northern Outpost.

2166
01:41:50,253 --> 01:41:53,131
There was a whole series of outpost films.

2167
01:41:53,131 --> 01:41:54,382
Trail Through the Pine,

2168
01:41:54,382 --> 01:41:56,384
no Trail Through the Trees.

2169
01:41:57,552 --> 01:42:00,638
Okay, that's "Friday the 13th."

2170
01:42:00,638 --> 01:42:03,057
"Friday the 13th Part 2."

2171
01:42:03,057 --> 01:42:05,268
"Friday the 13th Part 3,"

2172
01:42:05,268 --> 01:42:07,311
"Friday the 13th Part 4"

2173
01:42:07,311 --> 01:42:09,313
and "Friday the 13th Part 5."

2174
01:42:09,313 --> 01:42:11,649
These guardians of
movie culture are permitted

2175
01:42:11,649 --> 01:42:14,027
to lord over their hard one domains,

2176
01:42:14,027 --> 01:42:17,030
being pains in the ass
to their hearts content.

2177
01:42:17,030 --> 01:42:18,197
The modern equivalent

2178
01:42:18,197 --> 01:42:21,826
of the eternally shushing
fuddy duddy librarian.

2179
01:42:21,826 --> 01:42:23,536
Hello there, Quentin.

2180
01:42:23,536 --> 01:42:25,413
I'm wondering how long to order a copy

2181
01:42:25,413 --> 01:42:27,457
of "The Shakiest Gun in The West."

2182
01:42:27,457 --> 01:42:30,043
That'd be about six to eight weeks, man.

2183
01:42:30,043 --> 01:42:30,877
Oh. Oh, that's bad.

2184
01:42:30,877 --> 01:42:32,211
Well, maybe we can order a copy

2185
01:42:32,211 --> 01:42:33,629
from the guy who ordered it from you.

2186
01:42:33,629 --> 01:42:35,298
Yes, yes. May we have his name,

2187
01:42:35,298 --> 01:42:36,758
address and telephone number?

2188
01:42:36,758 --> 01:42:38,926
Dude, what I got like
federal felony written

2189
01:42:38,926 --> 01:42:40,136
across my forehead or something?

2190
01:42:40,136 --> 01:42:41,721
What's that?

2191
01:42:41,721 --> 01:42:43,556
The complications of clerk interaction

2192
01:42:43,556 --> 01:42:45,641
were often shown as a given.

2193
01:42:45,641 --> 01:42:48,061
Without them, there's no
drama or conflict to the part

2194
01:42:48,061 --> 01:42:50,813
of the video store visit after
you've made your selection,

2195
01:42:50,813 --> 01:42:53,983
and therefore, no reason to
show a character checking out.

2196
01:42:53,983 --> 01:42:57,487
Scenes could end after the movie
is selected from the shelf,

2197
01:42:57,487 --> 01:43:00,114
but winnowing down thousands of options

2198
01:43:00,114 --> 01:43:02,825
to a single selection
is only half the battle.

2199
01:43:02,825 --> 01:43:04,702
Movie watching is a pleasure,

2200
01:43:04,702 --> 01:43:07,830
but the clerk is there to
thwart the customer by judgment,

2201
01:43:07,830 --> 01:43:10,958
rudeness or utter indifference.

2202
01:43:10,958 --> 01:43:11,918
I forgot my card at home,

2203
01:43:11,918 --> 01:43:13,586
but I think my number is 6247.

2204
01:43:13,586 --> 01:43:15,338
You forgot your card?
- I might have lost it.

2205
01:43:15,338 --> 01:43:16,756
You lost your card?
- I might have.

2206
01:43:16,756 --> 01:43:17,590
Was it temporary

2207
01:43:17,590 --> 01:43:18,800
or laminated?
- Laminated.

2208
01:43:18,800 --> 01:43:19,634
That's a permanent card.

2209
01:43:19,634 --> 01:43:20,676
You lost a permanent card.

2210
01:43:20,676 --> 01:43:21,886
You can just get me a new card, Kirk.

2211
01:43:21,886 --> 01:43:23,596
Fine. But I hope you
understand the gravity

2212
01:43:23,596 --> 01:43:25,515
of the situation here.
- I'm trying to grasp it.

2213
01:43:25,515 --> 01:43:26,974
I mean, these cards are agreements.

2214
01:43:26,974 --> 01:43:28,226
It's an agreement between you

2215
01:43:28,226 --> 01:43:29,894
and the Stars Hollow Video Store stating

2216
01:43:29,894 --> 01:43:31,229
that you will take care of your card,

2217
01:43:31,229 --> 01:43:32,313
that you'll honor your card,

2218
01:43:32,313 --> 01:43:34,440
that you'll be very,
very nice to your card.

2219
01:43:41,781 --> 01:43:43,157
No, no, no, no, no.

2220
01:43:43,157 --> 01:43:47,203
Chip, our mother is Charles Manson.

2221
01:43:47,203 --> 01:43:49,372
By the 90's,
the established archetype

2222
01:43:49,372 --> 01:43:51,958
of the nerd was given
new lifeblood with a rise

2223
01:43:51,958 --> 01:43:53,835
of alternative culture, slackerdom

2224
01:43:53,835 --> 01:43:58,089
and emerging forms of clerks
being romantic, aloof, and cool

2225
01:43:58,089 --> 01:44:00,758
rather than strictly hostile nerds,

2226
01:44:00,758 --> 01:44:02,969
angry at the society that shuns them.

2227
01:44:03,803 --> 01:44:07,306
As time moves on, a second
mode of clerk emerges.

2228
01:44:07,306 --> 01:44:10,101
One who cannot even be bothered to judge

2229
01:44:10,101 --> 01:44:12,145
or care about the customer at all.

2230
01:44:13,146 --> 01:44:14,939
This one gets taken out a lot.

2231
01:44:14,939 --> 01:44:16,274
Is it any good?

2232
01:44:16,274 --> 01:44:17,108
I wouldn't be able

2233
01:44:17,108 --> 01:44:18,609
to tell you.
- Why not?

2234
01:44:18,609 --> 01:44:20,069
I never watch these things.

2235
01:44:21,279 --> 01:44:23,573
Then how do you know what to recommend?

2236
01:44:23,573 --> 01:44:24,657
Well, I don't.

2237
01:44:24,657 --> 01:44:27,201
People check out the covers
and take what they want.

2238
01:44:27,201 --> 01:44:29,370
Unspoken in the
relationship between clerk

2239
01:44:29,370 --> 01:44:32,415
and customer is the knowledge
that the patron has access

2240
01:44:32,415 --> 01:44:34,500
to movies in other ways.

2241
01:44:34,500 --> 01:44:36,544
Likely they possess
videotapes of their own,

2242
01:44:36,544 --> 01:44:37,753
could catch a movie on cable

2243
01:44:37,753 --> 01:44:39,463
or go see a film in the theater.

2244
01:44:40,339 --> 01:44:41,507
Their choice to rent a movie

2245
01:44:41,507 --> 01:44:44,677
that they presumably have
not seen yet is bold.

2246
01:44:44,677 --> 01:44:48,139
It is the clerk's role in this
sacred transaction to protect

2247
01:44:48,139 --> 01:44:51,601
and defend the sanctity
of the movies themselves.

2248
01:44:51,601 --> 01:44:54,312
The clerk is not only free
to pass judgment or attempt

2249
01:44:54,312 --> 01:44:57,023
to steer the customer
to a superior option,

2250
01:44:57,023 --> 01:44:59,025
it is their right to do so.

2251
01:44:59,025 --> 01:45:01,319
That one, that will do.

2252
01:45:01,319 --> 01:45:03,487
That will be funny.
And then the scary one.

2253
01:45:05,489 --> 01:45:07,283
Scary one, and funny one.

2254
01:45:07,283 --> 01:45:09,327
Oh.

2255
01:45:12,371 --> 01:45:13,206
Excuse me.

2256
01:45:13,206 --> 01:45:14,123
Can you help me?

2257
01:45:14,123 --> 01:45:15,124
I'm in an absolute loss.

2258
01:45:15,124 --> 01:45:17,752
I've been looking for over an
hour and I'm losing my mind.

2259
01:45:17,752 --> 01:45:18,794
What I'm in the mood for

2260
01:45:18,794 --> 01:45:22,423
is sort of a Katharine Hepburny
Cary Granty kind of thing.

2261
01:45:22,423 --> 01:45:24,467
Nothing heavy. I couldn't take heavy.

2262
01:45:24,467 --> 01:45:25,384
No. Something zany.

2263
01:45:25,384 --> 01:45:27,637
I'm looking for something zany.

2264
01:45:27,637 --> 01:45:29,472
With all these
fraught interactions,

2265
01:45:29,472 --> 01:45:31,724
the movies would seem to
be saying that video stores

2266
01:45:31,724 --> 01:45:33,893
are unpleasant to visit.

2267
01:45:33,893 --> 01:45:36,604
An incongruous notion if you
presume that the screenwriters

2268
01:45:36,604 --> 01:45:40,066
and filmmakers were cinephiles
and video store regulars.

2269
01:45:40,066 --> 01:45:44,904
On the radio, you know the
guy, he says, hey, forgive me.

2270
01:45:44,904 --> 01:45:46,572
You have
willingly entered a space

2271
01:45:46,572 --> 01:45:48,032
beyond your control,

2272
01:45:48,032 --> 01:45:50,660
a privilege you are quite
literally paying for

2273
01:45:50,660 --> 01:45:53,162
and willingly subjecting yourself to.

2274
01:45:53,162 --> 01:45:55,039
"Ordinary Peoples."

2275
01:45:59,085 --> 01:46:02,421
It's kind of a big titty,
spread cheeky kind of thing.

2276
01:46:02,421 --> 01:46:04,173
Video stores
required a membership

2277
01:46:04,173 --> 01:46:05,716
in order to rent movies.

2278
01:46:05,716 --> 01:46:08,344
This equated the exclusivity
of your store of choice

2279
01:46:08,344 --> 01:46:11,514
with other businesses
such as gyms or libraries,

2280
01:46:11,514 --> 01:46:14,767
which would render its
clientele card carrying members.

2281
01:46:14,767 --> 01:46:15,601
Alright. All right.

2282
01:46:15,601 --> 01:46:16,435
Took me a little while, right?

2283
01:46:16,435 --> 01:46:18,437
But I went to the whole joint. Here it is.

2284
01:46:18,437 --> 01:46:20,022
First, when you get to the entrance,

2285
01:46:20,022 --> 01:46:22,942
you gotta show a membership
card to this runner, right?

2286
01:46:22,942 --> 01:46:24,443
Yeah. It's like a video club.

2287
01:46:24,443 --> 01:46:25,653
So how do we do this though?

2288
01:46:25,653 --> 01:46:28,072
Well, first we'll have you sign out

2289
01:46:28,072 --> 01:46:30,199
an official membership card there.

2290
01:46:30,199 --> 01:46:31,575
Sign that if you would.

2291
01:46:31,575 --> 01:46:33,828
We'll have that laminated
for you right here.

2292
01:46:34,870 --> 01:46:36,789
Perry, would you like to
laminate Ms. Sinclair's card?

2293
01:46:36,789 --> 01:46:38,916
Oh yeah.

2294
01:46:38,916 --> 01:46:40,584
This will last you for a year,

2295
01:46:40,584 --> 01:46:43,421
after which you have the
option to renew if you wish

2296
01:46:43,421 --> 01:46:44,714
at a membership discount.

2297
01:46:44,714 --> 01:46:47,174
Yeah, but not for free, right?

2298
01:46:47,174 --> 01:46:48,384
Yeah.

2299
01:46:48,384 --> 01:46:49,844
Yeah. You get 10 videos.

2300
01:46:50,845 --> 01:46:52,638
Free.
- Free.

2301
01:46:52,638 --> 01:46:54,390
Yeah. Only the first 10.

2302
01:46:54,390 --> 01:46:56,892
Free or discounted
rentals offered as a bonus

2303
01:46:56,892 --> 01:46:59,145
for signing up were common.

2304
01:46:59,145 --> 01:47:00,980
In pledging yourself to the store,

2305
01:47:00,980 --> 01:47:04,066
you became more than
an anonymous customer.

2306
01:47:04,066 --> 01:47:06,819
As it was cost prohibitive
to join multiple stores,

2307
01:47:06,819 --> 01:47:09,196
this aligned customers with one store,

2308
01:47:09,196 --> 01:47:12,199
even if there were others
nearby to choose from.

2309
01:47:12,199 --> 01:47:15,619
The Fisher King, a Tristar
production visualizes

2310
01:47:15,619 --> 01:47:19,498
this club mentality by having
Video Stop exclusively stocked

2311
01:47:19,498 --> 01:47:21,125
with the company's own popular

2312
01:47:21,125 --> 01:47:25,546
red trimmed, identically typefaced,
RCA Columbia videotapes.

2313
01:47:27,173 --> 01:47:29,925
However, the Lydia character
offers a familiar refrain

2314
01:47:29,925 --> 01:47:32,511
to denizens of video stores.

2315
01:47:32,511 --> 01:47:34,138
I don't like horror movies.

2316
01:47:35,014 --> 01:47:37,058
Once again,
suggesting that the genre

2317
01:47:37,058 --> 01:47:39,310
is inextricable from the video store.

2318
01:47:39,310 --> 01:47:40,561
And oh.
- Have you got

2319
01:47:40,561 --> 01:47:42,188
any Ethel Merman?
- Ethel Merman.

2320
01:47:42,188 --> 01:47:43,356
Oh, she's...

2321
01:47:52,365 --> 01:47:54,700
We're all out of Ethel Merman.

2322
01:47:54,700 --> 01:47:57,161
What a gyp.
- That sucks.

2323
01:47:57,161 --> 01:47:59,080
Another familiar setback,

2324
01:47:59,080 --> 01:48:02,208
this scene with its back room
visible behind the characters,

2325
01:48:02,208 --> 01:48:04,210
but never mentioned collapses

2326
01:48:04,210 --> 01:48:06,837
various stereotypical video store tropes,

2327
01:48:06,837 --> 01:48:09,548
both internal and external.

2328
01:48:09,548 --> 01:48:12,843
The store's categorization
is idiosyncratic and precise,

2329
01:48:12,843 --> 01:48:15,388
yet the vagaries of corporate
product placement suggest

2330
01:48:15,388 --> 01:48:17,723
that it is possible to offer new releases,

2331
01:48:17,723 --> 01:48:19,975
foreign films, horror and musicals,

2332
01:48:19,975 --> 01:48:23,896
all from within the RCA
Columbia TriStar video library,

2333
01:48:23,896 --> 01:48:25,815
encouraging the viewer
to seek these videos,

2334
01:48:25,815 --> 01:48:27,733
and create a library of their own

2335
01:48:27,733 --> 01:48:30,444
in order to avoid experiencing
Lydia's disappointment.

2336
01:48:33,531 --> 01:48:36,158
This is a scene as much
about the particularities,

2337
01:48:36,158 --> 01:48:39,036
and selection of the store
as it is the personal lives

2338
01:48:39,036 --> 01:48:40,079
of the characters.

2339
01:48:41,831 --> 01:48:44,583
In a world where
nothing is what it seems,

2340
01:48:45,459 --> 01:48:47,294
in a time of uncertainty,

2341
01:48:48,379 --> 01:48:50,589
the future is about to be placed.

2342
01:48:50,589 --> 01:48:52,425
Hello. Welcome to Masterpiece Video.

2343
01:48:52,425 --> 01:48:53,968
How may I help you this afternoon, sir.

2344
01:48:53,968 --> 01:48:56,178
I'm looking for a copy
of "8 1/2"

2345
01:48:56,178 --> 01:48:58,264
Is that a new release, sir?

2346
01:48:58,264 --> 01:49:00,766
No, it's the classic Italian film.

2347
01:49:00,766 --> 01:49:03,018
Glimpses of activity
inside the video store

2348
01:49:03,018 --> 01:49:05,688
became colored as
negative and unfulfilling

2349
01:49:05,688 --> 01:49:08,482
with failures arising
for a variety of reasons.

2350
01:49:08,482 --> 01:49:10,484
Hello, how are you young
ladies this afternoon?

2351
01:49:10,484 --> 01:49:13,362
May I help you find a
particular masterpiece movie?

2352
01:49:13,362 --> 01:49:15,990
No.
- Yes. Here it is.

2353
01:49:15,990 --> 01:49:18,742
"Nine and a Half Weeks"
with Mickey Rourke.

2354
01:49:18,742 --> 01:49:21,745
That would be in the erotic drama section.

2355
01:49:21,745 --> 01:49:23,330
No, not "Nine and a Half,"

2356
01:49:23,330 --> 01:49:24,498
"8 1/2"

2357
01:49:24,498 --> 01:49:25,624
The Fellini film.

2358
01:49:26,750 --> 01:49:28,169
If the use of video stores

2359
01:49:28,169 --> 01:49:30,421
as a primary location
in films and television

2360
01:49:30,421 --> 01:49:32,715
for nearly two decades
had acclimated viewers

2361
01:49:32,715 --> 01:49:35,509
to seeing relatable and
familiar experiences.

2362
01:49:35,509 --> 01:49:38,554
Instead, they now projected
outwardly heightened

2363
01:49:38,554 --> 01:49:41,015
and fictional narratives about antagonism,

2364
01:49:41,015 --> 01:49:42,766
stress and disappointment.

2365
01:49:42,766 --> 01:49:44,935
Look, I'll explain this to you again.

2366
01:49:44,935 --> 01:49:46,312
You bring the tape back late,

2367
01:49:46,312 --> 01:49:48,105
you have to pay a late fee.

2368
01:49:48,105 --> 01:49:49,690
One thing's got nothing
to do with the other.

2369
01:49:49,690 --> 01:49:51,066
That is such bullshit!

2370
01:49:51,066 --> 01:49:53,068
It broke halfway through!

2371
01:49:53,068 --> 01:49:54,987
The frequency with
which such problems occurred

2372
01:49:54,987 --> 01:49:57,490
on screen was without
question an exaggerated

2373
01:49:57,490 --> 01:50:00,701
and false narrative, designed
to create story conflict

2374
01:50:00,701 --> 01:50:02,328
where it was needed.

2375
01:50:02,328 --> 01:50:04,079
Though essentially good natured,

2376
01:50:04,079 --> 01:50:06,290
these scenes enacted a subconscious attack

2377
01:50:06,290 --> 01:50:08,542
on the joys of video renting.

2378
01:50:08,542 --> 01:50:10,419
The litany of humiliations awaiting you

2379
01:50:10,419 --> 01:50:12,588
at the video store knew no end.

2380
01:50:12,588 --> 01:50:15,174
Zach, do you have
"Dr. Giggles" letterbox.

2381
01:50:15,174 --> 01:50:16,884
Insane doctors right next

2382
01:50:16,884 --> 01:50:18,886
to "Interesting Failures."
- Yes.

2383
01:50:23,098 --> 01:50:26,435
Aha. This bastard
wasn't kind, didn't rewind

2384
01:50:26,435 --> 01:50:28,312
and now, Mr, you’ll get fined.

2385
01:50:28,312 --> 01:50:30,439
The increasing
negativity with which the task

2386
01:50:30,439 --> 01:50:33,526
of simply obtaining a movie
to watch at home was depicted

2387
01:50:33,526 --> 01:50:37,905
began to beg the question,
is it even worth it?

2388
01:50:37,905 --> 01:50:40,074
The protector of culture
and art is permitted

2389
01:50:40,074 --> 01:50:42,076
to be an outsized figure.

2390
01:50:42,076 --> 01:50:45,871
They are the obstructor or the
possessor of needed wisdom,

2391
01:50:45,871 --> 01:50:47,623
not the hero.

2392
01:50:47,623 --> 01:50:49,583
Clerks are eccentric and don't dress well,

2393
01:50:49,583 --> 01:50:51,669
or take good care of themselves.

2394
01:50:51,669 --> 01:50:53,420
By showing what's wrong with them,

2395
01:50:53,420 --> 01:50:55,422
we can reinforce what is normal.

2396
01:50:55,422 --> 01:50:56,257
You've got a delinquent

2397
01:50:56,257 --> 01:50:58,634
“Mystic Pizza”.
- Whatever.

2398
01:50:58,634 --> 01:50:59,885
See, you're shocked.

2399
01:50:59,885 --> 01:51:02,846
They'd have to invent
a section for my movie.

2400
01:51:02,846 --> 01:51:04,014
That'll be cool, huh?

2401
01:51:05,057 --> 01:51:07,434
When I make my movie and
it comes out on video,

2402
01:51:07,434 --> 01:51:08,978
you and I can see who rents it.

2403
01:51:09,937 --> 01:51:12,439
We could probably sit here
and watch it on the TV.

2404
01:51:13,482 --> 01:51:14,984
So you plan on still working here

2405
01:51:14,984 --> 01:51:16,860
even after you make a motion picture?

2406
01:51:17,444 --> 01:51:19,822
True. I may not be here then.

2407
01:51:19,822 --> 01:51:21,907
Oh, can you believe "The
Departed" was nominated

2408
01:51:21,907 --> 01:51:23,242
for best picture?

2409
01:51:23,242 --> 01:51:25,035
It doesn't even make sense.

2410
01:51:25,035 --> 01:51:27,204
I'm so glad to hear
somebody else say that.

2411
01:51:27,204 --> 01:51:28,747
I was beginning to feel like
the only person in the world

2412
01:51:29,707 --> 01:51:31,083
who thought it sucked.

2413
01:51:31,083 --> 01:51:32,876
You are the only person in the world

2414
01:51:32,876 --> 01:51:35,129
who thought it sucked!

2415
01:51:35,129 --> 01:51:36,797
But you're right. It didn't make sense,

2416
01:51:36,797 --> 01:51:38,465
it made dollars.

2417
01:51:40,593 --> 01:51:44,638
As in $120 million domestic box office,

2418
01:51:44,638 --> 01:51:47,433
making it Martin Scorsese's
biggest hit ever.

2419
01:51:47,433 --> 01:51:50,644
So yeah, I guess a couple people liked it.

2420
01:51:50,644 --> 01:51:52,146
Idiots!

2421
01:51:52,146 --> 01:51:55,357
Fortunately, these
interactions tended to be brief,

2422
01:51:55,357 --> 01:51:58,360
with escape to the safety of
one's couch mere minutes away.

2423
01:52:00,279 --> 01:52:01,739
Excuse me. Do you work here?

2424
01:52:04,658 --> 01:52:06,452
Yeah.
- Have you ever seen

2425
01:52:06,452 --> 01:52:08,078
this film, "The Country Doctor"

2426
01:52:08,078 --> 01:52:09,872
with Andy Griffith and Sandy Duncan?

2427
01:52:09,872 --> 01:52:12,124
"The Country Doctor,"

2428
01:52:12,958 --> 01:52:13,959
that's my favorite.

2429
01:52:15,878 --> 01:52:17,254
Excuse me, can I rent this?

2430
01:52:18,005 --> 01:52:19,381
NO!

2431
01:52:20,049 --> 01:52:20,924
What do you want to rent that for?

2432
01:52:21,050 --> 01:52:21,925
That’s, that’s, that’s garbage.

2433
01:52:22,468 --> 01:52:24,219
We got, we got so many, we got so many

2434
01:52:24,219 --> 01:52:25,971
scary, violent, awful movies.

2435
01:52:26,138 --> 01:52:26,889
What do you want to get that for?

2436
01:52:27,056 --> 01:52:27,931
That’s ridiculous.

2437
01:52:28,223 --> 01:52:29,099
Just calm down.

2438
01:52:29,516 --> 01:52:30,392
I’m not gonna calm down.

2439
01:52:30,684 --> 01:52:31,560
I’m not!

2440
01:52:33,812 --> 01:52:35,731
I saw “Memento” not too long ago.

2441
01:52:35,731 --> 01:52:37,650
God, talk about confusing.

2442
01:52:37,650 --> 01:52:39,151
The movie didn't make any sense.

2443
01:52:39,151 --> 01:52:40,361
It was all in the wrong order.

2444
01:52:40,361 --> 01:52:41,904
I know that movie is totally weird.

2445
01:52:41,904 --> 01:52:43,989
Huh, yeah. It's like Godard said,

2446
01:52:43,989 --> 01:52:45,949
a movie should have a
beginning, middle, and end,

2447
01:52:45,949 --> 01:52:47,868
but not necessarily in that order.

2448
01:52:49,453 --> 01:52:51,205
Who?
- Godard.

2449
01:52:53,707 --> 01:52:56,627
Jean-Luc Godard, one of
the founding fathers

2450
01:52:56,627 --> 01:52:58,879
of the French New Wave movement.

2451
01:52:58,879 --> 01:53:02,007
Who do you think inspired
Tarantino and Hal Hartley?

2452
01:53:02,007 --> 01:53:03,967
How can you not know about Godard?

2453
01:53:03,967 --> 01:53:04,760
Weekend, Contempt,

2454
01:53:05,386 --> 01:53:07,763
A Bout de Souffle, Les Carabiniers, Bande a part.

2455
01:53:09,264 --> 01:53:10,516
You're a fucking loser.

2456
01:53:13,060 --> 01:53:14,645
When an
independently produced film

2457
01:53:14,645 --> 01:53:16,105
depicted video clerks,

2458
01:53:16,105 --> 01:53:19,108
they tended to go in
one of two directions.

2459
01:53:19,108 --> 01:53:21,443
The first is more overtly horrible.

2460
01:53:21,443 --> 01:53:23,946
Taking the sanitized versions
you'd see on a sitcom,

2461
01:53:23,946 --> 01:53:26,865
and perverting it to an
extreme that was illogical,

2462
01:53:26,865 --> 01:53:28,867
but based in reality.

2463
01:53:28,867 --> 01:53:31,495
Alternatively, the
independent movies portrayal

2464
01:53:31,495 --> 01:53:33,914
of the video clerk could
be much more sympathetic

2465
01:53:33,914 --> 01:53:35,833
toward this supposed outsider,

2466
01:53:35,833 --> 01:53:38,585
even positioning their narrative
in the center of the frame

2467
01:53:38,585 --> 01:53:39,920
rather than on the margin.

2468
01:53:44,675 --> 01:53:45,509
Thank you.

2469
01:53:45,509 --> 01:53:47,761
So if your dad is Mr. Manmeet,

2470
01:53:47,761 --> 01:53:49,304
does that make you Mr. Manmeet Junior

2471
01:53:49,304 --> 01:53:50,347
or Mr. Manmeet the second.

2472
01:53:50,597 --> 01:53:51,974
They’re gonna have to drain the creek

2473
01:53:51,974 --> 01:53:53,016
to find your body, Pace.

2474
01:53:53,016 --> 01:53:56,687
Does Forest Gump go in
the comedy or drama section?

2475
01:53:56,687 --> 01:53:58,689
How many times are you gonna ask that?

2476
01:53:58,689 --> 01:54:00,107
It goes in the drama section.

2477
01:54:00,107 --> 01:54:02,067
Thank you, Dawson.

2478
01:54:02,067 --> 01:54:04,069
The teen soap
opera, "Dawson's Creek"

2479
01:54:04,069 --> 01:54:07,698
may be the only example of
mainstream populist entertainment

2480
01:54:07,698 --> 01:54:09,867
that has its amiable
main character working

2481
01:54:09,867 --> 01:54:11,744
as a video clerk.

2482
01:54:11,744 --> 01:54:14,580
Dawson is far from the stereotype

2483
01:54:14,580 --> 01:54:17,416
of a video store employee
in the late 90's,

2484
01:54:17,416 --> 01:54:21,420
and yet he is the focal
point, an aspiring filmmaker

2485
01:54:21,420 --> 01:54:25,215
who naturally opts to
surround himself with cinema.

2486
01:54:25,215 --> 01:54:26,675
This stands in opposition

2487
01:54:26,675 --> 01:54:29,386
to the one dimensional
mainstream video clerk,

2488
01:54:29,386 --> 01:54:32,347
who crosses the line of obsessive fandom.

2489
01:54:32,347 --> 01:54:34,683
Typically, depictions exist
to let the customer know

2490
01:54:34,683 --> 01:54:36,769
that they can keep coming back for more,

2491
01:54:36,769 --> 01:54:38,771
so long as they know when to stop.

2492
01:54:38,771 --> 01:54:42,191
But Dawson is nothing, if not
a safe and comforting avatar

2493
01:54:42,191 --> 01:54:44,818
for sensitive,
cinematically curious souls.

2494
01:55:07,716 --> 01:55:09,968
That'll be 37.24.

2495
01:55:13,555 --> 01:55:15,641
Look, I'm sure you hate this,

2496
01:55:15,641 --> 01:55:17,768
but I just want to tell
you that your work,

2497
01:55:19,269 --> 01:55:20,229
it really means a lot to me.

2498
01:55:20,229 --> 01:55:21,271
It's had an impact

2499
01:55:21,271 --> 01:55:23,148
on my life.
- Thank you.

2500
01:55:23,148 --> 01:55:25,526
It is hard not to
see the filmmakers themselves

2501
01:55:25,526 --> 01:55:28,987
in the more nuanced, independent
versions of these clerks.

2502
01:55:28,987 --> 01:55:32,032
If mainstream examples show
films made by film lovers,

2503
01:55:32,032 --> 01:55:34,868
castigating themselves for
participating in a humiliating

2504
01:55:34,868 --> 01:55:36,954
and stressful business practice,

2505
01:55:36,954 --> 01:55:39,248
then independent films see the video store

2506
01:55:39,248 --> 01:55:41,083
and its employees more accurately.

2507
01:55:41,083 --> 01:55:43,252
Yeah, I've never done
anything like that before,

2508
01:55:43,252 --> 01:55:45,462
but I'm a filmmaker, well, a
grad student for right now.

2509
01:55:47,506 --> 01:55:49,508
But truly, you are one of the few guys

2510
01:55:49,508 --> 01:55:52,261
whose work actually inspires me.

2511
01:55:52,261 --> 01:55:53,095
Well, thank you.

2512
01:55:53,095 --> 01:55:54,680
That means a lot to me. Thank you.

2513
01:55:56,139 --> 01:55:56,974
Yeah, you were

2514
01:55:56,974 --> 01:55:59,476
in film school, right?
- What?

2515
01:55:59,476 --> 01:56:01,979
You used to be in film school, right?

2516
01:56:01,979 --> 01:56:03,981
Yeah. Yeah. I went to a film school

2517
01:56:03,981 --> 01:56:07,693
and then I became an actor. Yeah.

2518
01:56:09,486 --> 01:56:11,446
You know, my girlfriend
actually saw an exhibition

2519
01:56:11,446 --> 01:56:12,281
of your photography.

2520
01:56:12,281 --> 01:56:13,740
She said it was really wonderful stuff.

2521
01:56:13,740 --> 01:56:16,994
She really dug it.
- Oh, she did? Oh cool.

2522
01:56:23,709 --> 01:56:26,545
The stores become
enviable and inviting.

2523
01:56:26,545 --> 01:56:27,880
Rather than rush out the door,

2524
01:56:27,880 --> 01:56:31,174
you wanna stay inside all
day or even get a job there,

2525
01:56:31,174 --> 01:56:34,011
simply to be surrounded
by so much knowledge.

2526
01:56:34,887 --> 01:56:36,805
This raises key questions.

2527
01:56:36,805 --> 01:56:38,307
If clerks are rude and unhelpful,

2528
01:56:38,307 --> 01:56:39,641
loving or hating their job,

2529
01:56:39,641 --> 01:56:42,686
taking it away too seriously
or not seriously enough,

2530
01:56:42,686 --> 01:56:44,479
causing the customers to have unpleasant

2531
01:56:44,479 --> 01:56:47,900
or humiliating experiences,
who gets to be happy

2532
01:56:47,900 --> 01:56:50,736
in the video store? Does anybody?

2533
01:56:50,736 --> 01:56:52,070
Okay, well, look, stop by any time.

2534
01:56:52,070 --> 01:56:52,905
I'll give you a discount

2535
01:56:52,905 --> 01:56:53,906
on the movies you're in.

2536
01:56:53,906 --> 01:56:56,116
You'd have to pay me to buy those.

2537
01:56:56,116 --> 01:56:57,242
Throughout the 80's and 90's,

2538
01:56:57,242 --> 01:56:59,411
it would not have been in
anybody's best interest

2539
01:56:59,411 --> 01:57:02,456
to suggest that video stores
are space best avoided.

2540
01:57:03,290 --> 01:57:06,627
Something must reinforce the
idea that it is okay to return,

2541
01:57:06,627 --> 01:57:08,378
and rent another tape,

2542
01:57:08,378 --> 01:57:11,715
to continue consuming
and enjoying the product.

2543
01:57:11,715 --> 01:57:14,509
I just graduated, but I hated it.

2544
01:57:14,509 --> 01:57:16,428
You know, it was all
like theory and machines,

2545
01:57:16,428 --> 01:57:19,932
and I was on this one way
highway and I was like, you know,

2546
01:57:19,932 --> 01:57:22,184
rest stop please.

2547
01:57:22,184 --> 01:57:24,811
So this is a rest stop.
- Oh yeah,

2548
01:57:24,811 --> 01:57:27,397
but this is totally temporary.

2549
01:57:27,397 --> 01:57:29,650
Nearly two
decades of constant mockery

2550
01:57:29,650 --> 01:57:31,902
for the mere concept of
valuing movie knowledge

2551
01:57:31,902 --> 01:57:34,154
above all else resulted in the notion

2552
01:57:34,154 --> 01:57:36,281
of the clerk as ridiculous.

2553
01:57:36,281 --> 01:57:38,700
Why would anybody waste
their life being an expert

2554
01:57:38,700 --> 01:57:41,370
in something as trivial as movies?

2555
01:57:41,370 --> 01:57:44,706
But what is shameful
about possessing a surplus

2556
01:57:44,706 --> 01:57:46,416
of taste and knowledge?

2557
01:57:53,799 --> 01:57:57,177
♪ In touch with the ground ♪

2558
01:57:57,427 --> 01:58:00,722
♪ I'm on the hunt I'm after you ♪

2559
01:58:00,722 --> 01:58:04,434
♪ Smell like a sound,
I'm lost and I'm found ♪

2560
01:58:04,434 --> 01:58:08,605
♪ And I'm hungry like the wolf ♪

2561
01:58:08,605 --> 01:58:12,359
♪ Straddle the line, it's
discord and rhyme ♪

2562
01:58:12,359 --> 01:58:16,071
♪ I’m on the hunt, I'm after you ♪

2563
01:58:16,071 --> 01:58:19,741
♪ Mouth is alive, with juices like wine ♪

2564
01:58:19,741 --> 01:58:23,662
♪ And I'm hungry like the wolf ♪

2565
01:58:28,208 --> 01:58:29,960
Checking out the staff picks Miss Benes?

2566
01:58:29,960 --> 01:58:32,337
Oh, hey. Yeah, yeah.

2567
01:58:32,337 --> 01:58:34,339
This Vincent guy, he is the best.

2568
01:58:34,339 --> 01:58:36,299
He and I have the exact
same taste in movies.

2569
01:58:36,299 --> 01:58:38,719
Oh, Vincent is an art house goon.

2570
01:58:38,719 --> 01:58:40,887
I stick to the Gene rack.

2571
01:58:40,887 --> 01:58:45,559
Gene? Oh, he's so stupid and mainstream.

2572
01:58:45,559 --> 01:58:48,270
On "Seinfeld,"
Elaine develops a strong bond

2573
01:58:48,270 --> 01:58:51,064
with a video clerk she's
never met, Vincent.

2574
01:58:51,064 --> 01:58:54,067
Elaine, it's Vincent.

2575
01:58:54,067 --> 01:58:56,695
Vincent, where are you?

2576
01:58:56,695 --> 01:58:58,280
I have to meet you.

2577
01:58:58,280 --> 01:59:01,825
No, I can't
bear to have anyone see me.

2578
01:59:01,825 --> 01:59:04,536
Vincent, listen, I won't judge you

2579
01:59:04,536 --> 01:59:06,955
the way everyone else does.

2580
01:59:06,955 --> 01:59:11,960
You're strange, and
beautiful and sensitive.

2581
01:59:13,336 --> 01:59:15,130
Now let's have a look at you.

2582
01:59:15,130 --> 01:59:17,883
No, no, Vincent, I...

2583
01:59:18,925 --> 01:59:20,052
Don't shut me out.

2584
01:59:20,052 --> 01:59:23,722
I just... I know you feel what I feel.

2585
01:59:23,722 --> 01:59:25,557
Excuse me. Can I help you?

2586
01:59:25,557 --> 01:59:29,394
Oh, dammit.
- I'm here to see Vincent.

2587
01:59:29,394 --> 01:59:30,771
Well, I'm his mother.

2588
01:59:30,771 --> 01:59:32,105
Vincent, what's going

2589
01:59:32,105 --> 01:59:33,774
on here?
- My acne.

2590
01:59:34,691 --> 01:59:36,276
Elaine's frustration derives

2591
01:59:36,276 --> 01:59:38,779
from a dashed expectation
of emotional connection

2592
01:59:38,779 --> 01:59:40,197
with another person.

2593
01:59:40,197 --> 01:59:42,741
Importantly, this expectation
came from her sharing

2594
01:59:42,741 --> 01:59:46,036
the same taste in movies
as the video clerk.

2595
01:59:46,036 --> 01:59:48,038
In this respect, this
episode of "Seinfeld"

2596
01:59:48,038 --> 01:59:50,624
is fairly anomalous as
the frustration found

2597
01:59:50,624 --> 01:59:53,085
in the video store frequently
comes from a disparity

2598
01:59:53,085 --> 01:59:55,462
of taste among shoppers and clerks.

2599
01:59:55,462 --> 01:59:57,255
And this frustration is commonly linked

2600
01:59:57,255 --> 02:00:00,467
to the difference between
their tastes and the customers.

2601
02:00:00,467 --> 02:00:02,094
These aren't letterboxed.

2602
02:00:04,096 --> 02:00:05,055
What does that mean?

2603
02:00:05,055 --> 02:00:06,473
It means your picture will be cut off.

2604
02:00:06,473 --> 02:00:08,475
It won't be presented
in the Panavision 235

2605
02:00:08,475 --> 02:00:10,435
to 1 widescreen aspect ratio.

2606
02:00:10,435 --> 02:00:13,313
We have letterbox versions
of both these films.

2607
02:00:13,313 --> 02:00:14,606
You need them letterboxed.

2608
02:00:19,319 --> 02:00:21,196
To preserve the director's vision.

2609
02:00:21,196 --> 02:00:23,323
Customers tastes
are typically ridiculed

2610
02:00:23,323 --> 02:00:24,866
for being substandard.

2611
02:00:24,866 --> 02:00:28,411
The lowly clerk, a retail
wage laborer sets himself

2612
02:00:28,411 --> 02:00:30,497
as the authority on taste.

2613
02:00:30,497 --> 02:00:33,875
Video store power dynamics
reflect how economic capital,

2614
02:00:33,875 --> 02:00:38,755
and cultural capital are
not always neatly aligned.

2615
02:00:38,755 --> 02:00:42,092
This made video stores the
final bastion of accountability

2616
02:00:42,092 --> 02:00:43,510
for your taste.

2617
02:00:43,510 --> 02:00:44,344
Are these the videos you wish

2618
02:00:44,344 --> 02:00:47,764
to rent today, sir?
- Yes.

2619
02:00:47,764 --> 02:00:50,684
Then these are the
videos we will rent him.

2620
02:00:50,684 --> 02:00:51,768
Before you could go home

2621
02:00:51,768 --> 02:00:54,104
and consume your preferences in private,

2622
02:00:54,104 --> 02:00:56,731
you must endure one final public moment.

2623
02:00:57,691 --> 02:01:01,236
As with any retail position,
there is no acceptable future

2624
02:01:01,236 --> 02:01:02,988
to this dead end job.

2625
02:01:02,988 --> 02:01:05,323
Depictions of video
clerks increasingly shift

2626
02:01:05,323 --> 02:01:08,660
from being about that very
dead end to using this job

2627
02:01:08,660 --> 02:01:12,247
as a jumping off point to
a more acceptable career,

2628
02:01:12,247 --> 02:01:14,499
most commonly filmmaking,

2629
02:01:14,499 --> 02:01:16,751
with acclaim and success to follow.

2630
02:01:16,751 --> 02:01:19,421
Scotty, I just want you to
know what a great honor it is

2631
02:01:19,421 --> 02:01:20,922
to have you back in our store.

2632
02:01:22,340 --> 02:01:24,551
I always knew personally
that you were gonna make good

2633
02:01:24,551 --> 02:01:26,428
with your incredible movie knowledge.

2634
02:01:43,153 --> 02:01:45,822
He's a nude model, Lena, not a porn star.

2635
02:01:45,822 --> 02:01:48,241
Hey, Tibby, the return box is so jammed,

2636
02:01:48,241 --> 02:01:50,160
nothing will fit through the slot. Do you mind?

2637
02:01:50,160 --> 02:01:52,495
Yes, I absolutely mind.

2638
02:01:52,495 --> 02:01:54,497
It's inconsiderate of the
customers and interferes

2639
02:01:54,497 --> 02:01:56,374
with a timely collection of late fees.

2640
02:01:58,293 --> 02:01:59,544
I'm gonna call you back.

2641
02:01:59,544 --> 02:02:01,338
But Tibby.
- Just send the sketch.

2642
02:02:01,338 --> 02:02:04,549
"Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pants 2" depicts

2643
02:02:04,549 --> 02:02:06,051
the character, Tibby,

2644
02:02:06,051 --> 02:02:07,761
working part-time at a video store

2645
02:02:07,761 --> 02:02:10,639
while she attends NYU as a film major.

2646
02:02:10,639 --> 02:02:12,891
The store she works in is Two Boots,

2647
02:02:12,891 --> 02:02:15,685
a combination video store and pizza parlor

2648
02:02:15,685 --> 02:02:19,481
that also operated the Pioneer
Theater which closed in 2008,

2649
02:02:19,481 --> 02:02:22,150
the same year of the film's release.

2650
02:02:22,150 --> 02:02:24,027
Do you know if this movie's any good?

2651
02:02:25,320 --> 02:02:27,280
Well, that depends.

2652
02:02:27,280 --> 02:02:31,576
I mean, yes, if you like
nauseatingly, smarmy love stories

2653
02:02:31,576 --> 02:02:34,204
that have absolutely no basis in reality.

2654
02:02:34,204 --> 02:02:36,331
Oh. Well what if you're in the mood

2655
02:02:36,331 --> 02:02:38,541
for, you know something romantic?

2656
02:02:38,541 --> 02:02:42,337
I would go with "Texas Chain
Saw Massacre: The Remake."

2657
02:02:43,797 --> 02:02:46,174
It works for me.
- Thank you. Tibby.

2658
02:02:46,174 --> 02:02:48,551
As viewers, we
are expected momentarily

2659
02:02:48,551 --> 02:02:50,428
to share in this hostile act

2660
02:02:50,428 --> 02:02:53,348
because we are assumed
to be as sophisticated

2661
02:02:53,348 --> 02:02:55,225
in our movie knowledge as Tibby,

2662
02:02:55,225 --> 02:02:57,560
which calls into question
how this joke goes over

2663
02:02:57,560 --> 02:02:59,396
with the film's target audience

2664
02:02:59,396 --> 02:03:02,232
whose tastes may align more
closely with the couples

2665
02:03:02,232 --> 02:03:03,191
than with Tibby.

2666
02:03:04,234 --> 02:03:06,903
Tibby later gets fired for being so aloof,

2667
02:03:06,903 --> 02:03:08,571
and mean hearted.

2668
02:03:08,571 --> 02:03:12,826
Once again, nothing is gained
or achieved in these spaces.

2669
02:03:12,826 --> 02:03:17,122
They drive people away,
empty handed and unhappy.

2670
02:03:17,122 --> 02:03:20,166
In getting fired from her
video store job, Tibby will go

2671
02:03:20,166 --> 02:03:23,420
onto her real passion, making movies.

2672
02:03:24,254 --> 02:03:26,715
The video store functions
here not as a destination

2673
02:03:26,715 --> 02:03:29,384
or endpoint, but rather as a passageway,

2674
02:03:29,384 --> 02:03:31,678
in this case toward cultural production.

2675
02:03:33,013 --> 02:03:35,098
And the films these former employees make

2676
02:03:35,098 --> 02:03:37,976
are often intricately linked
to their access to movies

2677
02:03:37,976 --> 02:03:39,060
at the video store.

2678
02:03:44,733 --> 02:03:48,278
Hi, I'm Cheryl and I'm a filmmaker.

2679
02:03:50,071 --> 02:03:51,323
No, I'm not really a filmmaker,

2680
02:03:51,323 --> 02:03:53,658
but I have a videotaping
business with my friend Tamara

2681
02:03:53,658 --> 02:03:55,201
and I work at a video store.

2682
02:03:55,201 --> 02:03:57,746
So I'm working on being a filmmaker.

2683
02:03:57,746 --> 02:03:59,914
"The Watermelon
Woman" presents a different

2684
02:03:59,914 --> 02:04:02,834
but similarly conflicted
view of video stores,

2685
02:04:02,834 --> 02:04:04,294
and reproduction culture.

2686
02:04:06,087 --> 02:04:08,423
Hey. Hey Tam. Is Bob here?

2687
02:04:08,423 --> 02:04:11,176
Directed by and
starring Cheryl Dunye,

2688
02:04:11,176 --> 02:04:13,887
the film is pointedly
interested in the history

2689
02:04:13,887 --> 02:04:16,973
and contemporary practices
of minority representation

2690
02:04:16,973 --> 02:04:21,394
in the media, specifically
of lesbian African-Americans.

2691
02:04:21,394 --> 02:04:23,480
The character of Cheryl becomes fascinated

2692
02:04:23,480 --> 02:04:25,106
with a Black actress from the early years

2693
02:04:25,106 --> 02:04:27,442
of Hollywood, Faye Richards,

2694
02:04:27,442 --> 02:04:29,986
also known as "The Watermelon Woman."

2695
02:04:29,986 --> 02:04:32,030
Oh my God, look what's here.

2696
02:04:32,030 --> 02:04:33,782
A film with "The Watermelon Woman" in it.

2697
02:04:33,782 --> 02:04:35,992
Like I said, boring stuff.

2698
02:04:35,992 --> 02:04:37,702
All you do since you
don't have a girlfriend

2699
02:04:37,702 --> 02:04:39,704
is watch this boring old film.

2700
02:04:39,704 --> 02:04:41,164
"The Watermelon Woman" depicts

2701
02:04:41,164 --> 02:04:44,167
the video rental store as a media archive

2702
02:04:44,167 --> 02:04:45,585
that may be accessed according

2703
02:04:45,585 --> 02:04:47,962
to the desires of the workers there.

2704
02:04:47,962 --> 02:04:51,591
I think I've figured out
what my project's gonna be on.

2705
02:04:51,591 --> 02:04:53,301
I'm gonna make a movie about her.

2706
02:04:53,301 --> 02:04:56,513
Cheryl is not so much
a spectator of these images,

2707
02:04:56,513 --> 02:04:59,099
but instead acts as the
producer of its meaning

2708
02:04:59,099 --> 02:05:00,683
in the present.

2709
02:05:00,683 --> 02:05:02,769
Cheryl uses videotape as a means

2710
02:05:02,769 --> 02:05:05,897
to reformulate a historical image.

2711
02:05:05,897 --> 02:05:08,316
You know how hard it
was to find these films?

2712
02:05:08,316 --> 02:05:09,692
It's like one of the few race films

2713
02:05:09,692 --> 02:05:12,112
that she ever starred in.
- Really?

2714
02:05:15,573 --> 02:05:19,536
Do you mind if I smoke?
- No, go ahead.

2715
02:05:19,536 --> 02:05:21,663
"The Watermelon
Woman" ends with Cheryl

2716
02:05:21,663 --> 02:05:24,040
completing a video project
about Faye Richards,

2717
02:05:24,040 --> 02:05:26,960
a biographical sketch with images

2718
02:05:26,960 --> 02:05:29,295
from Faye's films and photographs.

2719
02:05:29,295 --> 02:05:31,589
This project is inserted

2720
02:05:31,589 --> 02:05:33,800
into "The Watermelon Woman" itself,

2721
02:05:33,800 --> 02:05:37,178
intercut with the films and
credits and narrated by Cheryl.

2722
02:05:41,724 --> 02:05:44,269
There is no Watermelon Woman after all.

2723
02:05:44,269 --> 02:05:46,187
Not in reality.

2724
02:05:46,187 --> 02:05:48,940
The character is a fiction
created within the diegesis

2725
02:05:48,940 --> 02:05:52,235
of the film, presented to
viewers as historically true,

2726
02:05:52,235 --> 02:05:53,862
but then erased.

2727
02:05:53,862 --> 02:05:57,073
Similar to how the once
ubiquitous, now vanished space

2728
02:05:57,073 --> 02:06:00,743
of the video rental store
functions for modern audiences.

2729
02:06:00,743 --> 02:06:02,912
They were there and now they're not.

2730
02:06:03,997 --> 02:06:07,834
This renders the video store
as a passage into the past,

2731
02:06:07,834 --> 02:06:09,627
a past that is made irretrievable

2732
02:06:09,627 --> 02:06:11,129
at the moment we apprehend it.

2733
02:06:12,172 --> 02:06:15,675
The video store is not a
site just of consumption,

2734
02:06:15,675 --> 02:06:18,636
but rather of a desire to go elsewhere,

2735
02:06:18,636 --> 02:06:21,097
even if that space is not real.

2736
02:06:27,228 --> 02:06:30,273
Hi, good morning.
- It's blank.

2737
02:06:30,273 --> 02:06:33,234
I'm sorry.
- Rewound this tape all over

2738
02:06:33,234 --> 02:06:34,152
and it's blank.

2739
02:06:34,152 --> 02:06:35,069
Really?

2740
02:06:35,069 --> 02:06:36,821
Did you check the?
- Sure did.

2741
02:06:36,821 --> 02:06:37,655
Check that.

2742
02:06:37,655 --> 02:06:40,408
You know, sometimes you
gotta use head cleaner.

2743
02:06:40,408 --> 02:06:41,618
Okay, I did that actually.

2744
02:06:41,618 --> 02:06:43,244
It'll eat the tapes.

2745
02:06:43,244 --> 02:06:44,662
Just pop it and see what's going on.

2746
02:06:44,662 --> 02:06:46,122
Excuse me. This video don't work.

2747
02:06:46,122 --> 02:06:48,374
I'm sorry?
- It don't work.

2748
02:06:48,374 --> 02:06:50,919
12 years later.
"Be Kind Rewind" used

2749
02:06:50,919 --> 02:06:53,671
the video store towards
somewhat similar ends,

2750
02:06:53,671 --> 02:06:57,091
by depicting a video store
that still carries VHS tapes,

2751
02:06:57,091 --> 02:06:59,177
despite it being set in 2008.

2752
02:07:02,305 --> 02:07:03,139
What is that?

2753
02:07:04,307 --> 02:07:06,643
Why is it doing that when you do that?

2754
02:07:06,643 --> 02:07:07,769
What is wrong with you?

2755
02:07:09,145 --> 02:07:10,730
You're magnetized.

2756
02:07:10,730 --> 02:07:15,735
You, you erased these tapes. It's you!

2757
02:07:17,028 --> 02:07:20,031
Given that customers
continue to frequent the store

2758
02:07:20,031 --> 02:07:21,908
and given that the store must make money

2759
02:07:21,908 --> 02:07:24,077
in order to remain in that location,

2760
02:07:24,077 --> 02:07:26,663
the clerk and his friend go
about making their own versions

2761
02:07:26,663 --> 02:07:28,873
of Hollywood films for
the customers to rent.

2762
02:07:31,209 --> 02:07:32,710
♪ You walking down the street ♪

2763
02:07:32,710 --> 02:07:34,712
♪ And you see a little ghost ♪

2764
02:07:34,712 --> 02:07:38,508
♪ What you going to do
about ghostbusters? ♪

2765
02:07:38,508 --> 02:07:39,342
What, what?

2766
02:07:39,342 --> 02:07:40,176
What is that?

2767
02:07:40,176 --> 02:07:41,886
That's the Ghostbusters theme song.

2768
02:07:41,886 --> 02:07:43,221
The owner of the store realizes

2769
02:07:43,221 --> 02:07:45,765
that the homemade tapes are renting well

2770
02:07:45,765 --> 02:07:48,768
and decides not to switch over to DVD.

2771
02:07:48,768 --> 02:07:50,603
Not only do they rent them,

2772
02:07:50,603 --> 02:07:52,897
they request that specific titles get made

2773
02:07:52,897 --> 02:07:55,275
for them individually.

2774
02:07:55,275 --> 02:07:57,819
In this respect, the film
presents amateur remaking

2775
02:07:57,819 --> 02:08:00,446
as a form of community consolidation,

2776
02:08:00,446 --> 02:08:03,908
and a feedback loop is created
between cultural producers

2777
02:08:03,908 --> 02:08:07,245
and consumers that is more
immediate and responsive

2778
02:08:07,245 --> 02:08:08,538
than the existing system.

2779
02:08:09,581 --> 02:08:12,333
Whereas the video store
is a commercial failure

2780
02:08:12,333 --> 02:08:13,501
at the beginning of the film,

2781
02:08:13,501 --> 02:08:16,129
with only a few dissatisfied customers.

2782
02:08:16,129 --> 02:08:19,340
It becomes viable after it's
the site of a more interactive,

2783
02:08:19,340 --> 02:08:22,468
personal and even communal
mode of cultural production.

2784
02:08:22,468 --> 02:08:25,305
Featuring humorously low
tech, amateur aesthetics,

2785
02:08:25,305 --> 02:08:28,349
which are meant to
evoke to the 2008 viewer

2786
02:08:28,349 --> 02:08:30,685
the simple pleasures of the VHS days.

2787
02:08:31,686 --> 02:08:33,479
Dave, it's me.

2788
02:08:34,564 --> 02:08:37,817
I'm afraid I can't open the pod doors now.

2789
02:08:37,817 --> 02:08:39,902
Our ability to
recognize the originality

2790
02:08:39,902 --> 02:08:42,363
of these remakes requires our acquaintance

2791
02:08:42,363 --> 02:08:44,240
with the Hollywood versions,

2792
02:08:44,240 --> 02:08:46,492
even if we have not seen
a particular film remade

2793
02:08:46,492 --> 02:08:48,161
within "Be Kind Rewind."

2794
02:08:48,161 --> 02:08:51,164
The film nevertheless addresses
our ability to recognize

2795
02:08:51,164 --> 02:08:54,584
the typical qualities of a
variety of Hollywood genres,

2796
02:08:54,584 --> 02:08:57,503
from action films to highbrow dramas.

2797
02:08:57,503 --> 02:09:01,633
For one final moment at the
end of the video store era,

2798
02:09:01,633 --> 02:09:05,136
movies are talking about themselves.

2799
02:09:05,136 --> 02:09:09,474
So the studios are coordinating
to assess the damages

2800
02:09:09,474 --> 02:09:11,684
from, how many titles is it?

2801
02:09:11,684 --> 02:09:13,686
Approximately 200.
- Okay, so.

2802
02:09:13,686 --> 02:09:15,438
Oh, what do we have here?

2803
02:09:15,438 --> 02:09:17,148
A record of rental.

2804
02:09:17,148 --> 02:09:20,068
Although "Be Kind
Rewind" ends without clarifying

2805
02:09:20,068 --> 02:09:23,237
that the store will survive,
it succeeds in presenting

2806
02:09:23,237 --> 02:09:26,532
the formation of a local
community around media production.

2807
02:09:27,659 --> 02:09:31,454
Thus, video provides the
means to invent a past

2808
02:09:31,454 --> 02:09:33,373
in order to live in the present.

2809
02:09:35,833 --> 02:09:37,460
Every dollar helps.

2810
02:09:37,460 --> 02:09:39,253
The video store
that we can now access,

2811
02:09:39,253 --> 02:09:43,299
frozen forever on celluloid,
videotape or digital storage.

2812
02:09:43,299 --> 02:09:46,010
Whether they were real
locations or fabricated sets,

2813
02:09:46,010 --> 02:09:47,637
provide glimpses into the past

2814
02:09:47,637 --> 02:09:51,099
that while not in the least
fictional may as well be.

2815
02:09:51,099 --> 02:09:52,558
This is exciting.

2816
02:09:52,558 --> 02:09:55,395
Every aspect of the
video store was deconstructed,

2817
02:09:55,395 --> 02:09:58,690
torn apart, presented and
represented over and over

2818
02:09:58,690 --> 02:09:59,774
until there was nothing left,

2819
02:09:59,774 --> 02:10:02,694
but a copy of a copy, of a copy.

2820
02:10:02,694 --> 02:10:04,696
A bootleg perhaps.

2821
02:10:04,696 --> 02:10:06,280
Okay, that's the spot.

2822
02:10:06,280 --> 02:10:07,573
Pull over the car.

2823
02:10:07,573 --> 02:10:08,408
Stop the car.
- I'm gonna...

2824
02:10:08,408 --> 02:10:10,243
Okay. Okay.
- This is not the spot.

2825
02:10:16,624 --> 02:10:18,334
As tempting as
it is to lay the blame

2826
02:10:18,334 --> 02:10:20,336
for the video store's
extinction at the feet

2827
02:10:20,336 --> 02:10:21,921
of a Hollywood system,

2828
02:10:21,921 --> 02:10:24,132
they presented these
depositories for their work

2829
02:10:24,132 --> 02:10:28,177
as humiliating, difficult,
stressful, and un-fun.

2830
02:10:28,177 --> 02:10:30,555
There were many economic
realities which led

2831
02:10:30,555 --> 02:10:33,307
to the video store's exit
from the retail landscape.

2832
02:10:34,809 --> 02:10:37,186
By 2008, "Be Kind Rewind"

2833
02:10:37,186 --> 02:10:41,524
with its retro obsessed
clerks was about anachronism,

2834
02:10:41,524 --> 02:10:44,068
capping off a decade that saw video stores

2835
02:10:44,068 --> 02:10:48,990
and video culture evolve so
fundamentally and so radically

2836
02:10:48,990 --> 02:10:51,075
as to render themselves obsolete.

2837
02:11:16,267 --> 02:11:17,560
From Silver
Lake International

2838
02:11:17,560 --> 02:11:21,439
Pictures, David Hevner.
- What's that rated mean?

2839
02:11:21,439 --> 02:11:24,317
Is it harder than an R or it's softer than G?

2840
02:11:24,317 --> 02:11:26,778
"Hannah Does Her Sisters." All right.

2841
02:11:26,778 --> 02:11:30,198
No, there were no parts
before "Leonard's Part 6."

2842
02:11:30,198 --> 02:11:32,492
By the mid 2000's video rentals

2843
02:11:32,492 --> 02:11:34,535
were in drastic decline.

2844
02:11:34,535 --> 02:11:37,455
So people were already
asking why bother putting up

2845
02:11:37,455 --> 02:11:38,372
with this at all?

2846
02:11:39,290 --> 02:11:41,918
From roughly the mid 1990's through 2005,

2847
02:11:41,918 --> 02:11:44,086
there was no reason to
think that video rental

2848
02:11:44,086 --> 02:11:46,964
as an industry was vulnerable
enough to collapse.

2849
02:11:47,381 --> 02:11:49,050
"Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill."

2850
02:11:50,343 --> 02:11:51,385
"Killer Workout."

2851
02:11:52,762 --> 02:11:55,389
By being made
synonymous with unfulfillment,

2852
02:11:55,389 --> 02:11:58,309
disappointment, both
practical and romantic

2853
02:11:58,434 --> 02:11:59,936
and unpleasant interactions

2854
02:11:59,936 --> 02:12:02,396
with impossibly unhelpful clerks.

2855
02:12:02,396 --> 02:12:04,690
Video stores became tarnished by those

2856
02:12:04,690 --> 02:12:07,568
who presumably frequented
them and benefited the most

2857
02:12:07,568 --> 02:12:09,278
from their existence.

2858
02:12:09,278 --> 02:12:11,405
Writers and filmmakers.

2859
02:12:11,405 --> 02:12:15,451
Mr. Holt, these two return
videos are a day late.

2860
02:12:15,451 --> 02:12:17,245
They were rented yesterday.

2861
02:12:17,245 --> 02:12:19,330
Yeah, but they were
due by 11 o'clock today

2862
02:12:19,330 --> 02:12:22,166
and you returned them 55 minutes late.

2863
02:12:22,166 --> 02:12:24,043
So.
- So.

2864
02:12:24,043 --> 02:12:26,546
Well, they’re overdue, you owe $5.

2865
02:12:26,546 --> 02:12:31,551
55 minutes. You're gonna
charge me for 55 minutes.

2866
02:12:31,884 --> 02:12:32,718
I'm sorry.

2867
02:12:32,718 --> 02:12:34,637
In perfect synchronicity
with the declining fortunes

2868
02:12:34,637 --> 02:12:37,849
of video stores themselves,
depictions of them on screen

2869
02:12:37,849 --> 02:12:40,434
throughout the 2000's
became less frequent,

2870
02:12:40,434 --> 02:12:42,603
and when they did occur,
they were no longer

2871
02:12:42,603 --> 02:12:44,188
in big budget Hollywood films

2872
02:12:44,188 --> 02:12:47,233
or on the most popular television shows.

2873
02:12:47,233 --> 02:12:49,235
Video stores would instead pop up

2874
02:12:49,235 --> 02:12:51,445
in primarily independent films,

2875
02:12:51,445 --> 02:12:55,116
something of a return to
their mid 1980's origins

2876
02:12:55,116 --> 02:12:59,203
and still prominently
featuring Troma movies.

2877
02:13:00,121 --> 02:13:02,915
Whereas showing a video store
was once a way for movies

2878
02:13:02,915 --> 02:13:04,959
to talk about themselves,

2879
02:13:04,959 --> 02:13:07,086
they now are no more remarkable on screen

2880
02:13:07,086 --> 02:13:08,212
than they were in life.

2881
02:13:15,428 --> 02:13:18,180
Guys, can somebody...
- We want Media Giant.

2882
02:13:18,180 --> 02:13:20,016
And that's Media Giant.

2883
02:13:20,016 --> 02:13:21,017
Media Giant!

2884
02:13:23,185 --> 02:13:25,187
That's horrible.
- Okay.

2885
02:13:25,187 --> 02:13:27,106
I know I can't compete
with these big guys,

2886
02:13:27,106 --> 02:13:28,608
but as long as I have you guys,

2887
02:13:28,608 --> 02:13:33,613
my small and loyal following
of geeks, and weirdos,

2888
02:13:33,946 --> 02:13:35,364
I know I'll be all right.

2889
02:13:35,364 --> 02:13:38,701
“Watching the
Detectives" from 2007 features

2890
02:13:38,701 --> 02:13:41,579
an independent video
store called Gumshoe Video

2891
02:13:41,579 --> 02:13:43,915
run by the cinephilic character of Neil,

2892
02:13:43,915 --> 02:13:46,459
realistically portrayed by Cillian Murphy.

2893
02:13:47,418 --> 02:13:49,962
Although made at a time where
the narrative could suggest

2894
02:13:49,962 --> 02:13:51,797
the struggles of an
independent store to remain

2895
02:13:51,797 --> 02:13:54,634
in business during the
industry's precipitous decline.

2896
02:13:54,634 --> 02:13:56,010
Aside from a few references

2897
02:13:56,010 --> 02:13:59,221
to Blockbuster stand-in Media
Giant, the plot of the film

2898
02:13:59,221 --> 02:14:01,390
in no way revolves around this conflict.

2899
02:14:02,391 --> 02:14:04,769
This communal movie viewing party suggests

2900
02:14:04,769 --> 02:14:07,271
that the store remains relevant
by being an integral part

2901
02:14:07,271 --> 02:14:08,731
of the community.

2902
02:14:08,731 --> 02:14:11,359
Though nothing like this
happens again in the film.

2903
02:14:12,234 --> 02:14:14,028
The video store is no longer a place

2904
02:14:14,028 --> 02:14:15,738
where anything remarkable, exciting,

2905
02:14:15,738 --> 02:14:17,531
or noteworthy happens.

2906
02:14:17,531 --> 02:14:20,326
Just as in the retail
landscape at this time,

2907
02:14:20,326 --> 02:14:23,162
it's taken for granted. It simply is.

2908
02:14:24,664 --> 02:14:27,583
Unlike in "Be Kind Rewind,"
the declining fortunes

2909
02:14:27,583 --> 02:14:30,753
of Gumshoe video are not
the movie's main focus.

2910
02:14:30,753 --> 02:14:33,714
Other than occasional references
to business being slow,

2911
02:14:33,714 --> 02:14:36,634
the store's financial
stability is never addressed.

2912
02:14:36,634 --> 02:14:39,512
Its continued existence
is apparently a given

2913
02:14:39,512 --> 02:14:43,432
despite seeming to mostly stock
VHS well into the DVD era.

2914
02:14:44,475 --> 02:14:47,770
Perhaps a robust Troma
presence gives Gumshoe

2915
02:14:47,770 --> 02:14:50,272
an advantage over its
corporate competitors.

2916
02:14:51,983 --> 02:14:53,818
Romantic encounters follow,

2917
02:14:53,818 --> 02:14:55,945
presented with little or no variation

2918
02:14:55,945 --> 02:14:57,947
to what we've been seeing for years.

2919
02:14:57,947 --> 02:15:00,616
Scene after scene, the
movie itself is reflective

2920
02:15:00,616 --> 02:15:03,411
of the video store's
failure to push forward,

2921
02:15:03,411 --> 02:15:05,246
to offer customers any variation

2922
02:15:05,246 --> 02:15:07,248
on the experiences they
had become used to.

2923
02:15:07,248 --> 02:15:08,082
No, I don't mind.

2924
02:15:08,082 --> 02:15:09,625
I'm in the video store right now.

2925
02:15:12,294 --> 02:15:14,255
No, it's one of those little shitty ones.

2926
02:15:16,007 --> 02:15:18,467
Yeah, most people just
want to get in their cars.

2927
02:15:18,467 --> 02:15:20,511
They want to drive to the local store,

2928
02:15:20,511 --> 02:15:22,722
and rent the latest disaster movie,

2929
02:15:22,722 --> 02:15:26,100
you know, whereas there's
not that many people

2930
02:15:26,100 --> 02:15:29,562
that just want to come in
and leisurely stroll around,

2931
02:15:29,562 --> 02:15:32,565
maybe talk about Kubrick,
you know, shoot the...

2932
02:15:32,565 --> 02:15:33,899
Shit, no!

2933
02:15:33,899 --> 02:15:36,318
At one point, Neil and his object

2934
02:15:36,318 --> 02:15:39,864
of desire, Violet sneak
into a media giant location,

2935
02:15:39,864 --> 02:15:42,616
wait for it to close
and set about sabotaging

2936
02:15:42,616 --> 02:15:43,701
the store's inventory.

2937
02:15:45,745 --> 02:15:47,538
So what's on your mind?

2938
02:15:47,538 --> 02:15:49,707
After he leaves, we'll
go out and switch the DVDs,

2939
02:15:49,707 --> 02:15:52,126
so that they're all in the wrong boxes.

2940
02:15:52,126 --> 02:15:54,211
Rather than give
Gumshoe video some practical

2941
02:15:54,211 --> 02:15:55,880
advantage in the battle between corporate

2942
02:15:55,880 --> 02:15:58,382
and independent stores,
this is done merely

2943
02:15:58,382 --> 02:16:01,093
for mischievous flirtation.

2944
02:16:01,093 --> 02:16:03,387
This would actually be impossible.

2945
02:16:03,387 --> 02:16:07,433
DVDs were secured in their
cases with magnetic rings.

2946
02:16:07,433 --> 02:16:09,769
This lack of accuracy may seem slight,

2947
02:16:09,769 --> 02:16:12,104
but it speaks to the larger
cultural indifference

2948
02:16:12,104 --> 02:16:15,107
around video stores and
how they really functioned.

2949
02:16:15,107 --> 02:16:16,275
By the late 2000's,

2950
02:16:16,275 --> 02:16:19,111
their onscreen
representations were actively

2951
02:16:19,111 --> 02:16:22,364
and irreparably diminishing
their reputations.

2952
02:16:22,364 --> 02:16:24,784
The film does contain one substantial

2953
02:16:24,784 --> 02:16:27,703
and oddly prescient
moment when the longevity

2954
02:16:27,703 --> 02:16:29,080
of video rental as a business

2955
02:16:29,080 --> 02:16:31,582
is being discussed among employees.

2956
02:16:31,582 --> 02:16:34,210
What are you gonna do when
this place goes tits up?

2957
02:16:35,461 --> 02:16:38,089
Well, I don't think that's
gonna happen for a few years.

2958
02:16:38,089 --> 02:16:40,925
You know, not until
people can get any movie

2959
02:16:40,925 --> 02:16:45,012
they want beamed directly into
their TV set. Then I’m dead meat.

2960
02:16:45,012 --> 02:16:46,722
But this is tossed aside in favor

2961
02:16:46,722 --> 02:16:47,890
of an impractical notion

2962
02:16:47,890 --> 02:16:50,601
of how the store could
actually continue to be viable.

2963
02:16:50,601 --> 02:16:51,435
I think you need to find a way

2964
02:16:51,435 --> 02:16:53,646
to supplement your business.

2965
02:16:53,646 --> 02:16:55,940
You gotta turn this place
into a singles club.

2966
02:16:55,940 --> 02:16:58,067
People come in here, they tell
you their favorite movies,

2967
02:16:58,067 --> 02:17:00,319
and then you match 'em
up with the perfect mate

2968
02:17:00,319 --> 02:17:01,487
using that information.

2969
02:17:02,488 --> 02:17:04,073
Furthering the
disinterest of this film

2970
02:17:04,073 --> 02:17:06,283
to in any way accurately reflect the state

2971
02:17:06,283 --> 02:17:09,620
of video rental in 2007,
Neil is later questioned

2972
02:17:09,620 --> 02:17:12,623
by goons on behalf of
Media Giant who taunt him.

2973
02:17:12,623 --> 02:17:14,708
So it must really be tough for you.

2974
02:17:16,210 --> 02:17:18,921
All these big franchise video
stores springing up every day,

2975
02:17:18,921 --> 02:17:22,216
must really tick you off
these big guys driving

2976
02:17:22,216 --> 02:17:23,759
you outta business.

2977
02:17:23,759 --> 02:17:26,095
Nevermind that
in 2007, it is more likely

2978
02:17:26,095 --> 02:17:28,180
that both franchise and independent stores

2979
02:17:28,180 --> 02:17:29,682
are closing every day,

2980
02:17:29,682 --> 02:17:32,518
which the film itself points
out a few minutes later

2981
02:17:32,518 --> 02:17:34,854
in a highly accurate scene
concerning the reality

2982
02:17:34,854 --> 02:17:36,856
of video rental stores in this era.

2983
02:17:36,856 --> 02:17:40,484
There is a letter from a
place called Movie Dork Video

2984
02:17:40,484 --> 02:17:41,986
in San Clemente.

2985
02:17:41,986 --> 02:17:44,363
This guy's going under
and he needs to liquidate,

2986
02:17:44,363 --> 02:17:47,783
so he wants 3000 bucks

2987
02:17:47,783 --> 02:17:50,327
and if we buy everything for 3000 bucks,

2988
02:17:50,327 --> 02:17:52,413
he'll give us free
shipping which is great,

2989
02:17:52,413 --> 02:17:54,915
but obviously there's a lot of
crap here that we don't need,

2990
02:17:54,915 --> 02:17:58,669
like eight copies of
"Ernest Goes to Camp,"

2991
02:17:58,669 --> 02:18:01,755
but he does have some
stuff that we don't have.

2992
02:18:01,755 --> 02:18:03,632
So we could just try to take everything

2993
02:18:03,632 --> 02:18:06,260
and save on the shipping,
which is not a bad idea.

2994
02:18:06,260 --> 02:18:08,846
Or we can cherry pick...

2995
02:18:15,102 --> 02:18:17,271
You know, we can do
this later if you want.

2996
02:18:18,480 --> 02:18:20,441
“Watching the
Detectives" doesn't offer

2997
02:18:20,441 --> 02:18:23,527
a closing moment concerning
the future of Gumshoe video,

2998
02:18:23,527 --> 02:18:26,197
nor its competition with Media Giant.

2999
02:18:26,197 --> 02:18:27,364
All that it cares about

3000
02:18:27,364 --> 02:18:29,783
are the romantic lives of Neil and Violet,

3001
02:18:29,783 --> 02:18:31,869
brought together by,
but totally disconnected

3002
02:18:31,869 --> 02:18:33,704
from the much more interesting narrative

3003
02:18:33,704 --> 02:18:34,997
of the store itself.

3004
02:18:35,915 --> 02:18:39,251
Ironically, “Watching the
Detectives" went straight to DVD

3005
02:18:39,251 --> 02:18:41,837
in 2008 after playing at film festivals.

3006
02:18:41,837 --> 02:18:44,381
By the time it would've
been available for rental,

3007
02:18:44,381 --> 02:18:47,843
Neil would likely have
closed Gumshoe video.

3008
02:18:47,843 --> 02:18:50,512
Depictions of video of stores
had declined so sharply

3009
02:18:50,512 --> 02:18:52,806
by the late aughts that to
dramatize their struggle

3010
02:18:52,806 --> 02:18:56,143
to stay in business would have
already seemed incongruous.

3011
02:18:56,143 --> 02:18:59,063
People forsook them before
they actually closed,

3012
02:18:59,063 --> 02:19:00,981
taking their business to Netflix

3013
02:19:00,981 --> 02:19:02,942
or Movies on Demand.

3014
02:19:03,692 --> 02:19:04,944
Councilwoman.

3015
02:19:04,944 --> 02:19:06,779
When the sitcom "Parks and Recreation"

3016
02:19:06,779 --> 02:19:09,114
somewhat realistically used a closing video store

3017
02:19:09,114 --> 02:19:12,534
as a metaphor for government bailouts in 2013,

3018
02:19:12,534 --> 02:19:15,079
the idea that a local
business was barely hanging on

3019
02:19:15,079 --> 02:19:18,749
would've been familiar to
anybody, not just video consumers.

3020
02:19:18,749 --> 02:19:19,875
I took your advice,

3021
02:19:19,875 --> 02:19:22,002
got rid of all those
dusty old foreign films

3022
02:19:22,002 --> 02:19:23,796
and used the money for
the part of our business.

3023
02:19:23,796 --> 02:19:25,547
that's always done pretty well for us.

3024
02:19:25,547 --> 02:19:27,258
Give the people what they want, right?

3025
02:19:27,258 --> 02:19:29,093
This isn't what people want!

3026
02:19:29,093 --> 02:19:31,637
It is definitely what that guy wants.

3027
02:19:31,637 --> 02:19:33,055
I like this store now.

3028
02:19:33,055 --> 02:19:34,014
The comedic notion

3029
02:19:34,014 --> 02:19:36,600
that the stores rejuvenated
success comes entirely

3030
02:19:36,600 --> 02:19:38,227
from renting pornography,

3031
02:19:38,227 --> 02:19:41,480
playfully suggests perhaps
the only way forward

3032
02:19:41,480 --> 02:19:43,649
for video stores is backward.

3033
02:19:45,025 --> 02:19:47,486
But rather than showing how
video stores could manage

3034
02:19:47,486 --> 02:19:49,488
to stay in business, depictions of them

3035
02:19:49,488 --> 02:19:52,908
in these final days more
often would simply make a joke

3036
02:19:52,908 --> 02:19:54,743
of the fact that they existed at all.

3037
02:19:55,995 --> 02:19:58,790
Hey man.
- Welcome to Mondo video.

3038
02:19:58,790 --> 02:19:59,791
How may we help you?

3039
02:20:00,749 --> 02:20:02,126
Ugh, what are you guys doing here?

3040
02:20:02,126 --> 02:20:03,168
We own this store.

3041
02:20:03,168 --> 02:20:05,296
We bought this bitch.

3042
02:20:05,296 --> 02:20:07,631
We wanted to invest
in an emerging market.

3043
02:20:07,631 --> 02:20:08,549
An emerging market?

3044
02:20:08,549 --> 02:20:10,175
Video stores are a dying market.

3045
02:20:10,175 --> 02:20:11,343
This is like one of the only ones left.

3046
02:20:11,343 --> 02:20:13,262
Then we're gonna corner that market.

3047
02:20:22,688 --> 02:20:23,647
Can you believe it?

3048
02:20:23,647 --> 02:20:25,107
Completely turnkey.

3049
02:20:25,983 --> 02:20:27,776
You got your sci-fi, comedies,

3050
02:20:27,776 --> 02:20:31,613
buddy flicks, chick flicks
all on Blu-ray or DVD.

3051
02:20:31,613 --> 02:20:33,699
Well, what do you think?

3052
02:20:33,699 --> 02:20:34,658
It's awesome.

3053
02:20:34,658 --> 02:20:36,910
You should try to get it on
that ancient civilization show

3054
02:20:36,910 --> 02:20:39,246
so that people can see
how cultures used to live.

3055
02:20:40,748 --> 02:20:42,583
In this episode of "South Park,"

3056
02:20:42,583 --> 02:20:46,462
Blockbuster is equated to an
old, abandoned, haunted house.

3057
02:20:49,757 --> 02:20:51,300
Go get it Filmore.

3058
02:20:51,300 --> 02:20:53,845
No way. I ain't going near that place.

3059
02:20:53,845 --> 02:20:55,262
You go get it.

3060
02:21:01,518 --> 02:21:03,855
Hey, you kids looking to rent some DVDs?

3061
02:21:03,855 --> 02:21:05,814
What's he talking about renting a Deeva D?

3062
02:21:06,899 --> 02:21:09,693
Even sadder than
watching video stores close

3063
02:21:09,693 --> 02:21:11,820
is watching their
depictions on screen migrate

3064
02:21:11,820 --> 02:21:13,906
from commercial, populist fair

3065
02:21:13,906 --> 02:21:17,618
to exclusively low
budget independent films.

3066
02:21:17,618 --> 02:21:19,036
You should watch this one.

3067
02:21:19,036 --> 02:21:20,329
It's super tight.

3068
02:21:28,087 --> 02:21:30,756
Without sufficient
resources to make these stores

3069
02:21:30,756 --> 02:21:33,675
or scenes set within
them visually dynamic,

3070
02:21:33,675 --> 02:21:36,220
we now see them on screen
not as we imagined them,

3071
02:21:36,220 --> 02:21:38,263
but as they actually were.

3072
02:21:38,263 --> 02:21:40,182
Long gone are the beautiful interiors

3073
02:21:40,182 --> 02:21:42,017
of "Body Double," "The Lost Boys,"

3074
02:21:42,017 --> 02:21:44,728
"Last Action Hero," or "The Big Hit."

3075
02:21:44,728 --> 02:21:49,191
Instead, stumbling upon a film
such as 2009’s "Stan Helsing"

3076
02:21:49,191 --> 02:21:51,360
with a scene set inside a video store

3077
02:21:51,360 --> 02:21:54,113
would be as disappointing as
finding a still open store

3078
02:21:54,113 --> 02:21:55,781
at this same time.

3079
02:21:55,781 --> 02:21:59,535
Excitement and curiosity
followed by dismay

3080
02:21:59,535 --> 02:22:02,121
because everything you
loved about video stores,

3081
02:22:02,121 --> 02:22:04,665
the selection, the eclectic space itself

3082
02:22:04,665 --> 02:22:08,001
and the colorful characters
you may encounter is gone,

3083
02:22:09,128 --> 02:22:11,130
replaced with only a memory

3084
02:22:11,130 --> 02:22:14,299
of these once proud institutions.

3085
02:22:14,299 --> 02:22:16,468
Hardcore horror, huh?

3086
02:22:16,468 --> 02:22:20,264
Funny. You don't look like you
can handle hardcore horror,

3087
02:22:20,264 --> 02:22:22,599
but you've come to the right place.

3088
02:22:22,599 --> 02:22:24,977
Here in this establishment,

3089
02:22:24,977 --> 02:22:28,105
we have one of the most
coveted collections

3090
02:22:28,105 --> 02:22:30,566
of the morbid and macabre
on digital disc.

3091
02:22:36,113 --> 02:22:38,282
If you're lucky,
that memory allows you

3092
02:22:38,282 --> 02:22:41,535
to revisit a now closed
physical space you once enjoyed

3093
02:22:41,535 --> 02:22:45,414
browsing the aisles of,
images of video stores possess

3094
02:22:45,414 --> 02:22:48,876
the power to transport
us, to remind us of spaces

3095
02:22:48,876 --> 02:22:51,628
that once were familiar
and now are largely gone.

3096
02:22:52,880 --> 02:22:56,133
Other times they make us lament
the sad decline of a culture

3097
02:22:56,133 --> 02:22:59,845
that thrived, was loved, taken for granted

3098
02:22:59,845 --> 02:23:02,514
and then perished ignominiously.

3099
02:23:27,706 --> 02:23:31,835
"Good Dick" from 2008 is
notable for being the final film

3100
02:23:31,835 --> 02:23:34,171
to take place largely at a video store

3101
02:23:34,171 --> 02:23:36,924
in a contemporary non-period setting.

3102
02:23:37,799 --> 02:23:39,718
It also avoids any suggestion

3103
02:23:39,718 --> 02:23:41,595
that the video rental
industry has struggled

3104
02:23:41,595 --> 02:23:43,055
to remain viable.

3105
02:23:43,055 --> 02:23:45,307
Though perhaps this is
logical as it was filmed

3106
02:23:45,307 --> 02:23:48,268
on location at Los Angeles's still popular

3107
02:23:48,268 --> 02:23:51,396
and still open Cinefile Video.

3108
02:23:51,396 --> 02:23:54,691
In terms of location, the
film could do no better.

3109
02:23:54,691 --> 02:23:56,777
Cinefile plays itself,

3110
02:23:56,777 --> 02:23:59,655
as we see not only the exterior sign,

3111
02:23:59,655 --> 02:24:02,658
but also videos bearing
the store's actual address

3112
02:24:02,658 --> 02:24:03,617
and phone number.

3113
02:24:05,035 --> 02:24:06,870
In terms of content,

3114
02:24:06,870 --> 02:24:10,666
"Good Dick" features nothing
remarkable whatsoever.

3115
02:24:10,666 --> 02:24:13,335
It deals unsurprisingly
with the romantic yearning

3116
02:24:13,335 --> 02:24:17,965
of an unnamed protagonist,
and an also unnamed customer.

3117
02:24:17,965 --> 02:24:22,594
By 2008, we had seen it all before.

3118
02:24:22,594 --> 02:24:24,263
Can I make a suggestion?

3119
02:24:27,099 --> 02:24:29,226
I thought this looked like
it had amazing potential too,

3120
02:24:29,226 --> 02:24:31,603
but it is actually really, really bad.

3121
02:24:32,521 --> 02:24:37,025
It's like two definitely underage
European girls hitchhiking

3122
02:24:37,025 --> 02:24:39,820
through the most unattractive
shots of Germany.

3123
02:24:39,820 --> 02:24:44,116
Greasy fat guys like
basically raping them.

3124
02:24:44,116 --> 02:24:46,785
I mean, it is a turnoff.

3125
02:24:46,785 --> 02:24:49,580
Should probably move it to a
different section like bad.

3126
02:24:51,164 --> 02:24:52,958
Aside from references to Troma

3127
02:24:52,958 --> 02:24:55,002
or "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,"

3128
02:24:55,002 --> 02:24:57,337
"Good Dick" has everything
we have come to expect

3129
02:24:57,337 --> 02:24:59,590
from video stores on screen,

3130
02:24:59,590 --> 02:25:02,801
and yet it feels strikingly unsubstantial.

3131
02:25:09,641 --> 02:25:12,144
Using a video store as
its primary location,

3132
02:25:12,144 --> 02:25:15,105
it lacks the intertextuality
that defined the earliest

3133
02:25:15,105 --> 02:25:17,190
and most memorable depictions of them

3134
02:25:17,190 --> 02:25:19,776
from the late 80's and early 90's.

3135
02:25:19,776 --> 02:25:22,988
This is not a glimpse into
a world defined by cinema,

3136
02:25:22,988 --> 02:25:24,573
alive with the possibilities

3137
02:25:24,573 --> 02:25:26,533
of possessing infinite knowledge.

3138
02:25:27,492 --> 02:25:30,287
The film could be set in a
bookstore or a clothing store,

3139
02:25:30,287 --> 02:25:33,749
or a laundromat. Unlike
"Watching the Detectives"

3140
02:25:33,749 --> 02:25:35,709
or "Be Kind Rewind,"

3141
02:25:35,709 --> 02:25:39,046
this late entry to the canon
does not feature a protagonist

3142
02:25:39,046 --> 02:25:42,299
whose life seems inseparable
from his love of movies,

3143
02:25:42,299 --> 02:25:44,009
nor his desire to make them.

3144
02:25:44,968 --> 02:25:47,346
Nameless, he is a cipher.

3145
02:25:47,346 --> 02:25:50,724
He watches movies and
sometimes talks about them,

3146
02:25:50,724 --> 02:25:52,684
but with no passion.

3147
02:25:52,684 --> 02:25:56,438
The film shows us scene
after scene of a video store,

3148
02:25:56,438 --> 02:25:59,316
but never says anything
other than, here we are.

3149
02:26:00,317 --> 02:26:02,694
"Good Dick" has the funereal tone

3150
02:26:02,694 --> 02:26:05,238
of revisiting the final
dying days of somebody

3151
02:26:05,238 --> 02:26:06,948
or something you once loved.

3152
02:26:07,866 --> 02:26:10,786
That it is able to achieve
this inside a video store

3153
02:26:10,786 --> 02:26:14,247
that did not close, weathered
the storm and continues

3154
02:26:14,247 --> 02:26:17,334
to operate is all the more remarkable.

3155
02:26:21,838 --> 02:26:22,798
Place looks good.

3156
02:26:26,802 --> 02:26:27,969
Are you boys in love?

3157
02:26:28,970 --> 02:26:32,140
Sorry, Charlie.
- Love.

3158
02:26:32,140 --> 02:26:36,937
Amour. Dancing. Are you in love?

3159
02:26:36,937 --> 02:26:38,772
There's no use wasting away alone,

3160
02:26:39,981 --> 02:26:41,066
and you need it.

3161
02:26:42,067 --> 02:26:42,943
Fall in love.

3162
02:26:44,152 --> 02:26:47,072
Sure.
- Fall in love quick

3163
02:26:47,072 --> 02:26:48,615
with a girl or a boy.

3164
02:26:51,076 --> 02:26:53,912
Find someone.
- Thank you.

3165
02:26:54,788 --> 02:26:56,289
That's great advice, sir.

3166
02:26:56,289 --> 02:26:57,124
Thank you.

3167
02:26:58,500 --> 02:27:01,503
You know what today is?
- It's your anniversary.

3168
02:27:03,547 --> 02:27:05,716
Yeah. She loved this film.

3169
02:27:10,262 --> 02:27:11,555
Don't forget your tape there.

3170
02:27:11,555 --> 02:27:13,306
Oh, oh, yes, yes, yes.

3171
02:27:21,314 --> 02:27:26,611
I mean it, boys. Make it snappy.

3172
02:27:28,947 --> 02:27:29,948
You're getting old.

3173
02:27:35,579 --> 02:27:36,413
See you.

3174
02:27:38,248 --> 02:27:39,166
Ah, thank you.

3175
02:27:39,166 --> 02:27:40,917
Thank you, Charlie.
- I see you later.

3176
02:27:40,917 --> 02:27:42,502
See you next time.
- You bet.

3177
02:28:11,865 --> 02:28:14,326
The death of
VHS occurred in tandem

3178
02:28:14,326 --> 02:28:16,536
with the demise of the video store.

3179
02:28:16,536 --> 02:28:18,747
While VHS continued to appear in films

3180
02:28:18,747 --> 02:28:22,125
as a recognizable object,
it now existed only

3181
02:28:22,125 --> 02:28:24,628
as a representative object from the past.

3182
02:28:24,628 --> 02:28:28,006
Something containing images or
moments that no longer exist

3183
02:28:28,006 --> 02:28:30,717
or never existed in the first place.

3184
02:28:32,719 --> 02:28:33,762
Have you heard about this video tape

3185
02:28:33,762 --> 02:28:35,388
that kills you when you watch it?

3186
02:28:36,473 --> 02:28:39,559
What kind of tape?
- A tape, a regular tape.

3187
02:28:39,559 --> 02:28:41,311
People rent it. I don't know.

3188
02:28:41,311 --> 02:28:42,771
You start to play it,

3189
02:28:42,771 --> 02:28:44,523
and it's like somebody's nightmare.

3190
02:28:45,649 --> 02:28:49,236
Then suddenly this woman comes on,

3191
02:28:49,236 --> 02:28:51,488
smiling at you, right?

3192
02:28:51,488 --> 02:28:53,907
Seeing you through the screen,

3193
02:28:55,367 --> 02:28:58,703
and as soon as it's
over, your phone rings.

3194
02:28:59,788 --> 02:29:01,832
Someone knows you've watched it,

3195
02:29:03,124 --> 02:29:07,420
and what they say is,
you'll die in seven days.

3196
02:29:08,588 --> 02:29:11,925
The VHS tape makes
its most significant post 2000

3197
02:29:11,925 --> 02:29:14,177
appearance in the remake of "Ringu,"

3198
02:29:14,177 --> 02:29:16,513
a Japanese film from 1998,

3199
02:29:16,513 --> 02:29:19,891
a time at which VHS was
ubiquitous and standard.

3200
02:29:21,017 --> 02:29:22,936
I think they stayed here a night or so.

3201
02:29:22,936 --> 02:29:25,897
Yeah, they were in cabin 12.

3202
02:29:25,897 --> 02:29:26,731
They didn't pay.

3203
02:29:27,816 --> 02:29:29,568
They had a number of complaints,

3204
02:29:29,568 --> 02:29:34,573
about the TV mainly,
reception's never good here.

3205
02:29:34,573 --> 02:29:37,492
That's why we bought
tape players for videos.

3206
02:29:39,202 --> 02:29:40,370
Quite a selection.

3207
02:29:42,247 --> 02:29:45,750
Mostly, they're hand-me-downs
left by other guests.

3208
02:29:45,750 --> 02:29:47,794
Anyway, they didn't pay.

3209
02:29:49,045 --> 02:29:53,091
Kids like that sometimes don't. Miss?

3210
02:29:53,091 --> 02:29:57,178
By 2002, the very same
VHS tape appears as a relic

3211
02:29:57,178 --> 02:29:59,723
adding to its sense of horror and menace.

3212
02:30:00,891 --> 02:30:03,226
The release of "The Ring"
closely followed the moment

3213
02:30:03,226 --> 02:30:07,314
in 2001 when DVD sales first exceeded VHS.

3214
02:30:07,314 --> 02:30:09,065
Just five years later,

3215
02:30:09,065 --> 02:30:12,819
more U.S. households owned
DVD players than VCRs.

3216
02:30:13,695 --> 02:30:18,074
In 1998, 1 million American
homes owned a DVD player.

3217
02:30:18,074 --> 02:30:22,287
By 2001, that number had
increased to 24 million.

3218
02:30:22,287 --> 02:30:25,540
A rate of exponential growth
that outpaced the proliferation

3219
02:30:25,540 --> 02:30:28,251
of VCRs exactly two decades earlier.

3220
02:30:32,672 --> 02:30:34,466
This is DVD.

3221
02:30:36,927 --> 02:30:41,932
And this is what happens
when you watch DVD.

3222
02:30:46,186 --> 02:30:48,980
It's a movie on a disc the size of a CD.

3223
02:30:48,980 --> 02:30:51,691
In 1996, divide
of profit between renting

3224
02:30:51,691 --> 02:30:54,319
and purchasing was in favor of renting.

3225
02:30:54,319 --> 02:30:57,238
8.7 billion to 7.5 billion.

3226
02:30:58,198 --> 02:31:02,327
In 2001, sales accounted for 10.3 billion

3227
02:31:02,327 --> 02:31:06,539
while rentals began to
decrease now to 8.4 billion.

3228
02:31:06,539 --> 02:31:09,709
These five years during
which DVD eclipsed VHS saw

3229
02:31:09,709 --> 02:31:12,379
the transition from one
technology to another,

3230
02:31:12,379 --> 02:31:14,339
and the opportunity to purchase DVDs

3231
02:31:14,339 --> 02:31:16,675
and rent videos at the same store.

3232
02:31:16,675 --> 02:31:19,678
Unlike Blockbuster or any
video rental location,

3233
02:31:19,678 --> 02:31:22,681
the player and the videos were
available in the same space,

3234
02:31:22,681 --> 02:31:25,308
often offered as a package deal.

3235
02:31:25,308 --> 02:31:27,310
Shop right now
at Circuit City and save.

3236
02:31:27,310 --> 02:31:29,688
The now lucrative
DVD market owed more

3237
02:31:29,688 --> 02:31:31,856
to Best Buy than Blockbuster,

3238
02:31:31,856 --> 02:31:34,734
fulfilling the decades long
promise of sell through pricing,

3239
02:31:34,734 --> 02:31:37,404
creating a preferable and
affordable option to rental.

3240
02:31:37,404 --> 02:31:38,238
My name's Hollis.

3241
02:31:38,238 --> 02:31:39,990
I work at the Walmart Home
Entertainment Department.

3242
02:31:39,990 --> 02:31:42,659
The big news is that
Walmart now has DVD players,

3243
02:31:42,659 --> 02:31:43,910
and DVD movies.

3244
02:31:43,910 --> 02:31:44,869
The aggressiveness

3245
02:31:44,869 --> 02:31:47,455
with which these
advertisements push DVD players

3246
02:31:47,455 --> 02:31:49,708
equating them with
necessary home appliances

3247
02:31:49,708 --> 02:31:52,168
such as washing machines
and refrigerators.

3248
02:31:52,168 --> 02:31:55,046
Implied that no lifestyle is
complete without a proper way

3249
02:31:55,046 --> 02:31:57,799
to enjoy movies in the
privacy of your own home.

3250
02:31:57,799 --> 02:31:58,758
If I can afford 'em,

3251
02:31:58,758 --> 02:32:00,927
then anybody can afford 'em.

3252
02:32:00,927 --> 02:32:02,637
Equally curious is the bombast

3253
02:32:02,637 --> 02:32:05,306
proclaiming 3000 titles to choose from.

3254
02:32:05,306 --> 02:32:07,600
A fraction of what
Blockbuster was advertising

3255
02:32:07,600 --> 02:32:09,352
over a decade earlier.

3256
02:32:09,352 --> 02:32:11,354
With over
3000 titles to choose from,

3257
02:32:11,354 --> 02:32:15,025
make sure you see your next movie on DVD.

3258
02:32:15,025 --> 02:32:15,984
Yeah.

3259
02:32:15,984 --> 02:32:17,610
No more late fees.

3260
02:32:17,610 --> 02:32:19,487
No more late fees!

3261
02:32:19,487 --> 02:32:21,448
No more late fees!

3262
02:32:21,448 --> 02:32:23,408
No more late fees!

3263
02:32:23,408 --> 02:32:24,909
No more late fees!

3264
02:32:27,328 --> 02:32:30,123
Much of the
advertising of DVDs boasts

3265
02:32:30,123 --> 02:32:33,418
of the enticing possibility of
eliminating such indignities

3266
02:32:33,418 --> 02:32:36,921
as late fees and return
trips to the video store.

3267
02:32:38,381 --> 02:32:41,968
Notably, no films portray
characters buying videos

3268
02:32:41,968 --> 02:32:43,803
in these types of stores.

3269
02:32:43,803 --> 02:32:46,473
Proving that to depict the
behavior of video acquisition

3270
02:32:46,473 --> 02:32:49,642
in films or television
was to exclusively reflect

3271
02:32:49,642 --> 02:32:51,269
the practice of renting

3272
02:32:51,269 --> 02:32:54,147
and all the possibilities it suggested.

3273
02:32:54,147 --> 02:32:55,398
While films like "The Holiday"

3274
02:32:55,398 --> 02:32:57,734
and "This Means War" kept
the video store alive

3275
02:32:57,734 --> 02:32:59,360
as a somewhat realistic, common

3276
02:32:59,360 --> 02:33:02,572
and familiar public space
well into the 2000's,

3277
02:33:02,572 --> 02:33:04,699
there was no mistaking
the declining fortunes

3278
02:33:04,699 --> 02:33:07,160
in the industry of video rental.

3279
02:33:07,160 --> 02:33:09,204
It's almost as though
stores began to close

3280
02:33:09,204 --> 02:33:12,540
when DVDs eliminated the ability
to charge additional fines

3281
02:33:12,540 --> 02:33:13,666
for not rewinding.

3282
02:33:14,626 --> 02:33:16,336
So what are you doing?

3283
02:33:16,336 --> 02:33:18,296
Oh, just hanging out in my apartment.

3284
02:33:18,296 --> 02:33:19,214
You did get my text,

3285
02:33:19,214 --> 02:33:21,007
right?
- What? Text? What?

3286
02:33:21,007 --> 02:33:22,175
We're all going out tonight?

3287
02:33:22,175 --> 02:33:24,052
Oh, man, that sounds great.

3288
02:33:24,052 --> 02:33:25,095
I wish I could join you.

3289
02:33:25,095 --> 02:33:26,471
I'm just so jammed up.

3290
02:33:26,471 --> 02:33:28,640
I'm totally off the grid,
you know what I mean?

3291
02:33:28,640 --> 02:33:30,433
No, I don't at all.

3292
02:33:30,433 --> 02:33:31,768
I got a bunch of stuff going on.

3293
02:33:31,768 --> 02:33:33,311
There's this thing I gotta do.

3294
02:33:33,311 --> 02:33:34,854
Any other night would've been great,

3295
02:33:34,854 --> 02:33:36,272
darn it to heck!

3296
02:33:36,272 --> 02:33:37,857
Now, in both consumer habits

3297
02:33:37,857 --> 02:33:40,735
and film production, the
shift from old to new

3298
02:33:40,735 --> 02:33:42,737
was a transition of
leaving the video store,

3299
02:33:42,737 --> 02:33:45,698
and video rental habits in the past.

3300
02:33:45,698 --> 02:33:48,535
Where is your VHS section?
- Right over there.

3301
02:33:49,702 --> 02:33:50,537
That's it?

3302
02:33:51,454 --> 02:33:54,040
That's the only tapes you have?

3303
02:33:54,040 --> 02:33:56,209
One for every person
who still has a VCR.

3304
02:33:58,044 --> 02:33:59,712
Although for a time, these films

3305
02:33:59,712 --> 02:34:02,632
and shows also reach out into the future,

3306
02:34:02,632 --> 02:34:05,260
anticipating their own consumption,

3307
02:34:05,260 --> 02:34:08,179
indicating that the video
store holds the past on reserve

3308
02:34:08,179 --> 02:34:10,515
for contemplation in the present

3309
02:34:10,515 --> 02:34:12,892
and even opens up toward the future.

3310
02:34:13,935 --> 02:34:16,896
This is a general condition
of the video store,

3311
02:34:16,896 --> 02:34:20,817
both in social practice and
in media representations.

3312
02:34:20,817 --> 02:34:23,111
If video rental stores asked us,

3313
02:34:23,111 --> 02:34:25,196
what do we want to watch this evening?

3314
02:34:25,196 --> 02:34:28,908
Then they also allowed
us to ask more basically,

3315
02:34:28,908 --> 02:34:30,618
what do we want?

3316
02:34:30,618 --> 02:34:33,746
What is that?
- Oh, "La Strada."

3317
02:34:33,746 --> 02:34:36,291
It's a Fellini movie.
- So random.

3318
02:34:38,084 --> 02:34:40,128
Yeah. They were all
outta "Miss Congeniality 2:

3319
02:34:40,128 --> 02:34:41,921
Armed and Fabulous."

3320
02:34:41,921 --> 02:34:42,922
I went for a random.

3321
02:34:44,007 --> 02:34:44,841
Ew Chad!

3322
02:34:44,841 --> 02:34:46,009
Fuck you.
- Oh, fuck you.

3323
02:34:46,009 --> 02:34:47,135
You love it.

3324
02:34:47,135 --> 02:34:49,637
Hey, does that movie come
with tampons for your pussy?

3325
02:34:50,555 --> 02:34:51,973
You know, Chad,

3326
02:34:51,973 --> 02:34:53,349
I'll be upset if it doesn't.

3327
02:34:55,518 --> 02:34:57,645
We should get "Out of Africa."

3328
02:34:57,645 --> 02:35:00,231
Sarah, this isn't gonna work.

3329
02:35:00,231 --> 02:35:01,232
Okay, fine.

3330
02:35:01,232 --> 02:35:03,776
"Die Hard."
- No, I can't do this anymore.

3331
02:35:04,986 --> 02:35:06,654
What? Rent a movie.

3332
02:35:06,654 --> 02:35:07,488
You and me.

3333
02:35:08,489 --> 02:35:10,366
I told you I didn't want
a serious relationship.

3334
02:35:10,366 --> 02:35:12,160
Given the
generally negative portrayal

3335
02:35:12,160 --> 02:35:15,830
of video stores, it is
tempting to claim that decades

3336
02:35:15,830 --> 02:35:19,792
of such depictions help stage
their real world elimination.

3337
02:35:19,792 --> 02:35:22,212
Don't pretend like I didn't
tell you this a month ago.

3338
02:35:25,173 --> 02:35:28,092
Oh my God. Oh my God, he's shot!

3339
02:35:28,092 --> 02:35:30,136
Somebody call the cops!

3340
02:35:30,136 --> 02:35:33,306
Somebody help!
- I got him.

3341
02:35:33,306 --> 02:35:36,309
Oh my God. Somebody please!

3342
02:35:36,309 --> 02:35:38,061
Somebody, do something!

3343
02:35:38,061 --> 02:35:38,978
No, please!

3344
02:35:40,313 --> 02:35:44,108
Somebody! Why isn't anyone doing anything?

3345
02:35:44,108 --> 02:35:46,194
Is this our shooter?
- Bystander.

3346
02:35:46,194 --> 02:35:49,280
Sean Markham walking
in, took one in the chest.

3347
02:35:49,280 --> 02:35:50,907
Ooh, full vest.

3348
02:35:50,907 --> 02:35:52,408
Should've said, don't wanna watch TV.

3349
02:35:52,408 --> 02:35:54,160
If no one ever
gets what they want

3350
02:35:54,160 --> 02:35:57,330
at the video store, why
bother going to one at all?

3351
02:35:58,498 --> 02:36:01,918
But this betrayal of the
rental space is duplicitous

3352
02:36:01,918 --> 02:36:05,088
as Hollywood made most of its
money from home video revenues

3353
02:36:05,088 --> 02:36:07,382
for more than 20 years.

3354
02:36:07,382 --> 02:36:11,386
"Along Came Polly,"
"The Breakup," "Hitch."

3355
02:36:11,386 --> 02:36:13,638
Where would you look for those movies?

3356
02:36:13,638 --> 02:36:15,139
Comedy.

3357
02:36:15,139 --> 02:36:17,100
Genius.

3358
02:36:17,100 --> 02:36:19,060
These were spaces
of troublesome shopping

3359
02:36:19,060 --> 02:36:21,437
and of unpleasant public interactions.

3360
02:36:21,437 --> 02:36:22,689
Places where different tastes,

3361
02:36:22,689 --> 02:36:26,359
and cultural goods became
visually and dramatically apparent

3362
02:36:26,359 --> 02:36:29,529
where our social differences
also became areas

3363
02:36:29,529 --> 02:36:31,864
of contemplation and tension.

3364
02:36:31,864 --> 02:36:33,199
What would you do to him?

3365
02:36:35,410 --> 02:36:37,787
If you could do anything you wanted to.

3366
02:36:40,039 --> 02:36:41,165
Anything and not get caught.

3367
02:36:41,165 --> 02:36:43,042
Everything on the list?

3368
02:36:43,042 --> 02:36:46,379
Yeah, so just pick a fucking movie.

3369
02:36:46,379 --> 02:36:47,380
Anything?

3370
02:36:49,632 --> 02:36:51,217
Hey, good shit.

3371
02:36:51,217 --> 02:36:53,428
Hey, you know what's fucking hilarious

3372
02:36:53,428 --> 02:36:55,013
is that you chose to act
like a fucking asshole

3373
02:36:55,013 --> 02:36:55,930
on your last day on earth.

3374
02:37:00,476 --> 02:37:01,853
It is not really a question

3375
02:37:01,853 --> 02:37:03,771
of whether such things
ever really happened

3376
02:37:03,771 --> 02:37:05,606
in video rental stores,

3377
02:37:05,606 --> 02:37:07,942
but rather where and how these feelings

3378
02:37:07,942 --> 02:37:10,528
and problems will be dramatized
after the video store

3379
02:37:10,528 --> 02:37:13,197
no longer makes cinematic
sense and portrayals of them

3380
02:37:13,197 --> 02:37:15,658
are limited to period pieces.

3381
02:37:15,658 --> 02:37:18,870
Where in their presence
often says little more than,

3382
02:37:18,870 --> 02:37:21,205
do you remember these spaces?

3383
02:37:21,205 --> 02:37:22,040
Back in the 80's,

3384
02:37:22,040 --> 02:37:23,416
you couldn't just lay on your couch

3385
02:37:23,416 --> 02:37:25,251
and stream a movie to your phone,

3386
02:37:25,251 --> 02:37:27,170
you actually had to spend
an hour of venturing

3387
02:37:27,170 --> 02:37:30,590
to a wondrous place called a video store.

3388
02:37:30,590 --> 02:37:32,759
And it was awesome.

3389
02:37:32,759 --> 02:37:34,260
Let's just make this fast, okay?

3390
02:37:34,260 --> 02:37:37,638
Pick a movie and don't
go behind the curtain!

3391
02:37:37,638 --> 02:37:38,598
Depictions of video stores

3392
02:37:38,598 --> 02:37:40,975
and period pieces
occasionally use the setting

3393
02:37:40,975 --> 02:37:42,894
to make specific points about the era,

3394
02:37:42,894 --> 02:37:45,813
usually the 1980's
regarding access to videos

3395
02:37:45,813 --> 02:37:47,690
and the difficulty that
is no longer relatable

3396
02:37:47,690 --> 02:37:49,650
to modern audiences.

3397
02:37:49,650 --> 02:37:52,945
"Temple of Doom." Overrated.

3398
02:37:52,945 --> 02:37:54,322
You wanna see a good film, kid?

3399
02:37:54,322 --> 02:37:56,991
Watch Bergman’s "The Seventh
Seal" or "Devil's Manners?"

3400
02:37:56,991 --> 02:37:58,618
That's my student film, it is pretty much

3401
02:37:58,618 --> 02:38:00,411
the quintessential-
- No, thank you

3402
02:38:00,411 --> 02:38:01,913
and let's get going.

3403
02:38:01,913 --> 02:38:03,414
We're in a big rush.

3404
02:38:03,414 --> 02:38:06,793
Yeah, you have a movie out.

3405
02:38:06,793 --> 02:38:09,170
"Slap Shot." Overrated.

3406
02:38:09,170 --> 02:38:10,004
If you ask me,

3407
02:38:10,004 --> 02:38:11,589
Paul Newman should...
- I did not ask you,

3408
02:38:11,589 --> 02:38:13,549
and I know I returned that movie.

3409
02:38:13,549 --> 02:38:14,592
Please check again.

3410
02:38:14,592 --> 02:38:16,427
I didn't realize that
my computer was HAL 9,000

3411
02:38:16,427 --> 02:38:17,595
and it could change at will

3412
02:38:17,595 --> 02:38:19,764
and blast us out the pod bay doors.

3413
02:38:19,764 --> 02:38:23,601
How many advanced copies of "Shrek"

3414
02:38:23,601 --> 02:38:25,603
on DVD do you think you can sell?

3415
02:38:26,479 --> 02:38:28,356
Isn't "Shrek" already out on DVD?

3416
02:38:28,356 --> 02:38:32,819
Yeah, but this is like, it's
a new special edition with...

3417
02:38:32,819 --> 02:38:33,778
Yeah, it's wide screen

3418
02:38:33,778 --> 02:38:35,154
and then there's like special footage

3419
02:38:35,154 --> 02:38:36,906
of how they animated

3420
02:38:36,906 --> 02:38:38,199
Donkey and...
- Donkey.

3421
02:38:53,423 --> 02:38:57,260
Is there something I
can help you with, sir?

3422
02:39:00,304 --> 02:39:05,309
Yeah, uh... you have a foreign film section?

3423
02:39:05,518 --> 02:39:06,561
Don’t carry nothin’ foreign,

3424
02:39:06,561 --> 02:39:08,229
but Jap and Mex stuff.

3425
02:39:09,772 --> 02:39:11,941
Three favorite movies go.

3426
02:39:11,941 --> 02:39:14,485
"The Apartment," "Hidden Fortress,"

3427
02:39:14,485 --> 02:39:15,778
"Children of Paradise."

3428
02:39:15,778 --> 02:39:17,238
You, go.

3429
02:39:17,238 --> 02:39:19,824
Favorite movies.
- Did I stutter?

3430
02:39:19,824 --> 02:39:21,534
"Animal House" for sure.

3431
02:39:23,161 --> 02:39:24,537
Eyes on me, Harrington.

3432
02:39:25,496 --> 02:39:29,292
Yeah. "Star Wars."
- "A New Hope."

3433
02:39:30,001 --> 02:39:32,962
A new what now?
- Which "Star Wars?"

3434
02:39:32,962 --> 02:39:35,965
One with the teddy bears, duh. No?

3435
02:39:35,965 --> 02:39:38,009
Occasionally the
film's production designers

3436
02:39:38,009 --> 02:39:40,428
go so far as to accurately
situate a video store

3437
02:39:40,428 --> 02:39:42,680
in the background,
despite it not functioning

3438
02:39:42,680 --> 02:39:45,308
as a location characters physically visit.

3439
02:39:47,143 --> 02:39:49,812
These brief resurrections of
video stores are rewarding

3440
02:39:49,812 --> 02:39:51,939
for various reasons.

3441
02:39:51,939 --> 02:39:53,816
They allow viewers familiar with them

3442
02:39:53,816 --> 02:39:57,153
to briefly relive a time where
these stores reign supreme,

3443
02:39:57,153 --> 02:39:59,572
while showing others who
perhaps never visited

3444
02:39:59,572 --> 02:40:02,492
a video store what unique, colorful

3445
02:40:02,492 --> 02:40:04,869
and offbeat experiences
used to be accessible

3446
02:40:04,869 --> 02:40:08,998
to all who entered, despite
some unavoidable hassles.

3447
02:40:13,336 --> 02:40:17,215
The spaces themselves,
the tapes, the employees,

3448
02:40:18,090 --> 02:40:19,884
all of this was unique.

3449
02:40:28,226 --> 02:40:30,895
It was there and now it's gone.

3450
02:40:37,318 --> 02:40:40,238
Like Westerns or the World War II film,

3451
02:40:40,238 --> 02:40:42,949
future video store narratives
will be told by those

3452
02:40:42,949 --> 02:40:45,785
who never experienced them firsthand.

3453
02:40:45,785 --> 02:40:48,955
How this will change their
depictions remains to be seen,

3454
02:40:48,955 --> 02:40:51,832
but secondhand revisionism
may not be too far away.

3455
02:40:53,459 --> 02:40:56,546
Now younger generations
are completely unaware

3456
02:40:56,546 --> 02:41:00,007
of the thrills associated
with in-person video browsing.

3457
02:41:00,007 --> 02:41:02,635
Oh, hey guys. Welcome.

3458
02:41:02,635 --> 02:41:05,054
Logan's right. This place is sick.

3459
02:41:08,391 --> 02:41:10,268
These boxy things are all movies?

3460
02:41:10,268 --> 02:41:11,269
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

3461
02:41:11,269 --> 02:41:13,521
The boxy things are VHS tapes,

3462
02:41:13,521 --> 02:41:17,858
and they go into a VCR
machine, which we rent also.

3463
02:41:21,946 --> 02:41:25,366
Okay. "Party Girl" is
my new favorite movie.

3464
02:41:25,366 --> 02:41:27,868
Parker Posey is my new dream woman.

3465
02:41:27,868 --> 02:41:30,288
I would marry her today.
- Oh wow. Get in line.

3466
02:41:30,288 --> 02:41:32,873
Oh, I have something for you actually.

3467
02:41:32,873 --> 02:41:34,917
Landmark queer girl cinema,

3468
02:41:34,917 --> 02:41:36,294
"The Watermelon Woman."

3469
02:41:36,294 --> 02:41:37,795
So good. Cheryl Dunye.

3470
02:41:39,088 --> 02:41:41,674
You gotta let me know what you think.

3471
02:41:41,674 --> 02:41:42,675
Don from corporate.

3472
02:41:42,675 --> 02:41:46,095
Oh, Donny, what's going down?

3473
02:41:46,095 --> 02:41:47,430
Every time...

3474
02:41:47,430 --> 02:41:49,348
Look, there's no easy way to say this.

3475
02:41:49,348 --> 02:41:51,058
Seven more Blockbusters just closed,

3476
02:41:51,058 --> 02:41:53,019
you're officially the last one on Earth.

3477
02:41:54,604 --> 02:41:57,648
I don't love the pattern
that's starting to emerge.

3478
02:41:57,648 --> 02:42:00,026
When a streaming
service danced on the grave

3479
02:42:00,026 --> 02:42:02,278
of an industry it eradicated,

3480
02:42:02,278 --> 02:42:06,949
the results were insulting to
all and of interest to none.

3481
02:42:14,165 --> 02:42:16,417
"I Am Legend" is a futuristic dystopia

3482
02:42:16,417 --> 02:42:19,879
that has also accidentally
become a period piece.

3483
02:42:19,879 --> 02:42:22,548
It is a zombie film that
unknowingly captured a world

3484
02:42:22,548 --> 02:42:25,134
on the precipice of obsolescence.

3485
02:42:25,134 --> 02:42:27,928
Sometime around 2012, the
world has been overrun

3486
02:42:27,928 --> 02:42:30,598
with a virus that has turned
everyone except the protagonist

3487
02:42:30,598 --> 02:42:32,141
into zombie-like creatures.

3488
02:42:33,059 --> 02:42:35,353
After establishing that
Will Smith's, Robert Neville

3489
02:42:35,353 --> 02:42:37,938
is alone in a depopulated Manhattan

3490
02:42:37,938 --> 02:42:40,316
with only his dog as a companion,

3491
02:42:40,316 --> 02:42:43,569
we see him drive up to a
video store and enter it.

3492
02:42:43,569 --> 02:42:48,115
This store was Tower Video,
located in Greenwich Village.

3493
02:42:48,115 --> 02:42:50,868
It closed in December, 2006,

3494
02:42:50,868 --> 02:42:54,288
less than three months
after this scene was filmed.

3495
02:42:54,288 --> 02:42:58,668
Hey, morning Marge. Morning Fred.

3496
02:42:58,668 --> 02:43:00,378
What you guys doing here so early?

3497
02:43:01,796 --> 02:43:04,090
A nice sweatshirt there, Fred.

3498
02:43:04,090 --> 02:43:06,050
Don't sit it down anywhere.

3499
02:43:06,050 --> 02:43:07,760
By the time of
"I Am Legend's" release

3500
02:43:07,760 --> 02:43:10,638
one year later, the
apocalyptic implications

3501
02:43:10,638 --> 02:43:13,599
of the story were
actualized in this space.

3502
02:43:13,599 --> 02:43:16,352
Tower Video was itself a zombie returning

3503
02:43:16,352 --> 02:43:17,186
from the dead.

3504
02:43:18,229 --> 02:43:20,314
In the five years between
the film's release

3505
02:43:20,314 --> 02:43:23,067
and its speculative
science fiction narrative,

3506
02:43:23,067 --> 02:43:24,568
the presence of a video store

3507
02:43:24,568 --> 02:43:27,780
of this size would become
even more incongruous.

3508
02:43:27,780 --> 02:43:32,118
By 2012, such stores were
nearly non-existent everywhere,

3509
02:43:32,118 --> 02:43:34,078
and most certainly in Manhattan.

3510
02:43:34,912 --> 02:43:38,082
In a cruel twist of fate,
2012 would be the year

3511
02:43:38,082 --> 02:43:41,377
a video store was shown on
screen in a major Hollywood film

3512
02:43:41,377 --> 02:43:44,130
in a normalized way for the last time,

3513
02:43:44,130 --> 02:43:48,384
not in a period piece, and
not commented on as a relic.

3514
02:43:48,384 --> 02:43:52,054
In fact, it's sort
of a second tier title.

3515
02:43:53,848 --> 02:43:55,433
For one final moment

3516
02:43:55,433 --> 02:43:57,435
in both the reality of "I Am Legend"

3517
02:43:57,435 --> 02:43:59,061
and "This Means War,"

3518
02:43:59,061 --> 02:44:02,690
the corporate chain massive
video store was alive.

3519
02:44:03,983 --> 02:44:06,610
Mannequins mimic the social
interactions one might have

3520
02:44:06,610 --> 02:44:08,195
at a video store.

3521
02:44:08,195 --> 02:44:11,449
They are positioned as
customers entering the store.

3522
02:44:11,449 --> 02:44:13,701
As a family browsing the aisles,

3523
02:44:13,701 --> 02:44:16,120
as a clerk behind the counter,

3524
02:44:16,120 --> 02:44:19,623
Robert addresses a number
of these mannequins by name

3525
02:44:19,623 --> 02:44:21,333
and indicates he has seen them

3526
02:44:21,333 --> 02:44:23,002
and interacted with them before.

3527
02:44:23,919 --> 02:44:24,795
Good morning, Hank.

3528
02:44:24,795 --> 02:44:26,005
Midway through the G’s.

3529
02:44:27,047 --> 02:44:30,134
What's happening here
is profound, meta textual,

3530
02:44:30,134 --> 02:44:33,512
historical, speculative,
emotional, and nostalgic.

3531
02:44:33,512 --> 02:44:36,640
This scene asks audiences
for immediate recognition

3532
02:44:36,640 --> 02:44:39,143
of a space that needs no explanation.

3533
02:44:39,143 --> 02:44:41,103
With the removal of all other humans,

3534
02:44:41,103 --> 02:44:45,524
society has been eliminated
and history effectively ended.

3535
02:44:46,942 --> 02:44:49,779
This film takes America at
a certain moment in time

3536
02:44:49,779 --> 02:44:51,614
and freezes it.

3537
02:44:51,614 --> 02:44:54,658
The film treats the
planet as a time capsule,

3538
02:44:54,658 --> 02:44:58,704
thus dating itself by
depicting this public space.

3539
02:44:58,704 --> 02:45:02,583
Video stores could not appear
in a film made before 1977.

3540
02:45:02,583 --> 02:45:04,210
They did not exist.

3541
02:45:04,210 --> 02:45:06,378
It is unlikely that the
film's video store scene

3542
02:45:06,378 --> 02:45:09,256
would appear at all had "I Am
Legend" been made any later.

3543
02:45:18,390 --> 02:45:21,560
In 1971's "The Omega
Man," which was adapted

3544
02:45:21,560 --> 02:45:23,145
from the same Richard Matheson novel

3545
02:45:23,145 --> 02:45:25,105
on which "I Am Legend" is based.

3546
02:45:25,105 --> 02:45:27,441
We see Charlton Heston threading up

3547
02:45:27,441 --> 02:45:29,068
a 35 millimeter projector

3548
02:45:29,068 --> 02:45:32,029
in his now private once
public movie theater,

3549
02:45:32,029 --> 02:45:35,866
and mouthing along to the
1970 documentary "Woodstock,"

3550
02:45:35,866 --> 02:45:39,078
like "The Omega Man," a
Warner Brothers picture.

3551
02:45:39,078 --> 02:45:41,497
Just to really realize.

3552
02:45:41,497 --> 02:45:44,124
What's really important,
what's really important,

3553
02:45:44,124 --> 02:45:46,669
the fact that if we
can't all live together

3554
02:45:46,669 --> 02:45:48,587
and be happy, you have to be afraid

3555
02:45:48,587 --> 02:45:50,214
to walk out in the street.

3556
02:45:50,214 --> 02:45:52,007
If you have to be afraid

3557
02:45:52,007 --> 02:45:54,552
to smile at somebody, right?

3558
02:45:54,552 --> 02:45:56,554
Rather than what was
left in the projection booth,

3559
02:45:56,554 --> 02:45:59,557
"I Am Legend" offers Will
Smith a video store's worth

3560
02:45:59,557 --> 02:46:03,018
of options and instead of
reciting a three hour documentary

3561
02:46:03,018 --> 02:46:05,688
about a world that no longer exists.

3562
02:46:05,688 --> 02:46:07,398
Can I say something to you.

3563
02:46:07,398 --> 02:46:09,775
Listen, you was really,
really something back there.

3564
02:46:09,775 --> 02:46:12,194
Incredible. Are you talking to me?

3565
02:46:15,489 --> 02:46:16,615
Both "The Omega Man,"

3566
02:46:16,615 --> 02:46:20,202
and "I Am Legend" treat their
dead worlds as time capsules.

3567
02:46:20,202 --> 02:46:23,455
But whereas the 35 millimeter
film exhibition practiced

3568
02:46:23,455 --> 02:46:26,250
by Heston isn't quite extinct.

3569
02:46:26,250 --> 02:46:29,253
"I am Legend" serves as
a repository for ideas

3570
02:46:29,253 --> 02:46:30,546
about the video store.

3571
02:46:31,755 --> 02:46:34,550
The next time they adapt this
story, there will be no way

3572
02:46:34,550 --> 02:46:36,802
to logically include a
version of this scene.

3573
02:46:37,678 --> 02:46:40,556
In a world that has forsaken
analog film spectatorship,

3574
02:46:40,556 --> 02:46:44,310
"The Last Man on Earth" will
be unable to access streaming

3575
02:46:44,310 --> 02:46:46,395
or video on demand options.

3576
02:46:47,396 --> 02:46:50,316
"I Am Legend" was
released just as DVD sales

3577
02:46:50,316 --> 02:46:53,277
and rental revenues were
beginning their steep decline.

3578
02:46:53,277 --> 02:46:56,322
And as Netflix and Redbox,
a service offering DVDs

3579
02:46:56,322 --> 02:46:59,700
out of an ATM like machine
with no human interaction

3580
02:46:59,700 --> 02:47:02,536
whatsoever gained market penetration.

3581
02:47:03,579 --> 02:47:04,914
It is fascinating to consider

3582
02:47:04,914 --> 02:47:08,000
why he bothers renting movies at all.

3583
02:47:08,000 --> 02:47:10,502
Many post-apocalyptic
films depict characters

3584
02:47:10,502 --> 02:47:14,006
gleefully appropriating all
the world's commodities.

3585
02:47:14,006 --> 02:47:17,259
"I Am Legend" indulges in
this capitalist fantasy,

3586
02:47:17,259 --> 02:47:18,469
showing the protagonist

3587
02:47:18,469 --> 02:47:21,138
in an expensive sports car, for instance.

3588
02:47:21,138 --> 02:47:24,433
Yet it depicts him renting
movies for no apparent reason.

3589
02:47:27,186 --> 02:47:29,772
He uses the video store
however as a theater

3590
02:47:29,772 --> 02:47:32,608
to perform sociality itself.

3591
02:47:32,608 --> 02:47:35,361
Although the world of the
film is socially frozen,

3592
02:47:35,361 --> 02:47:37,821
the protagonist brings it
back to life by performing

3593
02:47:37,821 --> 02:47:40,407
the ritual of browsing and renting.

3594
02:47:40,407 --> 02:47:44,453
This formerly public space
is his own private archive,

3595
02:47:44,453 --> 02:47:48,082
the vehicle for certain
behaviors and interactions.

3596
02:47:48,082 --> 02:47:51,710
In this dystopian world, the
video store becomes the site

3597
02:47:51,710 --> 02:47:55,214
of a social utopia, an interactional space

3598
02:47:55,214 --> 02:47:58,926
where people come into contact
around media commodities.

3599
02:47:58,926 --> 02:48:00,594
The videos are not as important

3600
02:48:00,594 --> 02:48:02,638
as the position he takes within it.

3601
02:48:03,806 --> 02:48:05,808
Living in total isolation,

3602
02:48:05,808 --> 02:48:09,144
the protagonist manufactures
a faux public space

3603
02:48:09,144 --> 02:48:11,605
in order to sustain a
realm of private space

3604
02:48:11,605 --> 02:48:13,649
and thus his sense of individuality.

3605
02:48:14,775 --> 02:48:16,735
Importantly for the protagonist

3606
02:48:16,735 --> 02:48:20,698
and thus for the film itself,
society in general is imagined

3607
02:48:20,698 --> 02:48:24,159
as a community of
shoppers and salespeople.

3608
02:48:24,159 --> 02:48:26,495
Initially, he appears
content and energized

3609
02:48:26,495 --> 02:48:28,664
by his pseudo interactions
with these mannequins

3610
02:48:28,664 --> 02:48:31,291
by trivial greetings and goodbyes.

3611
02:48:31,291 --> 02:48:34,920
But the fantasy comes undone
as the film progresses.

3612
02:48:36,797 --> 02:48:40,217
He returns to the video
store after his dog has died,

3613
02:48:40,217 --> 02:48:42,803
and approaches the female
mannequin he eyed earlier.

3614
02:48:57,067 --> 02:48:58,402
I miss my friend.

3615
02:49:01,155 --> 02:49:03,449
I will say hello to you today.

3616
02:49:11,081 --> 02:49:12,124
Hello. Hello.

3617
02:49:32,561 --> 02:49:35,481
Please say hello to me?

3618
02:49:42,321 --> 02:49:44,740
Please say hello to me.

3619
02:49:44,740 --> 02:49:46,909
Perhaps convinced
that this video store theater

3620
02:49:46,909 --> 02:49:50,287
is real, Robert seeks deeper connection,

3621
02:49:50,287 --> 02:49:52,206
but he's disappointed.

3622
02:49:52,206 --> 02:49:55,250
The video store cannot
provide what he seeks.

3623
02:49:55,250 --> 02:49:57,628
He is merely a shopper after all.

3624
02:49:59,088 --> 02:50:01,215
Since "I Am Legend" was released,

3625
02:50:01,215 --> 02:50:03,801
Blockbuster went bankrupt.

3626
02:50:04,885 --> 02:50:07,971
Once the monolithic enemy
of independent video stores,

3627
02:50:07,971 --> 02:50:11,600
it suffered the same fate
and no longer exists.

3628
02:50:13,227 --> 02:50:15,270
Video stores are all equal now.

3629
02:50:16,271 --> 02:50:18,607
Dead spaces brought
back to life by the films

3630
02:50:18,607 --> 02:50:21,443
and television shows that
captured them while they lived.

3631
02:50:22,736 --> 02:50:25,531
Video stores were a part of the world,

3632
02:50:25,531 --> 02:50:27,491
but are no longer a part of ours.

3633
02:50:28,951 --> 02:50:32,079
"I Am Legend" dramatizes a dead world,

3634
02:50:32,079 --> 02:50:34,623
but it also represents a lost way of life.

3635
02:50:35,958 --> 02:50:38,127
The film is proof of a time

3636
02:50:38,127 --> 02:50:40,838
when we thought video stores
would continue to exist

3637
02:50:40,838 --> 02:50:41,755
in the future.

3638
02:50:43,298 --> 02:50:47,302
Now we know they exist only in the past.

3639
02:50:59,106 --> 02:51:01,066
♪ At home at night ♪

3640
02:51:01,066 --> 02:51:03,068
♪ I'm all alone ♪

3641
02:51:03,068 --> 02:51:06,697
♪ Watching the TV screen ♪

3642
02:51:06,697 --> 02:51:10,993
♪ And all at once, she appears to me ♪

3643
02:51:10,993 --> 02:51:14,746
♪ Girl of my dreams ♪

3644
02:51:14,746 --> 02:51:19,001
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3645
02:51:19,001 --> 02:51:22,796
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3646
02:51:22,796 --> 02:51:27,217
♪ I'm watching my video ♪

3647
02:51:27,217 --> 02:51:31,054
♪ Sure looks good to me ♪

3648
02:51:31,054 --> 02:51:33,765
♪ Video ♪

3649
02:51:33,765 --> 02:51:36,643
♪ Watching my video ♪

3650
02:51:36,643 --> 02:51:38,478
♪ Oh, oh ♪

3651
02:51:38,478 --> 02:51:42,191
♪ Video ♪

3652
02:51:42,191 --> 02:51:45,527
♪ Sure looks good to me ♪