Feedback we’ve gotten is that this is one of the better eps! Would like to share, Episode Outline:
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History of Blockbuster.There’s a misconception that Netflix “killed” Blockbuster, but in 1997 (before Netflix ever mails a DVD) the Blockbuster market valuation had already been cut in half.
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A review of the documentary ‘The Last Blockbuster’, how it’s a character study on Heidi, who is “the one” of capitalism
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No one gets to own anything anymore
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How tech reduces friction in our lives, and why things being easier may not mean it’s necessarily “better”
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The Big Techification of movie making, how our movies are made by tech companies now and what that means
–How The Algorithm runs most of decisions we make in day to day life and how Blockbuster existed outside of that algorithm
I hate this new found nostalgia for Blockbuster. They were always the worst choice of video rentals, the company was funded by right wing interests and would censor films to appease them. They got ran out of my hometown after operating for like 4 years and Family Video expanded into all the former locations. FV was able to operate up until the pandemic because they actually integrated into the communities they were in. Ours one was selling CBD weed and had their own brewery in the end.
hell yeah. Nice. I think that is one of the interesting things about Blockbuster, is how it’s like having nostalgia for Wal-Mart, it’s bad but the things that have taken its place have just become progressively worse. Glad to hear your hometown eschewed the national chain in favor of FV