Written by Ben Wood

Hollywood video is closing in Rexburg. They are currently having a closing sale in which their used DVDs are being sold for $3.99. They are not the first video rental store to come upon hard times. Many stores of this kind are finding it hard to stay open, and it’s not just the general economic trouble that is cutting into their revenues. People just aren’t renting movies like they used to… and by that I don’t just mean the number of people renting movies is down, I mean that the way people rent is not the same as it was just a few short years ago.

One major innovation that has changed the world is the internet. Not only does the internet allow people to download movies from their computer in the comfort of their own home, it also allows services like Netflix to operate based on input received from the users online. One can place a request for a movie online and find it in their mailbox the next day, avoiding the trip to the rental store, yet allowing for a tactile symbol of ownership that holding a physical object can be. Some claim that a “digital” copy of a movie is not the same as owning a “physical” copy, and that the security of having a DVD is worth the price paid. Netflix is capitalizing on this notion by offering the technology-based solution with the sense of security at the same time. No trip, but still having something to hold.

The other killer of your local rental store is “the RedBox.” The equivalent of an Automated Teller Machine, the RedBox is a vending machine with a credit card reader that dispenses DVDs. The card is charged $1.00 per 24 hours that the movie is out of the machine, and once returned by the renter, the DVD is then available for the next user to rent. Such a simple process has very little overhead cost, and allows the owner to place their “store” anywhere. McDonalds was one of the first locations to sport the new RedBox renting machine. However, they can now be found at almost every local grocery store, drug store, or strip mall.

I have two concerns about the RedBox that seem to reduce the convenience of this new renting method, the long line and the small selection. Although there are at least 3 by my count here in Rexburg, I always see a line at the RedBox. Waiting in line for the guy at the front to finally choose a movie and get out of the way is not how I want to spend a Friday night. The choice should seem easy compared to the number of movies available in a traditional rental store. The RedBox can’t hold as many DVDs as a store can, so they are forced to only offer the newest and most popular movies. This is where Netflix wins hands down. They offer movie titles by the millions. Something the RedBox or rental store could never dream of doing. Plus the never-leave-home aspect makes Netflix the current champion of the movie rental industry.

Movie Online Distribution and Piracy

The movie industry has greatly evolved since the invention of commercial use of the Internet. Before the 2000’s the Internet was very slow, even in metropolitan areas and was used mostly for reading and sending e-mails. Also not very many people in rural areas could receive the Internet due to logistics. Today, however, most people in the United States, even in some of the most remote and secluded areas. They have satellite internet, cable internet that uses fiber optics, as well as dial-up, which is a technological dinosaur today. This faster, widely available Internet has directly led to movies to be streamed and downloaded to computers, HDTVs, and gaming consoles today.

Napster in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was the early norm for music piracy. If a person wanted a song, they could most likely download it from Napster. The recording industries spearheaded by Metallica, filed a lawsuit against them and won, thus shutting down Napster. This was the beginning stage of piracy with the RIAA attempting to shut piracy sites down. Today music is still pirated, but so are movies as well. Almost any movie can be found on a torrent site such at thepiratebay.org, mininova, or bittorrent. Movie downloads are much larger files and take much longer to download than a song or CD. Movie studios have gone the RIAA route and sued individuals as well as ISPs to attempt to curb movie piracy.

With the increased popularity of digital downloads and faster Internet speeds, movies became a new medium to get the digital download treatment. Today, Apple sells all sorts of movies and TV shows as downloads on their iTunes store. They rent them as well. Netflix also streams movies, but they also send the physical DVD in the mail as well. Netflix even streams movies to Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and Wii consoles. They even stream to some HDTVs. Both of these companies have proven to be quite successful with digital downloads. They are destroying brick and mortar stores such as Hollywood Video and Blockbuster, which have been the movie rental industry giants for years. Blockbuster has recently tried to copy Netflix’s services with streaming movies and sending movies in the mail as well. Even though they have been “the movie rental place” for years, they lag far behind Netflix today.

What is the future of these brick and mortar stores? Many industry leaders believe that streaming and digital downloads is the future of movie rentals. Red box rental kiosks are another alternative to brick and mortar stores, and have proven to be quite popular. The fact is that the movie rental business is changing. Sarah McBride from NPR.org agrees saying, “The way people rent movies is changing. Many people stop at rental kiosks inside grocery stores. Many get movies online. Blockbuster's storefront model can seem old-fashioned, especially within the entertainment industry.” So it seems that the future of movie rentals is in online streaming and DVDs by mail, which will be crucial for Blockbuster to adapt to if they want to stay afloat.

Cinema & Our Youth

It is not uncommon in today’s society, especially among the adolescent youth, to come together through attractions to the same kind of movie viewing. This causes us to act and talk like what we see on the big screen, to impress those around us. It has come to the point where people have heavily based their lifestyle off of what they see and hear in today’s media, particularly the movies. And with the nonexistent standards of today’s movie-production companies, Americans are being unintentionally taught to do and be people that we shouldn’t be, nor even want to. Today’s popular movies are increasingly filled with intense violence and sexual content, and as the youth of today are exposed to this content, it is molding their developing minds and playing a significant role in how they talk, think, and act.

When heavily exposed to movies of explicit content, the way we think is greatly influenced by what we view. Scenes of intense violence and blood desensitize us to suffering and inhibit our ability to desire peace and safety for those around us, thus limiting our availability of the Spirit. Constant viewing of sexual and pornographic material causes horribly damaging addictions, and renders us unable to see the beauties of life and have a healthy social life. These are just a few of the hooks that movie producers put in their productions, because they know how attractive and addicting they are, and that they are always guaranteed to make a profit, even at the expense of the dignity and self-respect of millions of consumers.

Since movies have a potential to control how we think, needless to say this influence can grow to control how we act. Movies of violent content can drive us to fight of adrenalin satisfaction, and in some cases it has even led people to inflict harm on the innocent, many times resulting in death. According to www.zurinstitute.com, “The 14-year-old killer in the Paducah, Kentucky, school shooting had never fired a real pistol in his life. Nevertheless he fired eight shots, five of them head shots, the other three upper torso shots, killing 8 children. Where did he get the skill and will to kill? Most likely from violent video games and media violence, pared with a lack of adult guidance.” Video games like Doom are used by the U.S. Marine Corps to train soldiers to kill quickly and effectively. We give these video games to children. What did people think was going to happen?!

The movie industries’ desire to entertain the world in new ways, (grislier, sleazier, more explicit ways) is only desensitizing younger generations and eroding American morals. Just as a cigarette distributor makes money off his physically dying consumers, producers of these kinds of movies are making millions off of a spiritually dying nation. In order to better raise the younger generations, decent movies are still around, and they should be more publicly emphasized. The filth must stop.