RENTING FILMS
In 1994 Blockbuster Video had 6000 stores in the world. It had 65 million registered customers and was worth around £4 billion.
It was usual that people would go to Blockbuster Video as couples, as a family or with friends. They would often speak to the Blockbuster workers and others in the store for film recommendations and to discuss their film reviews. Renting a film was a social event.
Here are some quotes to show the social impact of renting films at Blockbuster Video
“I really enjoyed the experience of renting videos in a tangible way, and asking the
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workers for their film knowledge and suggestions”.
“My nostalgia for Blockbuster is 100% derived from renting films there with my friends and then going back to one of our houses to watch it”
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After massive growth in the 1990s and early 2000s, Blockbuster faced a huge problem when film streaming services became available. In 2007, Netflix launched a video-on-demand service. By 2010 Blockbuster was bankrupt and now only has 1 store left in the whoel world. It began with Netflix, but now there are many film streaming services such as Disney Plus, Amazon Prime and Hulu. In 2024, we can stream any film we choose without the need to interact with anyone.
Alan Payne a Blockbuster franchisee said “I’m not aware of any industry that literally started from nothing and within 10 years was just a way of life for most people and then in another 10 years, it was gone.”
This graph shows the decline of Blockbusters and the rise of Netflix.
Therefore, the way we rent films has really changed between 1994 and 2024. Video rental stores such a Blockbuster provided a sense of community and an opportunity for mixing. However, video streaming services have led to an increase in atomisation and social isolation.