Future Shock Video started because we heard about awesome video stores that still exist in other cities very far away from New Orleans and we were bummed that we didn't have one here.
We learned that not only were there still video stores around the country, that not only were some of them truly thriving, but also that multiple new stores had recently opened. Why not in New Orleans? If any place could appreciate the weirdo communal spirit of an old-fashioned video store, it would be here. And since no one else was doing it we figured we had to do it. Simply put, we started a video store because we wanted to go to a video store.
But why, you may ask, does the world need video rental stores in this day and age? Isn't everything on streaming?
Well, no, actually.
There will always be innumerable movies and TV shows that for whatever reason are only available on physical media. In fact, there are plenty of movies that have never gotten more than a VHS release, and still others that are only available via bootleg home video transfer.
We're not just talking about obscure foreign films and B-movies -- plenty of mainstream media are caught in limbo simply because the music licensing would be too expensive, or there's an ownership dispute, or whatever. They might show up eventually, but they can also leave just as easily. With an ephemeral existence solely at the mercy of corporations there is no guarantee that anything will be there tomorrow, or that it will be the same version you know and love. The premier advantage of physical media is that once it exists it cannot be censored, re-cut, relocated, "improved," or deleted on a corporate whim.
Meanwhile even if the movie you want is (currently) available online, and even if you have every single streaming service available, much of the time the only way to stream that particular movie is to rent it on Amazon for $3.99 anyway. So what, in the end, was the point of replacing the fun of browsing a video store with the lonely and, frankly, stressful act of swiping through an algorithm?
Everything else aside, video stores are just fun. They are an undeniably more enjoyable way to pick a movie and we miss them. Picking a movie used to be an event. It required us to stop and use our time deliberately as an active participant in our own entertainment.
There is something inherently different about browsing a physical space and talking to other people about movies. A movie cover catches your eye from across the room that you would never have noticed otherwise. You get caught up in the random movie playing on the store's TV and have to find out what it is. You overhear someone passionately describing an amazing movie and you join in. Or someone else helps recommend the perfect movie to fit your mood that night. The world needs video stores because we need communal spaces for all ages, where we can find a sliver of human interaction in an increasingly isolating world. We aim to be that kind of space and we look forward to meeting you!
