Home Movies

I compartmentalize my life based on the format of at-home entertainment prevalent at the time:

VHS, the only thing we knew of in our foremost years, able to record and re-record at our leisure as much as we wanted, or until the tape broke. Those awful times you accidentally pulled the ribbon out and it was all twisted, so you had to keep pulling it out, until it was finally straight and you could turn the little white wheels to get it back into place, those wheels that never quite fit your fingers. Disney had the awesome plastic cases, the others in simple hard paper covers. The worst were the ones from rental places--besides Blockbuster--that encased them in clear plastic covers over the paper, so that no matter how many times you squeezed and pulled at the places you were supposed to, that movie would not come out to save your life. They were dangerous! I lost a tooth trying to pry The Shadow out of its case! (Okay, it was a baby tooth, but still, having a bulky VHS tape come flying at your face when you weren't expecting it would ever release was a frightening thing!)

And that's how I remember my childhood--trips to Blockbuster on South Orange Ave., never-ending watching of Disney classics, losing a tooth... I look at my VHS collection and each tape is tied to a memory, like helpful visual aids I can pop in anytime I'm feeling nostalgic, or think I might have forgotten something important. The best part is, it's like preserved feelings--one watch, and I can be transported back to the house on Beach St., listening to the exasperated cries of Grandma, Nanny, and Ba as I made them watch Beauty & The Beast or The Phantom again, but they watched it with me all the same--every time; or the early days of life in J-town when there was still a privately-owned, local video store, going in there when they were sadly closing but awesomely selling all their merchandise, my mom bringing me especially so I could grab Disturbing Behavior before anyone else did, because she's awesome like that and still supports my obsessive love of movies. I equate VHS with a simpler time, an easier time, a more-together time, before life and death got in the way.

Then there were DVDs, that only those with the snazzy equipment and extra-expensive players and discs could burn and record on. (Still don't like those people...) But they were more compact, better protected, and allowed TV shows to finally be more accessible after they had aired. (Even though I have the first few episodes of Buffy on VHS) DVDs, however, could be even more easily destroyed than the now much sturdier and reliable tapes. One good scratch and your WHOLE LIFE is ruined. I mean, your whole disc is ruined. But now there were more bonus features, ones that didn't require you to fast forward aaaalllll the way to end of the tape, after the credits, to watch.

You also didn't have to rewind. Ever. Unfortunately, we all know that if you stop the DVD without leaving the R. Stop on, when you go to play it again, you have to start all over or choose an approximate scene estimate to start at and skip back or forward to find the place you left at. This is when I miss VHS the most: you stopped it, and that's where it stayed. DVDs = my formative years as a teen, those trying times when you're trying to figure out who you are and what you're doing with life and why your crush just won't solve all your problems and like you back. My DVD collection has exponentially increased in comparison to my VHS one, and is without a doubt my greatest (and most expensive) possession in life. I'm staring at it right now. Almost brings a tear to my eye... Especially when I remember the annual Smallville summer marathons in anticipation of the new season, or constant rewatches of Dawson's Creek as I bemoaned Pacey's fictionality, or sleepovers with the girls where we gossiped about Laguna Beach like we were there and had throwback nights to the perfection of 80s teen flicks, and later Supernatural parties where we drooled over 'Hot Guys with Guns.' I look at my DVDs and that's what I see--a whole lot of teen angst, and a whole lot of good times.

The thing about both VHS and DVDs is that they're still around, as far as my life is concerned. I refuse to give up my VHS--ever. I try as hard as possible to not get the DVD versions of VHS movies I already have, ensuring they maintain their necessity in my life. I still have a VHS player. As long as it works, I'll never get rid of it. And then I'll scour eBay for a "new" one. My Disney movies aren't going anywhere, because the new DVD versions, better quality or not, just aren't the same. Speaking of better quality, you might be waiting for me to bring up the new era of my life marked by Blu-rays. Well, you'd be waiting a really long time...

Yes, I get it, Blu-rays are epically HD and come with a thousands features and all that, blah blah BLAH. That is what I say to Blu-rays. They're just another excuse to "update" movies I already have, buy a more expensive player, and spend $35 on a movie when I can spend $15. I don't like Blu-rays, mostly because I don't like change. I kept buying VHS as long as they were around, even as DVDs poured onto shelfs and rapidly took over. I'm old school, down to my very core. Give me a phone with a twisty cord--attached to the wall; a notebook, not a computer notebook, a REAL one--a bound collection of blank paper, remember those?; and an ACTUAL book vs. the electronic version ANY.DAY.OF.THE.WEEK. Cell phone? You can have it. Internet? Please take it back. I know how to use that mythical, ancient resource of information called a 'library.' In fact, I'm probably part of a dying breed that actually still utilizes their library card. And ask anyone who's known me for a day and they can tell you I would DIE without my library card.

The point is, maybe I'm hesitant to move onto the next phase of entertainment because I'm not ready to let go of this phase of my life, maybe because I don't know where the Blu-ray dominated path leads, and the unknown can be much scarier than the better or worse of right now. Besides, a world where DVDs are considered Jurassic? (I still have to get season 6 & 7 of Gilmore Girls!) No, thank you.