The lost art of physical media
Photo courtesy of Büşranur Aydn/Pexels
I take a special pride in being the go-to friend when someone can’t find a movie on streaming services. Whether it’s unavailable or they don’t have the platform, I can turn to my personal Criterion Collection of 166 DVDs. I started collecting them about four years ago, and from gifts to thrifts, my collection has outgrown two different storage shelves. In the same breath, my mom laughed at my collection and lamented that her favorite movie got taken off Netflix (I thrifted it two months prior). Besides my DVDs, my collection of CDs and magazines—as well as an appreciation for (but lack of commitment towards) records and cameras—all come from my absolute love for physical media. Forgotten and swept aside in the age of cellphones, the physical and analog media empire has fallen, but I think there’s still merit in preserving this lost art.
The streaming platforms of today, from Netflix to Spotify, are unreliable and biased. Films and shows leave streaming services by the thousands, only to be replaced by another batch you probably don’t care for. How many films have been lost in this cycle? Shows like Infinity Train (2019-2021) are mourned by fans, as it was discontinued and taken off of all streaming platforms, effectively making it lost media. With the decrease in companies producing DVD sets, when a show is discontinued and removed from a platform, it’s difficult to get it back if no one else picks it up.
With stores like Blockbuster going bankrupt, or even RedBox’s slow death, libraries and thrift stores are the main keepers of the lost art of DVDs, and it’s up to us to support them. You shouldn’t have to buy an entirely new streaming service just to watch your favorite show. Further, don’t you want to experience the rush (and subsequent bragging rights) of discovering a new underground album? Streaming services lack longevity and are completely unreliable— who’s to say your favorite movie isn’t leaving Hulu at the end of the year? Thrift a DVD player and head over to Wadsworth Library before it’s too late.
I’m not going to pretend like my screen time isn’t a health concern, but I’m sure yours is too. Screens have taken over our lives: from your alarm in the morning, to the Brightspace homepage you stare at all day, to the TikToks you watch before bed, you’re staring at a screen for a majority of the day. DVDs aren’t only beneficial in preserving your favorite shows, but they force your eyes to concentrate on a larger screen and give your eyes a break. The little animations and videos Spotify and Apple Music play are cute, but unnecessary. Radios aren’t just for when you go offline while driving, they can also promote time away from screens and help you focus on the world around you.
Choosing the physical, “difficult” options like putting a CD on, taking pictures with a camera, or reading a book in print create an entirely new experience and can make you feel less overwhelmed by the technology around you. Phones aren’t always the easiest way to experience life; earlier, I used an iPod Shuffle at the gym and it was much easier to clip that little thing onto my shirt than find somewhere to put my phone, not to mention less distracting.
My final and favorite point: physical media is cool. We’ve already figured out that digital cameras are magical (don’t pretend that you haven’t locked in the second someone gets their Canon Powershot out), so why not keep that energy for other physical media? There’s an aesthetic appeal to the vintage look, so embrace it! Get a Walkman, thrift a DVD player, collect records. Experience media in its purest form and not just as background noise throughout your day.