In the archaic days of the 1990s and early 2000s, there was a particular institution that people across America visited for the latest in entertainment. It was frequently packed with customers, especially on the weekends. That now obsolete institution was Blockbuster Video. For those of a certain age, it was a cultural phenomenon.
Before the arrival of Blockbuster, the early days of VHS movie rental stores were limited to small mom and pop businesses. I remember visiting the locally owned video stores like Petal Video and Movie Gallery. I even remember visiting a local gas station which rebranded itself in the early 1990s as a “gas station and movie rental store.” These local stores were great fun to visit, but had limited selections, especially of new releases. The waiting lists for their hot new releases could be months long.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Blockbuster burst on the scene, opening stores across America. They were armed with an innovative business model: a massive catalog of new releases, conveniently perched on the selves along the outer walls. These were the coolest and latest movies that everyone wanted to watch. They also had older films which were kept in the center of the store, organized by section: comedy, drama, family, horror, etc. At first the shelves were filled with VHS tapes, but as the years went by, they transitioned to DVDs and Blu-ray discs. Blockbuster was more than just a rental store; it was an engrossing experience and with an ambiance similar to an actual movie theater, at a fraction of the cost.
More than anything else, I remember the distinctive Blockbuster smell. I don’t know if it was the smell of popcorn, candy, the promotional cardboard cutouts, the industrial carpet, the plastic VHS/DVD cases, or maybe it was all of the above, but Blockbuster had a unique smell. The sense of smell is a powerful force. It triggers old memories. If you could just recreate that smell in a candle, you could sell the fragrance of a by-gone era.
Blockbuster built a major corporate empire in the 1990s and 2000s. At its peak, Blockbuster had over 9,000 stores across the United States, over 65 million card carrying members, and billions of dollars in revenue. Blockbuster even was at the forefront of college bowl game sponsorships. The Blockbuster Bowl, played in Miami, Florida from 1990-93, was one of first corporate named bowl games.
The Blockbuster bubble eventually burst. Today there is only one Blockbuster store open – in Bend, Oregon. It operatives partly as a working movie rental store and partly as a museum to a by-gone era in American business and pop culture. The Bend, Oregon store sells a substantial amount of nostalgic merchandise – hats, t-shirts, hoodies, with the familiar blue and yellow Blockbuster ticket logo. They even sell membership cards – mostly sold as keepsakes.
My local Blockbuster in Petal closed down in 2008. It was one of the earlier victims of a changing culture. Once cool and edgy, Blockbuster became a dinosaur unable to adapt to a new world. Most paleontologists believe the dinosaurs were killed off by a giant asteroid nearly 66 million years ago. For Blockbuster, the giant asteroid was an upstart company named Netflix.
Netflix started as a DVD rental by-mail service and transitioned to a streaming subscription service. Netflix understood the changing world. The rise of digital technology and the advent of online streaming fundamentally changed the way people watch movies. Blockbuster failed to adapt, wrongly believing that their physical stores provided a competitive edge.
One day when my kids are old enough, I’ll have a nostalgic moment and try to explain to them the cultural importance of the Blockbuster. I’ll even point out the old building on Central Avenue. They won’t understand, at least not fully. It will be like my grandparents explaining to me the cultural importance of AM radio.
Blockbuster’s story is a poignant reminder of how innovation and adaptability are crucial for survival in an always evolving business world. It is also a warning about the impermanence of even the most popular brands. For those who remember the thrill of browsing its aisles, looking for the perfect movie, it is a nostalgic slice of now gone popular culture.
—
Keith Ball is a local attorney and a lifelong resident of the Friendly City.
