Dimensions of DVDs

Amongst the sprawling sea of childhood memories, I can recall a few mundane moments of my life, specifically watching movies in my basement with my sisters. We had two large plastic DVD binders that contained a mixture of bootleg and authentic DVD’s, containing everything from the animated Barbie films, to Bollywood films, to James Cameron’s Avatar. As I grew up, streaming services began to take over the place of DVD’s, no longer needing to rely on the discs to watch. I had every film at my disposal. Or so I thought.

Although streaming services began as a rival to video rental stores, there has been an increase in original content being released over the past couple decades. What once was a site for films of the past, now impossible to scroll through without being advertised for a new Netflix original series or movie. But, what if you don’t want to watch a multi-million dollar film made by a corporate conglomerate? What if you want to peruse the Netflix or Disney Plus archives in search of a childhood film? Or a film recommended to you by a friend? Or if you’re just in search of a film you’ve never heard of before? It seems almost impossible to find certain movies once they’ve been removed from these services. I’ve experienced this in my own personal life on multiple occasions, attempting to find older films, or international films, but turning up empty handed. Of course, rental is always an option, but you end up still giving money to a streaming service and not even being able to keep the film. At that point, is it even worth the extra effort towards finding a film? The layout of Netflix encourages mindless scrolling across another algorithm, categorizing films in a way so simple, you barely have to turn your brain on, consuming films as content. There is no purpose or meaning towards finding new films, they’re just there to fill the void of boredom. Therefore, the international films, the black and white films, the silent films, the films made before 1980 become ghosts, only existing if their lives are extended on streaming services, or briefly living through the 48 hour window of a rental. Unless you have a DVD.

There seems to be a trend with Gen Z recycling old trends from the past, first it was film cameras and 90s fashion, which then involved into Y2k styles and digital cameras, so, why can’t films also follow this format? The DVD (or Bluray) is the simplest way of being able to immortalize your favourite film, without having to rely on a renewed purchase of a service. Instead, you own the physical film in the palm of your hand, able to watch it whenever you’d like. Owning the actual object itself makes it feel more personal, rather than just a title on your screen; the DVD embeds a physical connection to you and the film you’re watching through the act of displaying it on your shelf, or inserting it into your player. In our increasingly digitized world, it can be difficult to break out of our patterns of consuming media constantly through a phone or computer screen. It seems as if at every turn, the advancement of technology is being pushed at us telling us to consume the latest product before it becomes old.. DVD’s allow us to slow down from this instant gratification network that has seemingly captivated our world, and allows us to actually meaningfully purchase and enjoy films as art, rather than as content.

Of course, I am not the only advocate for bringing back DVDs and Blurays. This trend has also spread across today’s generation, with more and more advocating for bringing back physical media.

**Gio S.**
I started collecting physical media when I was very young. My parents would often take me to see movies at the cinema and every single time after the movie ended, the first thing i would ask my parents is if we could buy the dvd when it came out. I was always fascinated and excited about the idea of owning a movie. I have never lost that passion for collecting and I still love passing through the blu-ray section at any store I go to.

James S.

I started collecting physical media when Spider-Man: Homecoming released on Blu-Ray in 2018. I wanted to collect every MCU film on Blu-Ray after this. I slowly started expanding my taste throughout the years, and now I collect all different types of physical media. I mainly collect Criterions because I believe in supporting the Criterion Collection’s mission to make lesser known films more accessible to the public. I will continue to collect physical media because it is important, especially from independent filmmakers and companies that aim to uplift less accessible films.

Osman S

I started collecting when I was 15 after I got interested in screenwriting for films. DVD’s allowed me to make an investment and learn from or take something away from watching each film. I also enjoy collecting DVD’s from famous old films I've been told are definitely gonna be worth the rewatchability. Now I know that there's no real ownership with online streaming, films can be taken away at any time or altered. I wanna know I have the version that I enjoyed so much forever.

**Ayden S**
I started to collect Blu-rays and DVDs in 2021 out of a love for film, and more recently have started to collect comics and graphic novels. I do this because I would much rather own a movie instead of a license to watch one that could be taken from me at any moment by a corporation.

As much as I enjoy going to the movies and watching a film, I enjoy being able to have a collection of DVD’s to immortalize the films I care about deeply. Even though everything in the world seems to scream at me to move as fast as I can, my DVD collection slows me down, and takes the time to guide me like an old friend towards a more meaningful and artistic future.

Sentiments for Cinema