3 Comments
Sep 20, 2021Liked by MaryAnn Johanson

I miss the two (count'em, 2!) independent shops we had in Boston - they, like branch libraries had knowledgeable employees who liked their jobs & were interesting to talk with. The little shops had a much wider range of not blockbuster films AND a better quality point of sale snack. uh-oh, now I want to rewatch Be kind, Re wind ... where am I gonna find that :) Thanks for the reminiscences.

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Sep 18, 2021Liked by MaryAnn Johanson

I miss Blockbuster about as much as I miss Starbucks when it failed in Australia. Both are franchises that present a bland homogenised offering that is the same the world over.

But I do miss the quirky little video stores that specialised in particular genres - such as science fiction - or eras or in foreign language titles. Even with modern streaming services, we still only have access to a fraction of the world's films.

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Sep 18, 2021Liked by MaryAnn Johanson

Living in rural Norfolk, we didn't have a video store, but a man with a van (not even a transit van, it was about the size of Delboy's van, but with four wheels not three). I wish I could say I miss browsing through the box of kids videos, but while I was grateful at the time for access to something other than the four TV channels, I much prefer the modern world!

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