Long Live the DVD

"In the same way, these DVD cases and Blu-ray slipcovers, these flimsy cardboard boxes and essay-filled inserts, become as much a part of the movie experience as the films themselves. These objects become things we put on shelves, that we pack into boxes and move to new houses and unpack all over again, that we stack and shuffle and maybe pass down. There are collector’s editions, special releases, out-of-print titles, Criterion packages, thrift-store finds, personal favorites, treasured oddities. The discs themselves become part of the autobiographical experience of being a movie lover (...) In the way books become dog-eared and cracked after years of love, discs become worn and scuffed and decorated with the marks of their own journeys. When I run my fingers along the movies on my shelf, I don’t just remember the films, or the individual viewing experiences that might stand out. I remember buying this or that disc, or sharing a movie with a friend, or how I loaned this particular copy to someone hoping they’d love it, only to be crestfallen when they didn’t. There are discs I’ve bought from friends, discs I’ve borrowed and forgotten to return, and the ghosts of those discs I’ve either lost or misplaced along the way. And these things — these physical, fleeting things — matter. The movies in my hand bring with them the memories of my time with them. That’s something digital streaming content just can’t replace. You have to feel it." [Pajiba]