MSG
The town video rental store is closed and vacated. Just another sign of the times and the growing dependency on Netflix, Redbox and internet downloads. Our society is becoming less and less tangible, books are now on electronic readers like the Kindle and the Nook and even the ipad, which was invented simply because we expect new and innovating things from Apple. I wasn’t very attached to this video store, so it’s closing didn’t affect me the way the closing of the Wegman’s video store, where we got all our videos as children, did. This store only had new releases to movies from 30 years ago, no classics, easily replaceable by Redbox which also carries new releases. The only thing I’m sad to see go about this store is movie store guy. As we drove by the empty store front this morning we thought to ourselves, where is he now?
An iconic figure here in town, MSG, as we fondly referred to him behind his back, bears a striking resemblance to Philip Seymour Hoffman, enhancing his movie store guy title. MSG and I would often lament the lack of classic titles in the rental store, if he had his way they would have had a lot more. (A similar conundrum has been discussed between myself and members of the local bookstore which has a classics sections consisting of exactly 3 tiny shelves) He would tender recommendations which were dead on 99% of the time and when returning, we would discuss recently viewed films. He reminded me of Jack Black’s character in High Fidelity.
I suppose I’m a bit behind my generation with respect to this whole technological craze, I prefer to read my books on paper, and while I appreciate my laptop, and its ease in getting my ideas on “paper” I prefer pen and ink. No one writes letters anymore, no one reads books anymore, and even our movies are becoming more and more intangible. My cell phone only sends calls and text messages, I don’t have internet capabilities, and I’m ok with that, because it’s a phone…for calling people…to talk to them. I have an appreciation for technology, the quality of my TV is better with Fios, so is the speed of my internet, I use my computer and internet frequently, I have a facebook and was coerced into getting a twitter, social networking is the way things are going and I need to be on board I suppose. So I’m not ranting against technology, and I have plenty of artsy friends who love the Kindle, especially because classics are free, which I admit, is the most convincing argument I’ve heard for it yet. However, I think that something is going to be seriously lost in our society and our communication with each other if we continue to let all these intangible technologies seep into our lives and watch people like MSG slowly fade into the background.
When I first heard of the Kindle I worried about a Farenheight 451 bookpocalypse. What would happen to the books people simply didn’t want to put online, didn’t want to make available? How would the technology of the Kindle effect authors and the way they wrote books and how would it’s cheap prices effect author’s wallets, ergo, someday my wallet? But I find myself slowly less adamant about its evils, though I really do prefer a book in my hands. The other day I was sitting in a pub downtown when an old Irish gentleman stole my attention from my book by saying how impressed he was to find me reading and that no one ever reads books anymore. I was so sad to hear this, because reading books is wonderful and it seems to be something that many people ascribe to the “educated” or “English major types” or excuse themselves as “not really a book person.” For me, as an English major, and a lover of books far before I ever defined myself as such, I can’t see how anyone would not want to read. However, I think about how much of my time is allocated to TV and the computer, and how different that is from when I was a child when I didn’t have a computer (no internet at home until I was 13) and we had 10 channels on our TV, one of which was PBS and I used to watch Wishbone when I wasn’t reading a book. I find myself distracted more, and with 250 channels, I don’t even watch my 3 Netflix a month (I subscribed out of frustration at the lack of selection at the movie store…MSG was sympathetic).
I feel as though we are becoming a less and less intellectual society and wonder what it will be like to raise my kids in schools where the curriculum is dumbed down so the kids can pass exams, and channels that used to be educational, like the history channel, focus on myths like ancient aliens, Bigfoot and The DaVinci Code.
What are we doing with our time and energy, are we exercising our brains enough? If we continue to let technology do our work for us what’s going to happen to our society? I suppose I could be getting paranoid, but I’m a sentimental sucker. I love record stores and bookstore coffee shops and all that out of fashion good old fashion stuff. And I miss movie store guy.
