If you don’t remember going to a Blockbuster or Video Ezy then you are probably younger than me. Alsaka still had Blockbusters but only because internet is expensive (usatoday.com). It must be an anxious expedition to consume pornography in Alaska. Alaska, the only place that still gets that embodied and sometimes social experience of walking through a Blockbuster store, every wall slightly backward angled from floor to ceiling shelving empty DVD covers. I have a sense of nostalgia as I remember the experience. Firstly, you must physically GO to the Blockbuster store. Imagine having to get in your car and drive to the place where you would spend the next 20 minutes walking around a room with walls covered in DVD covers as you decide what you want to watch. A bit different than scrolling through a Netflix recommended playlist huh?
If you go with say your family or a friend or two you would naturally split up at some point to cover more ground. You begin to search. That slow-motion, sideways walk you do as your eyes scan the walls, your head slowly tilts up and down every few sideways steps. You lean forward for mid-shelf DVD’s that look good or squat for the lower ones. You stay squatted as you hold the DVD case front on pressed between your thumb on top and fingers supporting the back. You would then do a maneuver that younger generations will never know, The Blockbuster Flip. The Blockbuster Flip is what you do when you want to read the blurb or description on the back of a DVD case. From holding the DVD as explained above, keeping the fingers and thumb pinched on the cover you move the thumb close to the front edge closest to your wrist. Then twist your wrist inwards as you maintain thumb and figure positions. The cover should be allowed to rotate in your hand so keep a loose grip and let the cover slide where necessary. You should now be viewing the back of the cover and you should see the outside of your fingers facing you with your thumb behind out of view. The DVD cover is now resting on the meat of your thumb, your palm and inside of your wrist. You are now ready to read the blurb.
Sorry, no movie trailer will automatically start playing like Netflix. No Steam store page here. I get so upset when I select a Netflix movie or series and there is no trailer. I also get annoyed when a loud arse trailer automatically starts playing when I am trying to talk to my partner.
The Blockbuster Flip also serves as an unspoken social indication to others. When you are embodied in a place, in a viewed space, then you are broadcasting in a sense. If you do The Flip, then be prepared to be approached, even by strangers. It serves as a talking point, maybe the stranger has seen the film and would like to recommend it. Maybe, one of your parents will see you do The Flip and approach you to see what you might select, they’re probably just wishing you would hurry up and choose something, anything. Your brother or sister is probably a couple isles over in some weird section doing their own Flip unconsciously using the maneuver to get some attention.You do realise that choosing a movie together is highly political right? You need to secure a majority vote on your selection if you actually want to watch it; The Flip serves as a political tool in this instance. Like a subtle, “Hey everyone! See what I’m looking at?’ You are indicating your specific interests to the physical world around you and people take great notice of things like that. We want to know about other people’s interests and choices. It’s just one of those human things that help us situate ourselves socially. Always making self-assessments using data collected about others. What? You think your chosen streaming service doesn’t track what you watch so they can self-assess their products to better suite your consumption habits? The difference between Blockbuster and something like Netflix here is simply physical-digital. The Flip doesn’t exist anymore in a world where embodiedness is slowly becoming more digital; it is reduced to clicks, selections and search terms. Media content has moved into our homes and customized itself to us. Sometimes it takes as long as ever to choose what to watch, we can all be indecisive at times regardless of having a ‘recommended’ playlist. Our consumption decisions are now easily and conveniently made, sometimes even made for us. That choosing process is less political and more individual; it is digital and disembodied.
Game Studies GG 