Why It Matters

Lars Nilsen of Badassdigest.com started up a new column this week called Why It Matters. His inaugural post was of obvious interest to me, as it was about the VHS format.

He makes some great points in the article as to why there are still so many people clinging to this arguably obsolete format, including;

“Here's the deal as I see it: of all the films ever made, a small fraction have become available on VHS. Of those, a much smaller fraction has made it onto DVD and streaming media. If I want to enjoy a movie like Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight, I need to dust off a VHS tape. And if, in my capacity as a film programmer and advisor to a film archive, I want to refer to an obscure spaghetti western or kung fu movie, I'll probably be watching a video tape.”

He does also take the opportunity – unnecessarily in my opinion – to slam Netflix, though I wonder if it was mainly in reaction to some readers emailing that VHS is no longer needed with the advent of streaming video. I myself, have no problem with Big Red. In fact, I don't really understand any of the chest-beating online about this topic. Sony Vs. Microsoft I get (PS3 FTW!) but there is no reason why, when it comes to video, we can't all have your cake and eat it too. Netflix is not a replacement for physical media; it is a supplement.

Anyway, I just wanted to call attention to another blogger out there, who seems to love VHS, and its many spoils, as much as I do. For the full article, click here.