How Netflix Streaming is changing everything: The Good, The Bad, and the Future

*Please Note*

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Netflix Streaming is one of the biggest changes in film distrubition I’ve ever personally witnessed. I imagine the decision to release Jaws everywhere in America at once, therefore creating the blockbuster, was more important, but this one is almost as huge.

Growing up in the middle of no where (Walworth, New York) and being inside half the year (shitty weather) made my brother and I naturally gravitate towards movies. A good friend of ours down the street had a similar interest with bizarre, obscure films and together obsession was born.

We would run around and discover cult films, obscure movies, order out of catalogs, read magazines, and do random purchases at Best Buy. It was the highlight of our lives. However, Netflix is changing all that…

The Good

One of the most depraved films sold in the mainstream. It was a big influence on finding cult films.

Netflix is making the obscure accessible to everyone. The first film I think that shocked my brother and me to the core was Blood Sucking Freaks. We somehow picked up a copy at Best Buy and were never the same. The Troma film is totally depraved and had/has no redeeming qualities. Naturally we showed all our friends. They were equally disgusted. What I like to call “The Hunt” was created – an endless struggle to find another obscure cool movie that would captivate our minds.

On The Hunt we bought another Troma title, Redneck Zombies. Pure joy. Again, we showed everyone. They were disgusted. Fist pump.

Cash-in-hand we ran to get other titles we heard were great: Dead Alive, Cannibal Holocaust, Zombie 2, Clockwork Orange, Terror Firmer, Surf Nazis Must Die, Ghost in a Shell, the list could go on for pages.

All films are available on Netflix and most of them will be on Netflix Streaming very soon. You can’t get these films ANYWHERE else except buying them on amazon, obscure mom and pops, or the Blockbuster Online option which makes you wait forever for the film. Shit!

Is this good? Big time. Access to the obscure has never been easier. This is a wonderful thing. Thinking of a young fifteen year old popping on Cannibal the Musical after his parents go to bed and cracking open a few beers he stole from his dad…it just makes me smile.

Also, I think the avaibility of indie films, arthouse pictures, and the classics, will reshape the dynamic of who has seen what. As you could tell from the movies I watched when I was young, I was not interested in the classics at all. Lars Von Trier, Kurosawa, Renoir, Ozu, Wells, Truffaut, Godard, Griffin, etc meant nothing to me.

It wasn’t until college that all these names became important. All these names are important but I  don’t know if many have the patience for them, but their films are fantastic. More recently Netflix has let me watch such classics as Gozu, Ichi the Killer, and Days of Heaven. All great movies. Many people would have just stolen these films off the internet.

The Bad

The Hunt is over. Generations of film lovers and art house theaters no longer need to hunt for great films. They’re all available at the click of a button. The 3-D film is being pushed by Hollywood for a reason. It is a huge reason for people to continue going to the theater and not stay at home and watch Netflix.

The movie theater will continue to be the cornerstone of the American date, but for how long? In my mind, Netflix will always trump going out, after all, you can’t fuck in a movie theater. Any flick your date wants to watch is instantly accessible. Netflix is going to get people laid. (This is indeed good, but I didn’t bother putting it in the previous section)

No longer will young kids and teens run out and try to trick their parents into renting an obscure film with boobs and blood in it. No longer will film douche bags have to catch Late Spring at the local art-house theater surrounded by white people with thick framed glasses, notepads, and lattes.

Netflix has a great print of this film. Finding it in a library or college you'll only find a scratchy shitty version.

This is upsetting to me because so much of what I love about movies is being able to find obscure ones. Exclusivity was part of the fun. But now we can share the love of movies with everyone, but that is not as cool.

The Future

Blockbuster is a dying business. It will soon be obsolete. The brick-and-mortar style of renting films will be gone VERY, VERY soon. Personally, I can’t fucking wait.

Blockbuster recently jacked up its price of renting a film to four bucks and their online feature does not allow instant streaming. Netflix seems like a no-brainer. There is something fun about picking out a film with your partner at a store, but is it worth it? Video games is blockbusters only hope. But they’re expensive as well. They’re better online alternatives.

Netflix is changing everything and I can’t wait to see what they’re doing next. Their stock has sky rocketed recently and their streaming option has been purchased by thousands. Our site is even discussing a whole new section simply called, “What you should watch on Netflix streaming”. A section where we discuss great films we’ve found on a Netflix streaming and encourage everyone to watch and discuss them with us. Netflix streaming is the best thing to happen to cinephiles in a long time.

-Collin