Movie Watching

Laura and I signed up for Netflix and it completely changed the way we choose which movies to watch. Before Netflix, we went to Blockbuster or Hollywood video to rent movies. Before we arrived, we already had in mind what kind of movie we’d like to see. Sometimes we knew the exact movie we wanted to watch, but usually the genre was all we could pin down. Browsing the aisles together meant we had to decide, together, which movie to watch. The forced compromise meant movies that only one of us would really enjoy didn’t make it out of the store. For example, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason has stayed safely within the store and outside of our DVD player, as have nearly all movies starring Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Each movie rented at Blockbuster must at least appeal a little to each of us. The Netflix system promotes a different form of compromise, however. Instead of each movie being a compromise of tastes, the list of movies we watch over time is a compromise. Laura adds movies, I add movies and ultimately the movies at the preferential extremes aren’t eliminated. So Seven Samurai is on the list, a movie Laura probably won’t enjoy much. Word Wars is a recent addition to our list that I might enjoy, but probably never would have approved if we’d been browsing the aisles. One result of the Netflix system is that we watch a greater variety of movies. Of course, we do sometimes discuss which movies to watch before we add them to the list. And we do compromise. I could add To Hell and Back, Operation Condor and Fists of Fury, but soon after, Bridget Jones would find her way on to the list. So far, Bridget still remains comfortably on the shelf and outside our DVD player.