Netflix

Physical Media’s Disappearing Act: What Lies Ahead for Blu-Ray and Beyond on the Eve of 2024

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Back in October of 2023, Best Buy announced that they were doing away with their stash of Blu-rays and other physical media beginning in 2024. Well, 2024 is just a few hours away, and suffice it to say, this new reality is on our doorstep now.

This, to me, is very unfortunate. I can recall quite fondly, sometime in the early 2010s, going through one of those large bins in Best Buy that had the $5 and $10 DVDs and Blu-rays. It was always interesting to see what was on sale and if any of my favorite films were in there. Oftentimes, I didn’t end up buying anything, but I always enjoyed perusing those bins just in case I found something that really piqued my interest.

Those bins are soon to be gone, along with aisles of Blu-rays, CDs, and DVDs that accompany them. And it’s not just Best Buy either, as both Microsoft and Sony are steering consumers to consider their digital-only consoles for their respective platforms. A trend that started about a decade ago has accelerated in recent years with the shift to more and more digital media. We’ve seen it in movies and video games, and certainly with music being the first platform to go to a nearly all-digital future (though vinyl is making a bit of a comeback).

I suppose this is just the nature of things in some regards. However, living in a world where physical media is increasingly becoming less available with each passing year is still jarring. Undoubtedly, the rise of streaming has also played a role in all of this, as people have become accustomed to watching their films on their favorite streamer or buying them directly from a digital storefront like iTunes or Google Play. It’s much more convenient to have a digital library of films on your phone that travels with you wherever your phone does than having to lug around a case of Blu-rays and old DVDs.

Still, though, there’s the question of ownership. Earlier in 2023, Max (formerly known as HBO Max) announced they were delisting certain shows and films from their platform. Mind you, these are not third-party media projects but rather things that the Max team had developed in-house but decided it was better to shelve for the tax write-offs than to release the material to their subscribers. So, for the people paying the monthly subscription fees, they never got to see those projects since they were never released and there was not any physical copies distributed. Effectively they are just gone. As bad as that is, it’s much worse for the people who actually worked on these films and TV shows and don’t have anything to show for it.

So what does all this mean on the eve of 2024? Well, prepare for more uncertainty and if there’s really a film or TV show you like and think you’ll watch again, it might be best to buy a physical copy. At least that way, it’ll be available to you whenever you like and you don’t have to worry about some corporate overlord canceling your favorite show over some tax write-offs.

Fighting for Your Work

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I saw this snippet earlier today from the Netflix account of the TV show Dear White People where show-runner Yvette Lee Bowser was speaking on how in the film and television industry you really have to hold firm to your beliefs. Or, in this particular case, the characters that you fight for.

Yvette speaks on how when she worked on the hit 90’s television show Living Single, the studio did not want her to include the character Maxine Shaw (who was played brilliantly by Erika Alexander) in the cast. According to the clip, the studio viewed the Maxine character as a little too “unapologetically black.” Yvette viewed this period as a defining moment in her career, but she was determined to keep Maxine Shaw in the show and the studio eventually approved it. The rest is history as they say. Without Maxine, Living Single is a very different show in retrospect.

Though some might view this and say, “well why all the fuss over one character?” The thing is, these aren’t just characters for a lot of people, they’re representations of who we are or who we simply aspire to be. The platform may be scripted, however the inspirational effect television and film can have on the psyche of people who rarely see themselves represented in such mediums, is often quite real. Much respect to Yvette Lee Bowser for pushing through and introducing the world to Maxine Shaw: Attorney at Law.

Netflix Bets on Black

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One of most enduring images of last Sunday’s BET Awards had nothing to do with the award show itself, but of the commercials that ran during it.

Netflix seems to be expanding every year with new shows and new programs for just about any audience. Its also made a concerted effort to invest in one group that had been mostly ignored for much of television’s history: black actors. The ad was simple, yet empowering. Take a look for yourself.

 

Now with that being said, Netflix still has some work to do in the boardroom considering black folks make up only 4% of the people who actually work there, but this is a good start.