Nolte: Best Buy to End Sales of Blu-Rays and DVDs

Best Buy will stop selling physical media this year, according to numerous reports.

“The move away from physical media has been attributed to the changing habits of [stupid] consumers, who increasingly prefer streaming and digital downloads over traditional physical formats,” per the report. “This trend has been evident over the last decade as DVD and Blu-ray sales have experienced a significant decline.”

The results of this horrifying trend can be seen everywhere. Over the last decade, big box retailers, like Best Buy and Walmart, have significantly decreased their physical media shelf space. At best, what was once aisle after aisle of movie treasures is not a half aisle or a couple of end caps or a cutout bin.

Regarding video games, Best Buy only said it will continue to sell those for the time being.

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The phase-out of physical media at Best Buy raises concerns about the preservation and accessibility of movies and TV shows. Physical copies provide a permanent, tangible form of media that is not subject to the fluctuations of streaming services or internet availability. They also offer the highest bitrate and quality, ensuring a superior viewing experience compared to streaming, particularly in scenes with fast movement or dark colors.

Despite the convenience and perceived cost-effectiveness of streaming, the decline of physical media has much broader implications for the film industry. Actors such as Matt Damon have noted that the shift to streaming has impacted the production and profitability of smaller films, which previously relied on DVD sales for a second wave of revenue. The music industry has seen similar trends, with streaming devaluing the art form and making it difficult for musicians to sustain a full-time career.

Yes, I added the word “stupid” above to describe those shifting to streaming and digital, but I was stupid myself for a number of years. I sold off most of my DVD collection and shifted to the digital site Vudu. I loved the idea of a digital collection that would never wear out or be lost in a fire, a collection I could take everywhere in my pocket.

But then this happened. Five years ago, James L. Brooks, the fascist creator of The Simpsons, announced he was voluntarily blacklisting an episode of his own show. Why? Because the country was losing its mind over a very flawed HBO documentary that accused the late Michael Jackson of child molestation, and Jackson had once lent his voice as a guest star on The Simpsons. Brooks not only stopped the production of physical copies of this episode; the godless McCarthyite reached into digital collections and erased it.

This would not be okay had Jackson been convicted. But despite the best efforts of the government, Jackson was not convicted.

I’m no Michael Jackson fan.

I’ve never watched a single episode of The Simpsons.

What I am a fan of is creative freedom, including freedom from censorship, including the disgraceful self-censorship that quisling James L. Brooks engaged in.

That was my wake-up call. Ever since, I’ve been Noah collecting physical media on my ark. These stupid, dishonest attacks on Gone with the Wind, the vandalism of The French Connection (1971), the outright disappearance of “insensitive” movies like Song of the South (1946) have only strengthened my resolve while weakening my bank account.

Sure, you can still stream Gone with the Wind, but only if you are willing to first sit through a pompous lecture that demands you feel and think a certain way about a legitimate artistic masterpiece. A few weeks ago, I got lazy, and instead of grabbing my Blu-ray, I streamed Holiday Inn (1942) — for less than two seconds. Although I had purchased the streaming copy, the vandals still dipped into my private stock to tell me the movie is racist. And you know what? I agree with the sentiments of the warning. The “Abraham” segment is racist. But I resent being lectured, warned, and told how I’m supposed to feel to be considered a good person.

One warning we would all appreciate and will never see is this: This feature film contains man-on-man kissing, homely lesbians, and the obscene idea that your identity has something to do with your character.

But as you can see in the above report, we are doing this to ourselves. Are Americans now too fat and lazy to get off the couch to load up a DVD or Blu-ray no James L. Brooks can erase?

What’s the matter with you people?

This is our art! And you’re going to leave it in the hands of left-wing multinational corporations like Disney, Apple, and Amazon?

Hey, it’s no skin off my nose. I got mine, and I’m going to keep right on getting mine. But if you have a movie or book or TV show or video game you love, you are facing a future where it will either get disappeared, be censored, or made available only through a monthly subscription service.

I refuse to live in that future.

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