Evil Genie Jafar wrote:
But our kids will be lucky. By the time they are born we'll be done (or almost done) with the Disney Animated Classics. So whenever they want to watch a movie, they'd just have to put it in the DVD player.
That's in contrast with us that had to wait patiently for them to be released in VHS when we were kids and on DVD as adults.
Um...while I myself can't wait for when I'll be a parent (like, probably 8-10 years from now), I kind of see the kids as a bit unlucky. Here's how I see it:
Yes, we had to wait for the movies to be on VHS and/or DVD. Yes, it was a bitch cause they cost so much initially but eventually we were able to collect them. Yes, VHS soon became obsolete and DVD ruled, thus we had to wait all over again in order to upgrade. Yes, VHS had okay-to-bad quality, while DVD has great quality. But in the end, we appreciated these VHS's and DVDs much more because of the fact that we HAD TO HAVE them, but we HAD TO WAIT. Their sentimental value increased as time went on because as they went out of print, we were glad we got them when we did.
But in the future, with the VHS's and DVD's so readily available for our kids, yeah, they'll appreciate that they'll have the movies. But they would take it for granted. Once you have something, doesn't it sometimes lose that special "thing"...you know, the need you had for it, and the daydreaming that once you had it all would be right with the world? These kids, they won't have that special "thing". Cause they'll already have it. They'll think it's readily available, so it's not as important.
And let's not forget about format changes. In the next few years, we'll see HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, etc. Who knows what's after that? Eventually the kids will probably not want to play an old DVD, but the new supercalifragilisticexpialidocious format. So then THEY'LL have to wait for the titles to come on the new format. And our VHS's and DVDs will probably be their consolation prize until the new format comes out with the titles they want. Hardly special at all, just the thing for them to get buy until the newer flashier model comes out.
Escapay