The Evolution of Owning Movies

Do you remember the very first movie you owned? I remember mine. As a child, my father surprised me with a betamax tape of the animated movie “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealers.” I loved Rainbow Brite since then. I learned to draw her out of memory, and my favorite part of her costume was her rainbow belt which is basically the source of her spectral powers. She was a petite superheroine who knew how to fight evil and ride an immaculate white horse named Starlite.

That was in the 80’s. Nowadays, “betamax” is so obscure a term that in Filipino slang, it refers to congealed chicken blood sliced then skewered to be grilled. I love eating it, by the way.

In my mind, I’m sketching an evolution of the different media that movies have embodied:

Betamax-VHS-Laser Disc-VCD-DVD-Bluray. Of course, with the ever-changing format comes the ever-expensive player. Notice though, that the more "obsolete" or commonplace a player becomes, the cheaper it gets. I'm referring to the DVD players. I've seen flyers that sell them for under $20 nowadays!

And from the bulky boob tube, television screens have gone bigger and flatter, and one can even build his own home theater system to recreate a movie-watching experience right in your couch’s perimeter. If you like setting up components that will mimic Surround System in your own home, then all you need is some popcorn and soda.

I wonder what the next movie format they'll come up with. For now, I'll just browse around ShopWiki UK for the latest entertainment-related products.