Being a film student has opened my eyes to the transitions in which everyone views things nowadays. Working as a waiter, it isn't uncommon to see a customer at the bar watching TV on their smartphones. When people travel, they hop on their laptops and phones to drone out the monotony of transportation. It's mind boggling to think that ten years ago, online streaming and wifi were things only a few people used. Although younger people treat the luxury of practically infinite knowledge as another necessity in their life, I can only think that they too will feel the same way about many things to come in their future.

With the rise of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and other streaming services, there is a new and accepted way we choose to watch films and media. I can't complain about the readily available media at my fingertips, but I can feel a little sad about seeing something I considered to be an institution be completely gone.

The demise of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video is the result of streaming services; let's face it, they couldn't keep up. Here's how it went:

Blockbuster, despite having dominated two decades, fails to keep up with Netflix's focus on streaming. Netflix, which doesn't even have physical stores, starts to destroy the media library giant Blockbuster. Red Box starts to pop up in grocery stores and fast food restaurants; at that point, Blockbuster starts to lose on both fronts with declining memberships and customer traffic. Blockbusters start to become a picking yard for whatever thing you can find; whether it be a PS3 game you really like or your favorite TV series, it's all dirt cheap. The whole company is clearing house while going bankrupt.

While it isn't the complete end of video stores, the fall of Blockbuster shapes and solidifies a certain attitude a majority of Western Consumers believe in: if I want something I want it now, and that's just what streaming offered.

Knowing my experiences aren't universal, it saddens me that a good majority of children won't be able to walk down the aisles of a Video Store, doughy eyed at everything around them. video stores are actually where I rented out my first game. Being part of a lower-middle class family at the time, video stores allowed us to watch movies we didn't have time to see in the theaters, or play games we couldn't always afford. It was also one of the few places you could buy Pokémon VHS Tapes and those were a commodity in the middle of the '90s in Houston, TX. Looking back, the most charming quality from that era was the idea of having a physical object literally be your gateway to a whole new world. Now you only need a solid internet connection and a computer to access an insane amount of media. Simple, easy.

To be honest, I feel jealous. My generation's exposure to media has been surpassed by kids today. In elementary school, the only thing I thought a computer was useful for was playing Zoo Tycoon or The Sims; movies were a TV-only activity. You would be lucky to even have a DVD drive on your computer. Now, if you have Netflix or Hulu, any screen you own can be a movie theater. Imagine having a sleepover and being able to sneak away on your family's iPad watching some scary horror movies or binge watching Adult Swim programming. An idea, but not a completely unreasonable one. As a filmmaker, it's astounding to see so many young people exposed to things they wouldn't have normally been allowed to when I was a child. Imagine how many other filmmakers will be inspired in this new generation; to predict what they may create is foolish, but the possibilities are overwhelming.