Guest Blog by China Chukwu
China works as a Paid Social Assistant at dentsu X and is also a (fantastic) illustrator and digital artist
The booming sound from a big cinema screen. The whirr from a chunky VHS tape. The sweet silence from a shiny sleek DVD. Those sounds signified the way kids from my era could watch films. From larger-than-life cinematic experiences with a room full of kids kicking at the seats in front of them in uncontainable excitement. To cuddling up on the sofa with your family or friends with a bowl of microwave popcorn after just popping in a DVD, hassle-free.
Growing up during the advent of the DVD made watching films as a kid a whole lot easier than having to hassle our parents to take us to the cinema. DVDs were great for parents, they were a much cheaper babysitter! When we couldn’t attend the big screen, we brought cinema to the comfort of our own homes. It was cheaper, quicker, and had more options than any cinema – whatever we had on the bookshelf was ours to indulge in.
The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl was a film my brother and I grew up watching plenty of times. The best part about this DVD was the 3D glasses that came inside the case: Each with either a Sharkboy and Lavagirl design on them. We could feel like we were the characters as they popped out of the screen at us in 3D. We’d skip around with the remote at lightning speed to the best scenes and watch them over and over again. A highlight was the Land of Milk and Cookies scene, with tempting giant scoops of ice-cream and slices of cake bigger than the screen itself. My brother and I had all the gimmicks cinema could give us as often as we liked.
Self portrait by China Chukwu
Another way we’d watch films if we couldn’t buy DVDs outright was to rent them from Blockbuster. If you’ve never had the pleasure to visit them (because they’ve all shut down now!) it was just like renting films from Amazon Video but you actually had to go to the shop in person to rent and return them. I’m quite certain that we paid a few late fees here and there! It took time and effort to collect a bundle of the latest releases and return them so soon, but it was a ritual my brother and I took part in to bond over what was new, or even some old favourites.
Often my family would get a bundle of 3, so I had to choose wisely. For a period of time, my pick was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, every time. I was getting older, and this entry in the series was getting a little more serious too. Maybe it was the mystery of Voldemort and the magic of Hogwarts, or perhaps it was the freedom to choose my own film, and how grown up it made me feel. Regardless of the reason, I was spellbound, and I just had to keep coming back to it. A few quid for a DVD and I could stay in Hogwarts forever.
Unfortunately, the age of DVD is fading. Who wouldn’t want to have access to the many streaming services that provide you with all the films you could ever want? I’ve slowly made peace with that every time I go through my stack of DVDs, donating away the films I loved as a kid because I just can’t justify the space it takes up anymore. Nevertheless, my love for all of those films will always be there. For getting me through a nervous night, or for making my whole family laugh and cry together (sometimes at the same time!).
Blockbuster: Gone, but never forgotten.