Almost missed it again! You've probably noticed by now from the posts about TV, cartoons, and books that my life is pretty filled with media. I've always enjoyed learning (hence the books and my fascination with the Discovery channel as a kid), but if there's one thing that gives learning a run for its money, it would have to be taking in creativity. Yes, I realize how ridiculously art-snobbish that sounds, but that's really how I feel. Beneath all the organization and structure that encloses and compartmentalizes my life beats the heart of a poet. Okay, maybe not a poet. But I like to draw——does that count?
But I digress. Netflix has been a source of great enjoyment for me over the past year, and to those of you who remain unconverted or have yet to fully utilize its awesome powers, consider this your call to action. Over the years I've never been much of a renter. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video always repelled me because they far too often smelled like barf (literally) and wouldn't have what I was looking for. When I finally decided to get serious about movies, the prospect of having to rely on the dreaded rental store was a huge obstacle looming over me. Then I discovered Netflix instant.
For their ridiculously low price of ten bucks a month, I can average about three movies by mail per week (provided my homework schedule is accommodatingly lax) and, if I'm really feeling saucy, at least one instant movie on the other days of the week not occupied by its mail-order brethren. Even when compared to the cheapo two buck rentals from Blockbuster et al, that translates to as little as $14.00 a week and thus about $60.00 a month. This alone was enough to get me on board, but imagine my further joy when I discovered that Netflix had TV shows, documentaries, and all sorts of other fun biznass to try and sucker me into upgrading my plan to greater amounts of cash per month. Nice try boys.
But seriously, Netflix is a valuable resource for seeing otherwise rare movies, be they foreign, old, independent, or just weird and in short circulation. All I can say is good luck finding the complete works of Kurosawa at Blockbuster. I think when it really comes down to it I just love the notion of being able to get my money's worth of out something. Take the gym for example. Gyms make the most money when people underutilize their memberships. Because most gyms make you sign a contract for a year or more, you still pay even when you don't go. Not going means you're not using the equipment, and not using the equipment means that it will last longer and therefore not need to be replaced, thus making the gym more money in the long run. So it is with Netflix.
While ten bucks a month certainly isn't going to do much for them (except perhaps when multiplied by several thousand), Netflix relies on people's desire for more to really bring in the cash. Due to the speed and convenience with which we can accomplish and receive things in our time, people have a lot of difficulty with waiting. Why limit yourself to three movies by mail per week when you can get three movies at one time! Please my friends, don't be this stupid. Join me and take full advantage of Netflix's gateway mentality by signing up for a bare-bones plan that will still allow you to happily plumb the depths of its extensive movie library for the cost of a decent lunch. If anything, it provides valuable access to all those R-rated movies you never saw but heard good things about. Take my queue for example:
Full Metal Jacket
Fargo
Ong-Bak
Sanjuro
Jackie Brown
Kagemusha
The Godfather Part II
Burn After Reading
Downfall
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Scarface
Platoon
The Hangover
Glory
By the count of many denizens of Utah Valley, I am now officially going to Hell. I thought we had already established this, but whatever. We'll save that joyous argument for another day. In the meantime, I've got some serious advantage taking to do...
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