(and various tangents as they come to me, ending with the rebellion against a robotic clone take over of society)
First coffin I'd like to ask your help with:
Blockbuster Video. I recently was a helpless bystander, watching, like most other people out there who live in towns or areas built prior to the mid 90s, my local video store go out of business. The story is the same, a new shopping center is built or redone and this current American chain staple is guaranteed a home in your community. It didn't take more than a few months and Waimea Video store, where we went every weekend growing up and knew the owners and everyone working there had to close shop. We tried to keep supporting them but we apparently couldn't do enough. That was a good 2-3 years ago and the space it occupied still remains empty. It looks run down and really great.
But the trade off was worth it, right? Sure! We can all go to Blockbuster now and pay $6.00 (or is it more now?) for one movie for one night, deal with disinterested high school dropout workers, and dish out money to some unseen franchise owner who may or may not live in the area. And for some reason, despite their huge selection, it is often harder to find anything to watch.
Solution? Netflix. Plans start at $5 for 2 movies a month, and you can keep them as long as you want. We have the 2 at a time unlimited per month plan, it's $14. We watch up to about 8 movies a month, and we can watch an additional unlimited amount on our computer. It is far, far cheaper than Blockbuster and you don't even have to spend money on gas to drive anywhere. We are giving money to a ghost, sure, but at least not encouraging bad architecture and a sterile and monotonous landscape.
*note: Blockbuster Video also offers movies via mail similar to Netflix, but do not be fooled. Blockbuster is still again more expensive, and also, think of all the bad architecture. Also, I know Blockbuster is struggling lately as a result of their being so lame, so just participate in the coffin nailing!
Future Coffin I'd love to nail down:
Starbucks. See previous post for details on this annoying and trend defining phenomena. I'd say more, but I don't drink coffee so don't really care about it other than, again, looking at predictably generic architecture and equally predictable patrons.
Solution? Make your own. Or at least sacrifice that recognizable white and green cup and go someplace where lattes aren't $10.
Other future coffins I have seen in dreams:
Borders, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy. I would love to see these chains go down mostly for their participation in the demise of a place close to my heart: the music store. No more local music stores to hang out at, get recommendations at, to special order CDs you can't find, or to buy tickets to local shows. Even old school chain stores like Tower Records (which, though a chain, was pretty sweet and usually pretty localized) couldn't survive in the new landscape of Big Box economies of scale and convenience. I recognize the digital revolution has completely changed the music business more than anything else, but am still bitter with my terrible choices when I want to go on Tuesday and buy the new CD I was waiting for. Want a CD today? You have to go to Borders, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy or maybe Walmart. The sad thing is unless your taste in music completely sucks, then more than likely you won't find what you're looking for. The selection is frustrating and prices: high. It's sad to see smaller, local music stores with more diversity in music being utterly wiped out by gigantic boxes of sameness with identical music selections no matter which part of the country you're in.
Solution? Boycott and shop online. Amazon.com has a decent selection of music, used and new, for a range of prices. Online shops are able to provide whatever you are looking for. I have used Amazon for the past few years, as I'm old school and still like a tangible CD from time to time, and love it. Prices are great and it's shipped quickly to your door.
In summary:
The landscape has drastically changed with the global economy and increased trade, outsourcing and the internet. While this has brought us goods for lower prices and many other wonderful benefits, I believe in many ways our choices are becoming more limited as ultra-efficient and morbidly obese companies like those mentioned above put every one else out of business. I know that people make choices, and thus are to blame for going to these big box, generic chains and leaving the others to go under. Two thoughts: One, people are like robots. Two, the physical landscape has changed in so much of America that people no longer have access to local businesses without a car, they are no longer blended into communities like they were in the past. We have built an automobile dependent environment where everything in life is separated by vast amounts of roadway and parking lot. Naturally, this has created a niche for these mega chains as people now go to one particular zone to buy goods and need everything they seek in that one zone. The birth of the mega chain big box. A one stop shop for everyone, so you better be seeking the same goods as everyone. This neatly separated and planned out environment connected by roads begins altering the way we live and interact. To function in an overly planned, inorganic system, the human must also become inorganic and simply participate in the system. Robots on a conveyor belt, going from zone to zone.
But I don't want to give up and watch the natural world of the past be taken over. And not all places have been fully converted to this new system of living. And I think a growing number are becoming dissatisfied with this artificial way of life (Just visit real communities of real people and see the influx of those fighting their robotic transformation moving from elsewhere, seeking a real life among humans). My hope is for change towards more variety (not one or two big box chain stores full of products everyone must shop at), freer movement (on foot, by car, bicycle, horse, piggyback, your choice!) and a more naturally functioning system of living without conveyor belts.
In closing, I again ask all humans for help. I believe there will always be a need for video stores, music stores, book stores, coffee shops, and so on. I do not believe the one size must fit all dominance of huge chain stores is healthy for communities of members of a variety of sizes. By not giving these chains money, but by finding what we can on the internet, or of course at the few surviving local businesses in your area, humans can resist the robotic clone take over threatening to eclipse our entire society. Everything is cyclical: I believe the Walmart era isn't eternal, but humans will turn back towards a world of human scale and interaction as it is the most natural and sustainable. As humans begin to get a handle on things and are able to fight off the evil robot forces, human scale businesses run by fellow humans of various sizes may again proliferate throughout the land, enriching the character of communities and fulfilling all of our wildest dreams.
4 comments:
Amen! So sad about Waimea video. They had a great selection. Our local Provo video place, Munchies is long gone.
I would love to see towns turn local. I try to support local as much as I possibly can. I shop at a local grocery chain for food and plan to really hit the farmers market hard core this year. There is a great local bookstore in SLC called the Kings English. There does seem to be a new awarness of what we have lost and what we are losing by becoming a sterile generic society, but who knows how far things will go before there is a noticeable widespread change. I think in big cities you see more of a walkable, local mentality. It is hard where we live because we are totally reliant on our car. I look forward to living in a place that is more walkable (or at least I don't feel like I'm walking along a freeway to get to the store).
--Anna
These are some of the issues that bothered me when I moved to the mainland and then made me cry when I went home and saw it happening there. I miss the childhood that I had in small-town Waimea and worry that I will not be able to find it for my children: going to the meat market with mom to get beef, going to the farmer's market to get HUGE $1 heads of lettuce, going to Waimea video where the people knew us, checking out at Sure Save with the lady that used to babysit me. I hate watching these standardized influences destroy my home.
It was also disturbing to go to England and see these same chains. I was shocked when we were on a bus going through a small town in the Lake District and passed the local Blockbuster. I fear that these companies aren't just destroying small-town USA, they're impacting and standardizing the whole world.
We used to say that we would be better about buying local when we had more money. After spending the week and Rob and Anna's and seeing what they do to support local business, especially food, even if it does cost a little more, we decided it's worth it.
I still hope that we will be able to find a small, walkable town to raise our kids in where we can know the people that we buy from and are supporting.
Word to the mother!
I have been bothered by this for some time but haven't mustered the resolve to do something about it.
On the one hand, I do like the low prices afforded by some chains, but, as in the case of Blockbuster, they often start out economical, wipe out the competition, & then jack up the prices & substitude substandard service.
Although I am a huge Amazon user, I think it would be better to do as Anna & to consume at locally-owned businesses. Amazon is so convenient & economical, but, again, like all chains, the money all trickles up to those at the top of the company instead of to those operating the stores. We need that money spread out so the widening gap between classes narrows. We need mom-&-pop stores for the better service but also for our moms & pops. Give the elderly some love.
Great post Christian. I agree with everything you said. I still have reservations about online companies (though I use Amazon regularly and do Netflix), but I feel more comforted with your point that I am at least not contributing to more crappy architecture!
The standardization Courtney (or maybe Todd?) points out is also tragic. I live in North Carolina now, but it looks a heck of a lot like Utah Valley, because it is all of the same stores and restaurants. It broke my heart when I saw a WalMart outside of Dresden Germany a few years ago.
Anna seems to be on the right track and we can all fight this if we get involved in, build, and support our local communities and businesses. It breaks my heart to think how many entrepreneurs have no chance in an environment where all mom&pop stores are doomed.
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