How to Blow Your Cash on Popular Media
We've been going wild with DVD Impulse Purchases lately. Several months back, we bought an entertainment center at IKEA and, seeing as how our DVD collection was beginning to get a bit unwieldly, we bought a huge lot of storage containers exclusively for them. ("Do we really need this many, Care? We don't have nearly enough DVDs to begin to fill these things."
"We have a lot. It'll be full in no time."
"Maybe by the time DVD technology is out of date. Sheesh.")
Anyhow, they're full. So onto Plan B.
A friend of mine recently alerted me to the fact that the price of going to out to the movies on a Friday night (adding in a drink and a bit of popcorn) is roughly the price of a DVD. For that reason, he and his wife have decided to forego movies in theaters and wait for the DVD release. When I asked him how he could buy a movie, sight-unseen, he said, essentially, "it makes about as much sense as buying a movie ticket sight-unseen. Besides, if we like it we can watch it again and if we don't we can either give it away or sell it."
Behold the birth of the DVD Impulse Purchase.
The rules of the DVD Impulse Purchase are as follows:
- You cannot have seen the material in question before buying the DVD. Seeing "The Sound of Music" in the store and saying "ooh, I loved that movie. I'm just going to buy it right now!" might be an impulsive purchase... but it isn't an Impulse Purchase.
- Your spouse is obligated to be supportive of the Impulse Purchase.
- An Impulse Purchase is not a waste of money. You may hate the DVD after you've seen it, but part of what you're buying is the experience of not knowing what it is you've invested in. It's a warped form of excitement, particularly if you lead a boring life.
- Impulse Purchases can, to a certain extent, be planned. (i.e. "let's not rent that movie tonight. It would make for a much better Impulse Purchase.")
As for the DVDs themselves, here are a few recent gems we've bought on Impulse...
The Office (series 1 and 2) - mentioned this in a previous post, but this was the King of Impulse Purchases. A terrific show with one of the best series finales I've ever seen. Good stuff.
The Fog of War - a Carey suggestion. It's an Oscar-winning documentary on Robert McNamara (U.S Secretary of Defense during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first half of the Vietnam War). Astonishing insights. A very very important film that asks "so what have we learned?" and I truly believe every American should see it.
The Work of Directors Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, & Michel Gondry - it's only recently that I've paid serious attention to the art and craft of music videos. Both Jonze and Gondry have done some brilliant feature film work, but it's here that they truly innovate. Some incredible art-for-art's-sake and I loved every minute of each. Amazingly cool.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The First Season - We've only watched the first three episodes, so we're still formulating our opinions. So far, it's hit-or-miss. It's an HBO sit-com from the co-creator of Seinfeld that's certainly very funny, but we'll have to see if it can live up to its reputation.
I'm sure there are others coming, but maybe it's time to heed the principals of frugality.
Then again, it's DVD. I mean come on.
"We have a lot. It'll be full in no time."
"Maybe by the time DVD technology is out of date. Sheesh.")
Anyhow, they're full. So onto Plan B.
A friend of mine recently alerted me to the fact that the price of going to out to the movies on a Friday night (adding in a drink and a bit of popcorn) is roughly the price of a DVD. For that reason, he and his wife have decided to forego movies in theaters and wait for the DVD release. When I asked him how he could buy a movie, sight-unseen, he said, essentially, "it makes about as much sense as buying a movie ticket sight-unseen. Besides, if we like it we can watch it again and if we don't we can either give it away or sell it."
Behold the birth of the DVD Impulse Purchase.
The rules of the DVD Impulse Purchase are as follows:
- You cannot have seen the material in question before buying the DVD. Seeing "The Sound of Music" in the store and saying "ooh, I loved that movie. I'm just going to buy it right now!" might be an impulsive purchase... but it isn't an Impulse Purchase.
- Your spouse is obligated to be supportive of the Impulse Purchase.
- An Impulse Purchase is not a waste of money. You may hate the DVD after you've seen it, but part of what you're buying is the experience of not knowing what it is you've invested in. It's a warped form of excitement, particularly if you lead a boring life.
- Impulse Purchases can, to a certain extent, be planned. (i.e. "let's not rent that movie tonight. It would make for a much better Impulse Purchase.")
As for the DVDs themselves, here are a few recent gems we've bought on Impulse...
The Office (series 1 and 2) - mentioned this in a previous post, but this was the King of Impulse Purchases. A terrific show with one of the best series finales I've ever seen. Good stuff.
The Fog of War - a Carey suggestion. It's an Oscar-winning documentary on Robert McNamara (U.S Secretary of Defense during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the first half of the Vietnam War). Astonishing insights. A very very important film that asks "so what have we learned?" and I truly believe every American should see it.
The Work of Directors Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, & Michel Gondry - it's only recently that I've paid serious attention to the art and craft of music videos. Both Jonze and Gondry have done some brilliant feature film work, but it's here that they truly innovate. Some incredible art-for-art's-sake and I loved every minute of each. Amazingly cool.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The First Season - We've only watched the first three episodes, so we're still formulating our opinions. So far, it's hit-or-miss. It's an HBO sit-com from the co-creator of Seinfeld that's certainly very funny, but we'll have to see if it can live up to its reputation.
I'm sure there are others coming, but maybe it's time to heed the principals of frugality.
Then again, it's DVD. I mean come on.
posted by Jeremy Bear at
9:39 AM
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