When you see this stack, you might be feeling a little bit of nostalgia. You would be correct.
We did not buy any of these full price. They were all bought used. We collect used DVDs as an intentional and safe way to bring quality entertainment into our home.
I truly believe that movies used to be art. There were musicians, a team of writers, producers, and set departments all working together to make a story come to life. Costume designers would choose characters clothing colors based on the mood their characters would portray. There was symbolism. The stories were just better: they were not "twaddle".
Even though many older movies were not faith based, they still had morals and christian principlas woven into the stories, inheriting from America's cultural heritage. For example, overcoming personal challenges (Wizard of Oz), friendship (Sandlot), being honest and following the rules (Pinocchio), and working together (Lord of the Rings).
Informed parents like you and I, who want to protect our child's innocence from woke ideology, spend a lot of time reading movie content and safety reviews. An easy way to avoid the modern-day woke ideology is by purchasing cheap used DVDs.
And it should be obvious that not all recent movies are bad. However, many would agree that the entertainment industry is full of openly proud nepotism, remakes, reboots, stale spinoffs, prequels and sequels. There is a widespread awareness about the toxic, wicked and criminal nature of the film industry. It is not just Disney. Even recently, Dan Schneider of Nickelodeon made news about his misconduct.
Movies today are filled with wokism, transgender ideologies, and DEI themes (also known as racism). There are "token" characters and storylines in every movie. The Oscars have a DEI requirements for movies to be considered for an award. These rules are totally arbitrary and not based on Merritt or audiences interest. For example, take a look at this link.
Celebrities are worshiped and treated like royalty. They are not like us. They are wealthy members of socciety who never have to struggle to buy groceries. They are very supportive and vocal of left wing, anti-christian policies. Here is an article showing the ways these movie stars were openly political at the recent Emmy award show in 9/2024: link.
The reality is that great shows of the past like "The Office" and "Seinfield" would never be made today
Jerry Seinfield said in a recent podcast about PC ruining comedy “When you write a script, and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups — ‘Here’s our thought about this joke’ — well, that’s the end of your comedy,” (reference).
Even Steve Carell, who is by no means conservative or christian, was approached about his thoughts on bringing "The Office" back in a reboot. He responded, “I just don’t know how that would fly now. There’s a very high awareness of offensive things today — which is good, for sure. But at the same time, when you take a character like that too literally, it doesn’t really work.” (reference) The reason why "the Office" was successful and continues to be successful is because of their sometimes offensive jokes. The goal of the show really was just entertainment and to make the audience laugh.
Streaming Services have Problems
Streaming services are annoying. The service fees are inexpensive and hard to budget and manage. I can imagine that they are easy to forget about. There are ads. Keeping track of user accounts and passwords is complicated at times. There are algorythims that make movies show up or remove itself from your view.
They give the illusion with endless scrolling that there are a lot of movies and shows to choose from. In reality, there are few good choices and a lot of toxic programing we don't want our children to be exposed to. They also give you the illusion that it is easier than DVDs because you don't have to pay for an expensive DVD or the space to store them.
You might pay for more than one service, and still have trouble funding something good to watch. You might find a movie not included in your subscription and pay to rent or buy it digitally, after you have already paid for subscriptions. Movies also sometimes have an expiration date on streaming. If you try to watch a movie again months later, it might be removed.
Used DVDS are great!
Used DVDs are super cheap: less than $4 at the thrift stores normally. People even give movies away! They are usually older movies with good stories and free of woke ideology and agendas. You can find shows from your childhood that you have love and nostalgia about.
Buying used DVDs is a way for us to limit screens in my house. Our family, including our children, aren't scrolling endless titles and reading summaries on the screens before we even watch a show: it gives the kids more independence so they can chose a show themselves because our library has been hand selected and screend by us. The movies are accessible to them and they can look at it and hold them freely.
It is hard to remove yourself from the entertainment industry and "boycott" because it is a big part of society. Buying used DVDs allows some freedom in this. You can love and enjoy movies like "Cinderella", "Bugs life" and "A nightmare before Christmas" without giving money to that studio. The money goes to a person selling it or the charity.
We encourage you to look at the DVD section of a thrift store next time you go. You might find some wholesome, quality family entertainment. Note, Youtube is great for watching trailers of any movie. Be aware of scratches or damaged disks. Always check in the inside of the jacket before you purchase it to make sure the movie disk is not missing.
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