Final Blockbuster Left Will Not Flinch

We're currently living through an unprecedented economic disaster that's torpedoing pretty much every industry on the planet that doesn't supply either hand sanitizer or internet porn. One business you might not have expected to survive is one you already thought was dead: video stores. The world's last remaining Blockbuster video store is actually still open and renting movies even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The subject of a feature-length documentary and the proud recipient of Russell Crowe's filthy ghost-ridden jockstrap, the self-described "last Blockbuster" in Bend, Oregon is actually weathering this outbreak amazingly well. According to Vice News, the store pivoted to curbside pick-up for rentals before introducing safety measures that allowed them to open up to a small number of customers at a time, so people can both rent movies and pretend that it's still 1995 -- a simpler time when the only people who had to wear face masks were the cast of Mortal Kombat.

Blockbuster didn't even have to fire a single employee and continued to pay them during closures, because, ironically, despite the fact that, before the chain imploded, Blockbuster Video arguably eradicated many "mom and pop" video stores, this final Blockbuster is a mom and pop store. So it's good to hear that they're still in business. Plus, as we've pointed out before, even the crappiest Blockbuster Video location typically had a much larger selection than streaming services like Netflix.

At the very least, this final Blockbuster serves as a beacon of hope during these dark times; a testament to the power of survival even in the face of devastation. If just one Blockbuster can stay in business, providing DVDs of Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead to those who truly need it, then there might just be hope for all of us, too.

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Top Image: Coasterlover1994/Wiki Commons