The ghosts in the Redbox machine
An ode to legacy media
By Darren Johnson
Journal & Press
Abandoned things often become invisible to everyday passersby over time.
I was just saying to our newspaper printer yesterday as we passed some old wire newspaper racks at the plant that during my decades of publishing, I don’t think I’d ever actually bought a wire rack. I just wait for other newspapers to go out of business, and, after a suitable amount of waiting time – say a few weeks – noticing their racks remain empty, and even starting to collect trash and become litter themselves – I add them to my newspapers’ family of mismatched racks. Mainly, I clean up the abandoned racks and start to put my newspapers in them. I don’t actually take the racks. Just claim their turf. If the old publisher were to somehow return, that person could just remove my papers – though that never happens. When people quit the legacy media business, they quit for good.
My latest curiosity has been these Redbox machines you can still see in places like grocery stores, convenience gas stations and such. Redbox went completely out of business last year, and apparently they have abandoned their huge red kiosks. Being a purveyor of legacy media, they interest me. But it’s not like I can bring in a handcart and just wheel out these machines. They certainly are still valuable enough to lead to felonies if taken. But it is odd that these behemoths that had for so long just cheerfully dispensed DVDs, Blu-rays and even video games, are just ancient ruins, next to Coinstars and the few living newspaper racks that remain.
Almost all the stores that host these forgotten kiosks have paper signs on them that say they are no longer in service. However, I have been noticing that the Redbox in Market 32 in Wilton, New York, has been left plugged in. Its big poster display still has movies from last year. No one is servicing this machine, apparently. But the video touchscreen still works, so I decided to try it out to see if I can get a video out of it.
One never knows the last time they will be doing something. What was the last video you rented? Do you even remember?
There allegedly is one Blockbuster Video store still in the U.S., but, for all intents and purposes, the chain is dead. Thus the store is mostly about nostalgia. The same could be said for the last Howard Johnson’s restaurant, which was in Lake George until last year. We decided to go there toward the end for a meal, and it was overpriced, not well organized, and very outdated. Without the corporation behind it, these franchisees eventually just go their own way. I even hear there are other thought-to-be-dead chains that still have hold outs, like Roy Rogers and Ground Round. They somehow are keeping their menus — barely — alive.
Part of me would like to open a video store, even today. I know this would be a retro idea, and of course it wouldn’t make its money via renting videos. But I pass through Upstate towns like Gloversville and Fort Edward, and see abandoned old video stores, and figure I could get their signs and racks for free, with the permission of the landlord. If I did own a video store, it would be a place to hold events, do podcasting, lay out the newspaper. It would be a monument to legacy media, and video stores are one of the last hurrahs of legacy media in our streaming age.
As for these Redboxes, I’m sure there is a lot of legal red tape to commandeer them, considering the bankruptcy. And maybe all capable parties who had worked for the company are now gone. Ghosts. I pass by the abandoned College of Saint Rose campus in Albany every now and then, which had just announced closure last year, and it already has that ghostly feel to it. These Redbox machines also seem to linger like ghosts, and maybe most people don’t even see them anymore. Not everyone can see ghosts.
It would be nice if these machines could be donated. Perhaps local entertainers could have their DVDs and CDs stocked in there. Local bands, comedians, anything. No rentals or returns, you just buy whatever’s in there.
Or maybe these kiosks could be donated to local libraries. I notice a lot of local libraries still have huge DVD collections. This would allow local libraries to be 24/7. They could put a Redbox outside and people could come and borrow movies and video games easily. Perhaps, instead of a credit card, they could swipe their library cards to get the items. Maybe limits could be placed, so someone doesn’t go and wipe out the whole machine. Add a camera to discourage theft.
I decided to test out the Redbox at Market 32. I scrolled through the titles on the touch screen. Again, there was nothing newer than mid-2024 available. I’d say maybe “The Barbie Movie” was the newest title advertised. Just for kicks, and perhaps metaphorically, I picked a 2018 movie called “Happy Death Day.” I went through the motions, selected it, and hit “checkout.” It asked for a credit card. I used a card that I know has a low limit, in case it’s a scam. And it worked! “Happy Death Day” popped out of the slot! I took it, put it in my grocery bag, and left.
(My DVD player is in the basement, though, so I probably won’t bother to watch it. If I do, I will review it here!)
I have no idea who is monitoring these transactions. The Redbox company is dissolved, no? Where did the money go? I checked my credit card statement when I got home and there was no charge listed there.
Now, maybe I’ll get charged if I return it, or maybe they will charge me the value of the movie if I don’t? (Though who’s “they?”)
Did I dream all of this? Ghosts?
I remember having had gotten confirmation emails from Redbox in past years when I had rented from these kiosks, but this time I didn’t get a confirmation email, even though it again asked me for my email address.
As an experiment, I am going to keep this movie a few days. See what happens. I mean, there’s not much value in DVDs anymore, so it’s not like it’s worth my while to just raid this kiosk and take every movie they have, apparently for free. But I wonder about these things.
I’ll return it eventually. To be a good citizen. In case someone else wants to see “Happy Death Day” in a legacy format.