The Streaming Revolution is Failing

Over the last decade, we have seen a huge rise in digital media. There are many pros and cons to this and I wrote an article several years ago, sharing my thoughts on the matter. In light of recent developments, I felt it pertinent to revisit the matter and discuss it again as the landscape has altered somewhat.

There were many positives to a digital only future, primarily the fact that it saves space and resources. For many, housing space is a premium so having a library of digital media means nothing physical is taken up. Also a lot of the time digital media is accessible from different location via online services like Netflix or the cloud, this makes it really convenient to access resources from many different locations and there is no risk that the digital media can be damaged, lost or stolen. Digital media can be cheaper to acquire the physical copies, especially when it comes rare or retro games. For example Mother on the SNES used to trade on eBay for over £100 but now is available from the Nintendo Online store for only £6.49.

Through digital, I’ve been able to buy rare or out of print copies of books (Ico, Parasite Eve), albums (Best of Popol Vuh Werner Herzog soundtrack and films (Ringing Bell and a lot of old Toho animation stuff).

As we can see, there are many pros for buying digital but I do have my concerns. Physical media has a resale value. With some games costing £70 on release now I like the fact that if I like it I can keep it in my collection but if don't or I don't think it is worth having permanently I can sell it on. I can afford now to keep all my physical games but as a child I depended on trading games in order to purchase the next game, otherwise there was no way I could have afforded it on my £2 a week pocket money.

However my concern with digital media is mostly to do with the legacy. PT, the now legendary free Silent Hills demo from Sony, is no longer downloadable on the PS Store. PS3s with the game installed are now much sought after collectors items which is nuts! Many games have been taken down from the iOS store, only downloadable to those who bought them initially and can download again but not for any new customers. Many modern games use online servers to play multiplayer, but after some time the servers are turned off meaning the multiplayer is no longer accessible.

With the removal of films and shows on streaming platforms, it is more likely than ever that content will be lost forever to the ether. With the gutting of TCM and the removal of shows and films from streaming services in a process of consolidation and profit maximisation I get why people are more interested in getting a hard copy of something they love; they don't want their favoured content to be lost forever to the ether. The fact that television shows are also being pulled from streaming services, movies are not even being distributed even when they are complete (Batgirl) or even being removed (HBO Max removing Westworld) is a worrying trend. How else are we going to be able to make documentaries and behind the scenes films years later if everything is digitally erased with no physical backup?

I bought the Switch release of Scott Pilgrim as a physical copy as licenced games are notorious for getting pulled from digital storefronts. Even worse, with Games As A Service games that don't keep raking in the moolah have their servers shut down. Now, I don't think anyone will pour one out for Babylon's Fall, but that's not the point. Yes, there are our friends on video sharing, torrenting and the bay of privateers, but we lose the surety that all is saved. Sure, not everything needs to be saved or can be saved but surely we can't just lose whole swathes of entertainment. Even stuff we have bought digitally can be removed from our libraries, just take the case of Discovery films and shows removed from PlayStation without much notice. It’s not theft apparently, as we are renting these products under the terms and conditions we sign up to, but we are digital serfs under the yoke of our digital landlords under this technofeudalism. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating but the technocreep that is eroding our rights leads us down a Blade Runner and dystopian future. But its not all doom and gloom.

The internet creates tribes and ardent fans, there will always be someone or a small group who preserve something of interest and disseminate its. As a Mysterious Cities of Gold fan it was thanks to joining the Goldlist mailing list that I was kept up to date on developments on the new series. YouTube uploaders also preserve classics like Quatermass and emulators upload roms of classic and obscure games onto websites.

So the whole issue is pretty complex but for me physical media is the way for most ways to consume most media but there are occasions for digital media. I’ve been finding my collection of things I've accumulated over the years becoming unintentionally more valuable over time. I mean, it's nice to have stuff that's worth a fair bit but it means other stuff I would like is now probably going to remain unbought or collected. This is a first world problems for sure but one that has implications for the preservation of the arts.

LINK- Ico and SOTC: Reflections of a Gaming Life

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- The Future Starts Here: An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next- Book Review

LINK- On And On And Colston ( Or, How We Kinda Sort of Learned to Talk About the Legacy of Colonialism and the British Empire)

LINK- Nintendo: My One True Gaming Constant

LINK: Let’s All Create a ‘New Normal’.

LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK- Akira Soundtrack Vinyl Review

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off- Series Review

I have a lot love for Scott Pilgrim as I got I to it during my formative years. I used to go London monthly in my teens and spend the day there, going to the Gosh Comics (When it was opposite the British Museum), Forbidden Planet, Rathbone Place CEX,  Virgin Megastore and the HMV flagship store.

Looking through the graphic novel aisles I used to pick stuff that looked cool to me, and because it was pre-internet, it was a crap shoot. Sometimes I'd get the known classic like Maus, The Sandman, Hellblazer and Alan Moore’s ouvre etc but sometimes I'd branch out and go with my gut. That's why my graphic novel collection is vast but also very eclectic. I found some genuinely bonafide amazing stuff by luck: Blankets, Persepolis and Demo come to mind.

One of the graphic novels I stumbled across was Scott Pilgrim. I liked its slacker vibe but also the pop culture references that didn't try to be too hip or cool. If you knew you knew and if you didn't that was fine, the main story was interesting enough without having to 'get' every reference or nod.

I got all the graphic novels as they came out, loving them all until it's conclusion with the 6th and final novel. Years later I enjoyed watching the underappreciated movie at the cinema and playing the brilliant retro-style belt scrolled beat'em up videogame on my Xbox 360. That banging Anamanaguchi soundtrack blew my mind and I saw them play in Heaven, London all the while risking being stuck when a rail strike was declared. I had to see them though and risked it: I couldn't have missed it.

So, it was with a lot of excitement that I sat to watch the animated series for which I had avoided all reviews and trailer breakdowns. What I can say is that, having watched the series Bryan Lee O’Malley has worked alongside co-writer BenDavid Grabinski, director Abel Góngora, and the Science SARU animation studio to create something different- a remix of his work of sorts.

First off, the animation is on point and faithful to the graphic novels however, the story goes places the graphic novels did not. The new narrative created sort of makes sense in this world: it turns what was a kind of boss rush into a story of loss, growth, rebirth and redemption. It's a modern take on the coming of age story but this time the problematic trope of the woman being the prize is subverted so Ramona becomes the most intriguing character out of the lot. She mentions in episode 1 that she is a Colombo fan and this turns into a procedural with clues as to Scott's whereabouts making up the spine of the show.
The series also gives other characters a chance to shine and expands the lore, eliciting a lot more empathy and understanding, even for the seven evil exes. For some viewers, this will be great news but for others their perspective may be similar to the old bait and switch which angered many Masters of the Universe: Revelations viewers.

I loved the boldness of the direction and, as well as the epically choreographed fights, it is the small moments that really shone; Kim and Knives just vibing and jamming away together, the Roxy and Ramona fight when they go through various movie genres, the meta episode where Edgar Wrong tries to direct the movie but it all goes disastrously, well, wrong and the final epic battle that isn't what you expect it to be.

This is all supported by a stunning soundtrack and great voice acting, which is no surprise considering that they got everyone back to reprise their roles from the movie- this is a definite get.

Overall, the series does diverge quite a lot and quickly from the graphic novel from the first episode and, even though it's a bit of a tangent, I do like that it didn't just slavishly follow the books as we have the movie and the graphic novels for that. I welcome our remixing overlords and hope that many other adaptations, where there are problematic elements such as a 23 year old dating a 17 year old high schooler, do this to make them relevant and appropriate. The series gets a high recommend from me

Lucky Penny Comic Review

Lucky Penny is the tale of young Penny Brighton, an unlucky girl who leaves disaster in her wake but has a heart of gold. The graphic novel follows Penny as she tries to figure out where to go, what to do and how to cope in the real world. The story is similar to Scott Pilgrim and mumblecore movies like Frances Ha and similar works by Greta Gerwig, where charmingly clueless, young, main characters try to deal with all that life throws at them. In this case Penny is wonderfully optimistic and chirpy whilst living in a storage unit (garage) and trying to get a job and a boyfriend.

Lucky Penny is a quick read with relatable characters, beautifully expressive art and a gentle warm humour. Yuko Ota’s art is bold and solid throughout the whole book and the storytelling gentle but interesting enough to keep you reading. The ending of the book is very boombastic and out of pace with the rest of the book but I liked it.

The book is suitable for young teens and I would recommend it!