The World’s Last Blockbuster

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Kaleigh Soto, Staff Writer

Some of us may remember the excitement of walking into a Blockbuster with the intent of renting a movie. You walk in to scan the aisles to find your desired pick. Your mouth would water as you passed by the assortment of movie treats on display. The only place you’ll be able to experience those memories again is in the state of Oregon.

Bend, Oregon is home to the last Blockbuster in the entire world. General Manager, Sandi Harding, has kept the store running for 15 years. She stated in a comment to NBC, “It’s pure stubbornness, for one. We didn’t want to give in.”  The store currently shows no signs of losing business or popularity, thanks to tourists. “We did everything we could to cut costs and keep ourselves relevant.”

As expected, the Blockbuster is outdated to decades back. The computer is so old that it can’t be hacked. It has to be rebooted using floppy disks, and only Harding knows how to use them. Business transactions are backed up on reel-to-reel tape, which can’t be replaced because Radio Shack also went out of business.

What’s keeping the store alive is the wave of nostalgia shared by individuals all around the world. One humble DVD rental store reminds them of a simpler time from their generation. They want to keep their memories alive along with the Blockbuster. “Most people, I think, when they think about renting videos — if they’re the right age — they don’t remember the movie that they went to pick, but they remember who they went with and that freedom of walking the aisles,” says Zeke Kamm, a resident of Bend, Oregon who is making a documentary about the Blockbuster store titled “The Last Blockbuster”.