Isn't it funny that having a degree in Film and Media Arts really only qualifies you to do two things: to teach, and run a video store more knowledgably. If you think about it, though, they're one in the same. Every video store owner, in that which he stocks his shelves with, in that which he chooses
to endorse, in this medium he (hopefully) considers a valuable art that just happens to be a commodity, is teaching his customers. To me, when a customer rents a film which the owner deems worthy of note, it's a waste not to bring this to the customer's attention. The repore or mention will help to establish said hypothetical customer as a repeat staple in your store (not to mention, the putty he becomes in your hands for the next visit).

(**extract the first part, leave out the commerical, make it less verbose)

Independence: ownership outside a corporate, committee infused decision maker; having been a cog in that particular wheel, my own of-the-moment, on the floor visions of productivity rarely leave the confines of my own observation. It's not as if my input could be considered valuable in a pure or timely fashion. The privately owned TLA video chain (there are three stores in the Philadelphia area) as well as the last mom and pop joint in my old hometown of Elverson, El Video, are big influences. Their freedom to spot trends, supply-and-demand issues, as well as the liberties they can take when ordering, has always made me wonder why more people don't find these places as comfortable or loyal to the medium as music lovers find a good, used record shop.

(**state the corporate thing only once, expand on your former experience and talent, the joy you take in it).

Neighborhood camaraderie: keeping a menial, low paying job is something people wear as a badge on their sleeves and I don't diverge. It's the back-and-forth jabber with regulars that keeps me employed at such a venue; the opportunity to leave a foreign impression on someone - to affect their personal taste in a new and altogether productive or disastrous way (the joy of this is the expectation: next week, he or she is going to revisit me and either praise or counter my tip - either way, it has made them think about articulating their opinion which, I've always felt, was one of the distinct pleasures of watching films - the novelty of self evaluation: what does my take on this film say about me, and what can I learn from my own perception?).

(**the observation is good, but dumb it down, man).

On vacations, my eyes always lit at the sight of mom and pop stores, the last bastian of video rental with the currency of a hobby, the kind of situation where people on both sides of the counter were still interested in the substance of film, and a rarity in itself, that could only exist in a place distanced enough from a corporate-owned chain, backed with the kind of money meant to not only compete, but to destroy the small, family owned stores that thrive on personality and customer loyalty, rather than their ability to intoxicate the renter with marketing overload and inimitable, overwhelming option.

(**in painting this anti-corporate sentiment, make it less mean-spirited. the vivid-ness and personal details are terrific, though)

Noble: paint a picture of my hypothetical first year at wine country video
What attracts me to this new and interesting place?

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