"Not only are the movies typically so-bad-they're-good-and-wait-a-sec-actually-they-might-just-be-great, the medium defies the dominant notion that streaming is something to be embraced. "Entertainment should require a certain level of inconvenience," Okubo writes in a foreword for the book, noting that not long ago, "entertainment was an event we had to wait for, adding anticipation and value to the experience.""
"Spencer Kerber, a 32-year-old computer systems analyst, started coming to Basement VHS nights after he moved to San Francisco three years ago. "They have searched and scavenged across the world to build this crazy video archive that is unlike anything I've ever seen," Kerber says of Basement VHS. "Their love for film and accidental finds can't be replaced by some abstracted algorithm-powered streaming service.""
"Tree Stand Safety shows a hapless man falling upside-down from a tree, clearly having failed to watch the video within. A white-haired elderly woman smiles from the cover of Celebration of Jackets, which promises "True sewing excitement!" Instantly intriguing titles like Santa Claus Defeats the Aliens, How to Have Cybersex on the Internet and Random Clothed Mermaid Scenes are included throughout."
Basement VHS hosts communal VHS screenings that privilege inconvenience, anticipation and shared viewing over algorithm-driven streaming. Attendees gather to watch films projected from a VCR, browse a carefully scavenged video archive, and purchase Risographed film stills and handmade shirts. Physical artifacts like front and back covers, price-tags and rental stickers remain intact in the collection. The program features cult and obscure titles alongside odd instructional and novelty tapes, emphasizing accidental discoveries and tactile media. Participants describe the archive as irreplaceable by streaming services and celebrate the subversive act of watching analog films together in a digitized city.
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