A Love Letter to Netflix

Dear Netflix,

            Thank you for always being there for me when I need you.  Well, as long as I can get my stupid wireless internet to work, you’re there.   I just want to take a moment to tell you how much I appreciate all facets of your being.

            First, your mail orders are efficient and quick.  Desired DVDs can be placed in the online queue whenever they strike ones fancy.  And the order can be adjusted so easily.  Like when someone realizes that watching Toy Story is way more important than watching The Social Network, they can just change the numbers by the titles or press “Top” button and voila!  Next thing they know they’re sitting with a box of Mike and Ikes watching Buzz Lightyear fall “with style.”  Within a few short days of moving ones desired movie to the top of the DVD queue, a beautiful red and white envelope shows up in the mailbox.  Once they’ve finished enjoying the film (which of course includes exhausting all available special features), the instructions on the envelope make it easy to seal back up and send back to the nearest Netflix center.  I assume these centers look something like heaven, with miles and miles of every DVD conceivable, just waiting for you to call their name and welcome them into your home.  Anyway, sometimes as quickly as 2 days after the last DVD was sent back, another red and white envelope greets an eager viewer when they open the mailbox, and the whole thing starts all over again.  It’s like the circle of life, only better.

            Of course, I haven’t even gotten to the instant streaming aspect of Netflix, which has got to be my favorite part.  It’s the most convenient way to catch up on TV shows, (although this can be hazardous when there are already six seasons and if someone hasn’t seen any of them yet…yeah, that’s a lot of hours…), and some people I know enjoy it more than actually watching television on the television.  It seems like the possibilities are endless with instant streaming, though that’s clearly not the case (because you can’t put every movie/TV show online at once…can you?...).  There are shows and movies from various and sundry decades and genres, something for everyone.  Netflix, you are everything and anything your loyal members want you to be, and I think I can speak for us all when I say we love you for that.  In addition to the wide variety of options, the convenience of instant streaming is spectacular.  It can be accessed on certain gaming devices or the computer, so viewing can be a family event or something to amuse oneself while folding laundry on the living room floor.  Which I have done.  Many a time.  As long as you’ve got internet and some sort of techno gadget, Netflix instant streaming is open for business.  Also, the ability to easily pause (space bar!) and continue watching after grabbing more popcorn, or after returning from work 8 hours later, shows your true loyalty.  No matter when we come back, you’re always waiting as though no time as gone by.

            Of course, you have your downsides (limited availability on new DVDs, buffering issues, and enabling addictions just to name a few), but I love you for who you are, and I never want you to change.  (Well, I wouldn’t mind it if you added more Pixar movies to the Watch Instantly section, but we can discuss that another time.)  I just want to reiterate that I appreciate you, and look forward to continuing this relationship until you are replaced by a newer, cheaper internet subscription service for movie and TV, or the world ends.

           

Yours truly,

                        Kimberly