One of the surest signs of the passing of one epoch to another is that ordinary features of the earlier era come to be regarded, in the later era, as quaint or novel. 

I was reminded of this while watching Alex Ross Perry’s recent documentary Videoheaven, which, using a trove of archival footage, film clips, and fun narration by actress Maya Hawke, engagingly explicates the origin story and larger meaning of the video rental store. For those of us even slightly over the age of 40, such establishments were about as unremarkable as car washes or haircut establishments promising service in mere minutes.