The Good Ol' Days || When Scratched Cassettes Ruled and Netflix Wasn’t a Thing

I didn’t grow up in the era of black-and-white television, but my childhood was far from the Netflix-dominated, on-demand world we live in today. There was no Netflix, DSTv, GOTv, or Startimes in our home, not because they didn’t exist, but because my parents decided we didn’t need them. Instead, my siblings and I thrived on a trusty LG DVD player and an ever-growing stash of movie cassettes. Those were truly some of the best times of my life.
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Let me take you back to those simpler times. My siblings and I took pride in our collection of DVDs and cassettes, from a plethora of Korean dramas to Barbie animations and even Nollywood classics (forced upon us by none other than my mother on her quest to make sure we could speak and understand our native language, Yoruba). My pocket money had only one purpose: to expand that collection. Forget snacks or toys; my mission was to scout for new cassettes like I was gathering rare gems. It felt like an accomplishment every time I added a new cassette to the box.
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But oh, the heartbreak of scratched cassettes! The way a movie would skip or glitch because of a tiny scratch still haunts me. I remember watching "Apocalypto" for the first time, don’t ask me why my young self thought it was a good idea. The scene where the woman gives birth in a rain-filled pit left me more scared than emotional at the time. My siblings and I huddled in the living room, wide-eyed and gasping at every scene. That fear was unmatched. And to think I now watch movies like The Conjuring, The insidious; on headset, alone.

Barbie animations were another major part of our lives. We’d excitedly buy cassettes promising ten Barbie movies, only to discover that the last three at the bottom wouldn’t play. The DVD would struggle to read them, and we’d sit there disappointed but still satisfied with the seven that worked.
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Then there was Nollywood. My mum loved those movies. She’d rent cassettes for 30 naira, and we’d groan because Nollywood didn’t exactly align with our young, Barbie-loving tastes. But somehow, I ended up watching them anyway and enjoying them. I still remember the songs from "Adeola Terminator or is it Navigator now?" word for word. And who could forget Odunlade Adekola? I watched his rise to fame on those very cassettes. I can’t quite recall the title of the movie that made him a household name, but I do remember the story of him leaving his village to chase his music dreams in Lagos. His acting was so captivating that even we, the Nollywood skeptics, couldn’t help but watch and sing the songs, word-for-word.

Of course, the fight for the remote was a regular occurrence. My brother and sister had an unspoken rule: whoever grabbed the remote first got to choose what we’d watch. The loser could negotiate, but my sister always managed to get her way, thanks to her clever negotiation skills. My brother, the last born, wasn’t so lucky and often got cheated. As the eldest, I had the ultimate veto power. If I wanted the remote, I got it, no debates. But being the benevolent leader I was, I’d always ask what they wanted to watch and find a compromise.

Looking back, those were the good times. The suspense of whether a cassette would play or skip, the family debates over what to watch, how we'd groan whenever my father takes over to watch the news, and the shared moments in front of the TV created memories that still make me smile.

Now, everything is online. Netflix, YouTube, and countless streaming platforms have taken over. You no longer need a DVD player or a box of cassettes; all you need is a subscription and data. On one hand, this is incredibly convenient. You can watch whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want, without worrying about scratched cassettes or waiting for a rental shop to open. The sheer variety of content is mind-blowing, and the quality is never degrading.
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On the other hand, there’s a downside. The magic of shared moments has faded. Everyone is on their phones, watching their own thing in their own corner of the house. The living room, once the center of family bonding, is now just another room. There’s no debate over the remote, no collective groans when the cassette glitches, no shared laughs over a silly Barbie animation or a dramatic Nollywood plot.

While the convenience of streaming is undeniable, I can’t help but miss the charm of the old days. In a way, I feel lucky to have experienced both worlds. I got to live through the era of DVDs and cassettes, and I’m now enjoying the convenience of streaming.

I hope I never have to choose between those glitchy cassettes and remote fights or the convenience of streaming. We are grown now and those memories will always live with us. It's just quite sad that the coming generation may never get to experience those quirky but simple family bonding moments.

Thank you for reading! :)

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