A Dialog Referring to the Golden Period of VHS With Shea Serrano

In July, the author Shea Serrano—author of The Rap 12 months Guide, Basketball (and Other Things), and Motion photography (and Other Things)—shared a portray on Twitter that stopped me in my tracks. It used to be intended to blow their enjoy horns his unusual speakers, which surrounded a turntable, nonetheless above it used to be a bookshelf covered in VHS tapes.

This shelf preoccupied me. In 2021, when VHS tapes are no longer staging a comeback (and apt good fortune finding a VHS player), it used to be this kind of queer element, and I had so many questions. Why did Shea, a individual my age (40), maintain VHS tapes so prominently displayed? Did he stumble on them? Why these tapes? Fortuitously, Shea used to be gracious ample to glean on the phone with me one Friday afternoon in August and answer all my questions, which modified into a celebration of shitty motion photography from the golden era of VHS. Our conversation has been edited and condensed.

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The attach are we in this portray?

It be in my situation of business.

The attach did you glean these tapes?

I purchased them. When I lived in Houston, there used to be a thrift store by our home. I’d pop in on my arrangement home from work and appropriate peek what that they had. Thrift stores constantly maintain VHS tapes in the marketplace, and they’re love a quarter or five for a greenback. We moved to San Antonio, and it be the same element. What you peek in the portray is per chance 25 percent of what I enjoy.

Enact you stumble on these tapes?

No.

How attain?

I achieve no longer desire a VCR.

Then why kind you maintain all these tapes for your situation of business?

I appropriate love the vogue they accept as true with—they accept as true with frosty on a bookshelf. Additionally, I was working on the Motion photography book on the time. So I was collecting your complete film stuff I could. I tried to search out motion photography I cherished or motion photography that are end to ones I cherished.

When folks attain into your situation of business, kind they comment upon them?

Assuredly they accept as true with through them and yelp, “Oh, that is a apt film, or I’m in a position to’t imagine you maintain this, this used to be a uninteresting film. What are you thinking here?” That kind of element. It be a fun shrimp element to chit chat about for a minute.

Enact you maintain children?

I kind. I even maintain three children.

Enact they accept as true with on the tapes and ask, “What the fuck are those?”

They’ve, yeah. Delight in I talked about, they’re in the placement of business, and moreover in the placement of business, I even maintain a pool desk. My oldest children are twin 14-year-olds, and once per week they attain to my situation of business to play pool. It be a element we can toddle kind exterior of the home without being around diverse folks. We play pool and loiter around and expend snacks or irrespective of. There used to be indubitably a level once they asked, “What are these?” We had that complete conversation attributable to they barely know DVDs or Blu-ray. They absolutely did no longer know anything else about VHS.

Maintain you considered all of those motion photography?

Plug.

You maintain got obtained Backstreet Boys All Access, after which you’d want got obtained Current Kids on the Block Hangin’ Tricky Stay. Which one is extra healthy?

The Backstreet Boys concert is extra healthy. I even maintain two copies attributable to I obtained so inflamed after I saw it that I did no longer bear in mind I already owned it, so I grabbed one other one. This used to be stuff from after I was growing up. I was right young on the time of Current Kids on the Block. I was in high faculty for Backstreet Boys, and they had been far and wide. It used to be a total element. You grow nostalgic for that kind of stuff.

Next to Forrest Gump is what seems to be to be like love an NBA tape. Is that appropriate?

That’s an NBA Jams bloopers video. Remember those?

Oh, hell certain.

The diverse NBA tape I even maintain, if I’m no longer unsuitable, is song movies; they maintain basketball highlights to them.

Enact you bear in mind when Sports activities Illustrated would maintain the roundup of the year in sports that they sent to subscribers.

Yeah.

There may per chance be individual who kicked off with the Van Halen tune, “Standing on Prime of the World,” that I watched your complete time. It used to be presumably 1992, ’93. About a couple of times a month I overview that on eBay. I even maintain no longer been ready to search out a splash of it yet.

I fancy it.

That it’s doubtless you’ll fair maintain Son-in-Legislation for your shelf; it be no longer even the explicit Pauly Shore film.

I agree with you—it be no longer the explicit Pauly Shore film, nonetheless it surely’s a Pauly Shore film. And after I was a child, I believed it used to be the funniest element.

What’s the explicit Pauly Shore film for your estimation?

It comes down to a topic of semantics attributable to I don’t know in case that it’s doubtless you’ll perhaps name Encino Man a Pauly Shore film. It be presumably extra a Brendan Frazier film or a Sean Astin film. However in case you expend conceal of it a Pauly Shore film, then that is the one. If no longer, then it need to be Bio-Dome, which is ridiculous. My favourite Pauly Shore look in a film that isn’t a Pauly Shore film is Condominium Birthday celebration 2.

I didn’t realize Pauly Shore used to be in Condominium Birthday celebration 2.

No, sorry, it be Class Act in 1992. He pops up in there. It be wide.

Those Child ‘n Play motion photography had been a really habitual sub-kind of ‘90s movies.

I’m in a position to’t wait to search out the Condominium Birthday celebration motion photography on VHS.

You maintain got moreover obtained Marked for Dying, which isn’t the explicit Steven Seagal pass.

You’re presumably appropriate. However there isn’t any longer any finest. It be appropriate favourite, attributable to they’re all reasonably much the same stage of shitty.

I may quit you appropriate there. Below Siege. While there may per chance be indubitably an element of shittiness to it, Below Siege rises above the diverse ones.

what? I trust I’d toddle Above the Legislation as a replace of Below Siege. Marked for Dying is Steven Seagal doing the Steven Seagal element. Below Siege used to be love, “Oh, we’re going to set some right money leisurely this.” Tommy Lee Jones is in that one. There are stars in that one. what I’m saying?

I kind. There used to be a rapid interval after I’d toddle into a video store and if Steven Seagal’s title used to be on a VHS field, I’d rent it. Didn’t topic what it used to be.

He modified into a total psycho in a while in life, nonetheless at that particular time, he used to be surely making a bustle on the action film hero title. He never obtained there, nonetheless he used to be in pursuit.

Let’s focus on Beverly Hills Cop II. Which kind you make a choice from the authentic or the sequel?

I love II better. You omit how leisurely the authentic Beverly Hills Cop is. It takes so long sooner than any action occurs. And there is finest two action set objects in it. Beverly Hills Cop II appropriate strikes sooner.

That’s a defensible space. I desire the authentic, nonetheless II is solid.

It be below liked. It be directed by Tony Scott. Whenever you went to search out Beverly Hills Cop II, you knew what you had been getting. When I watched this, I was love 10 or 11 years celebrated, and I was appropriate surely pumped to peek that Axel Foley used to be serve. Sequels weren’t surely the indispensable element serve then. If you happen to maintain a sequel, it used to be crazy. When Die Exhausting 2 confirmed up, we misplaced our fucking minds though it used to be uninteresting.

Of all of the motion photography for your shelf that we can in this image, which one is your favourite?

That’s a no longer easy one. There may per chance be a top four: The Matrix, Swiftly and Livid, Mortal Kombat, and Most attention-grabbing of the Most attention-grabbing.

I’m embarrassed to yelp, I don’t know what Most attention-grabbing of the Most attention-grabbing is.

Oh man, you would want got obtained to search out Most attention-grabbing of the Most attention-grabbing. They appropriate set it on Netflix. It be so fucking apt. You’re going to love it. I promise you, you are going to love it. Honest stumble on it as of late. The closing match—you are going to wail. I promise you, you are going to wail.

Eric Roberts is in this? Amazing.

Dude, he’s so apt. That is his finest performance ever. You’re going to love it. I’m so jealous that you just glean to search out it for the indispensable time.

So number three for your checklist used to be Mortal Kombat. Attention-grabbing.

Mortal Kombat is indubitably one of my early film-theater reminiscences. I was 13, per chance 14-years-celebrated. I went with my two cousins. It starts with the flames coming up at some stage in the stamp and the man screaming, “Mortal Kombat.” And when that segment came about, I wished to rise up, yelp the pledge of allegiance, and salute. I was so engrossed in that film. It be no longer that wide of a film, nonetheless it surely’s light reasonably apt for a video game film.

I fancy this memoir.

All people who loves motion photography has a version of this memoir, where they saw one thing on conceal conceal and it appropriate fucking imprinted itself onto the mind. What’s yours?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. Vanilla Ice used to be in it—

Plug.

And I had to pee so unfriendly in that film. That film presumably came out 30 years ago, so I was 10 years celebrated. I bear in mind thinking, “I will pee my pants in this theater sooner than I will glean up and omit a second of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II.”

That’s supreme. I even maintain this rap book popping out in October, and there is a total fragment in there about the Vanilla Ice moment in that film. I’m moreover 40, so I was in fancy with Vanilla Ice and the Ninja Turtles. I had no idea he used to be going to be in the film. It occurs in the last couple of minutes. To be watching this film and about to glean to the broad combat—the turtles bust through the nightclub and Vanilla Ice is there. Are kidding me? And Vanilla Ice doesn’t freak out. He is love, “Whoa, whoa. What’s that?” The Ninja Turtles begin up struggling with and Vanilla Ice is love, “I may fucking freestyle rap this,” and now they’re struggling with whereas he’s rapping. Are you kidding me?

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Amazing.

I was appropriate there with you. We presumably had been in the same film theater.

I was the newborn squirming, appropriate could no longer anticipate it to be over, nonetheless did no longer desire it to total.

That’s a apt one. That’s this kind of apt one.

Anyway, that’s it. That’s the interview. Thank you for indulging me.

I cherish you, homie.

Serrano’s subsequent book is Hip Hop (and Other Things), out October 26. That it’s doubtless you’ll pre-portray it here. Within the period in-between, I even maintain no longer watched Most attention-grabbing of the Most attention-grabbing yet.

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