By Jackson Arterberry

A/V Editor

Up until Oct. 1, the “Indiana Jones” franchise was complete on Disney+. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you may have noticed that the first four movies seem to be missing from the service. 

That’s because Disney+ has removed “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984), “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008) from its catalog worldwide. 

Despite Disney acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012 and becoming the owner of the Indiana Jones intellectual property, Paramount Pictures retained the distribution rights to the first four movies and has put them on their own platform, Paramount+ according to Disney.

The franchise being split between two separate services got me thinking: how can I prevent having to pay for multiple subscriptions and still get my Dr. Jones fix? Is there a way to preserve these beloved classics instead of relying on a streaming service that can disappear at any moment? 

Actually, yes! And it’s much simpler than you might think. 

According to the Deloitte Digital Media Trends Study, U.S. users have, on average, four streaming service subscriptions. Let’s do a little math: if each service costs $20, that’s a total of $80 a month.

With streaming on the rise and the market becoming increasingly crowded, it’s worth noting that secondhand movies and television shows are are extremely affordable. For example, places like the Oregon City Superthrift only charge $1 to purchase a DVD or Blu-ray.

Media and games section at the Oregon City Superthrift. Photo by Jackson Arterberry

Financially, this approach makes a lot of sense. Most people watch fewer than five movies or TV shows a month. Even if you opt to purchase exactly what you want from platforms like Amazon or eBay, you would still end up saving money. Blu-rays, on average, retail for about $15 new on Amazon, and you actually own them. It’s a one-and-done deal — unlike streaming services, which can remove films due to licensing issues at any time. 

Additionally, there are alternative options to consider, such as your local library. Many libraries have a wide selection of movies and TV shows available for free, often in excellent formats like Blu-ray. 

Media and game section at the Oregon City Public Library. Photo by Jackson Arterberry

To test my theory, I decided to visit Superthrift in Oregon City to purchase some movies. 

Movies purchased from Oregon City Superthrift. Photo by Jackson Arterberry

For just $12, I managed to score 12 movies, including “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012), “Kill Bill Vol. 2” (2004), “Anchorman 2” (2013), “21 Jump Street” (2012), “Kong: Skull Island” (2017), and more. Since I started purchasing media instead of relying on rentals, I’ve found myself making time to watch more films and explore titles that I might have otherwise glossed over while scrolling through Netflix or Hulu. It’s a refreshing shift that not only saves money but also enriches my viewing experience.

Some might argue, “Why not just buy the movies and shows digitally?” While digital ownership can be convenient — eliminating the need to store physical discs and allowing access on multiple devices like phones or computers — it still comes with a glaring issue. 

As customers, we remain at the mercy of these large media corporations to keep our media available. Often buried in the fine print, companies will state that you hold a license to stream these shows and movies, but they may be removed subject to licensing changes. 

For years, Funimation, a Sony-owned streaming service for anime, assured subscribers that they could keep streaming their digital copies of purchased content, but with the caveat of “forever, but there are some restrictions.” In February, Funimation announced that subscribers’ digital libraries on the platform would be inaccessible after April 2 of this year, leaving many users scrambling to figure out their next steps.

“Physical media still survives,” said Kent McCarty, owner of Great American -Espresso, Ice cream & movies rentals in Milwaukie. “I will say that it is endangered. And it is too bad because the reality is a video store, once upon a time, used to be a community gathering point where all walks of life came together for the same reason.” 

“We all went to the store on the weekend, you talked about movies, you picked out movies and you went and watched them,” said McCarty. “This is a case where technology has changed how we consume but not necessarily made it better. Convenience has displaced the great experience of the video store, but I believe losing the experience of physical media and that gathering place was really a loss to us all.”

Ultimately, you cannot fully trust streaming services to keep media you love alive and accessible. When you purchase a disc, it is yours forever. I encourage everyone to consider not just buying discs to save money but also to reduce e-waste and build a super cool collection.

More importantly, buying physical media sends a message to streaming companies: we will not be at the mercy of your licensing agreements and ever-changing catalogs. We have alternatives, and we can take a stand against rising prices or ad-based services that compromise our viewing experience.

In a world where our favorite films can vanish at a moment’s notice, investing in physical copies is not just a financial decision — it’s a declaration of independence from the shifting sands of the streaming landscape. Let’s reclaim our right to enjoy classic films without the fear of them disappearing into the void.