The Treasure Vault We Forgot: Discovering the Internet Archive
Lately, I’ve been feeling like there’s less to watch. Not in the literal sense—there’s more “content” than ever—but most of it feels algorithmically interchangeable and pretty forgettable.
So I turned to my new favorite media source: the Internet Archive.
The Internet Archive: More Than Nostalgia
Most people know the Archive through the Wayback Machine. But their media library is vast—a cultural preservation project without peer. We're talking:
- 40,000+ feature films in the public domain or Creative Commons
- Millions of hours of television, including obscure public access shows
- VHS transfers, classic video game playthroughs, industrial films
- Music, radio, PSAs, animation, and forgotten gems of every stripe
I recently downloaded stacks of Jeopardy! episodes from the ‘80s and ‘90s—clean, digitized. I grabbed Escape from New York. I found documentaries I hadn’t seen since a single PBS airing decades ago. This is what the internet used to feel like.
For context: Netflix’s U.S. streaming library has around 6,600 titles. The now-defunct DVD service once had 156,000. At the end, they were down to 35,000.
Why the Archive Matters More Than Ever
We live in a paradox: more content is produced each year than ever before, yet less of it is accessible. Much of it is low-quality. The actors are all models and never sweat, and people talk and say nothing at 150 words per minute. The good stuff is trapped behind licensing purgatory and exclusivity deals
Copyright exists to protect creators. But current copyright law—often lasting 70+ years past the creator’s death—frequently blocks access entirely. The Archive bridges that gap, not by pirating, but by preserving. Their legal foundation rests on fair use, public domain, educational exemptions, and direct donations. That hasn’t stopped the lawsuits I believe in copyright. But I also hope the IA fights like hell to get everything in the pub domain we have a right to see.
In 2023, Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Wiley sued over the Archive’s Open Library project. The Archive lost in district court and is now appealing. If they lose, it could jeopardize not just book lending, but their entire preservation model. And Hollywood is paying close attention.
TV news clips, rare broadcasts, and video content are also under pressure—despite being among the few public repositories for this vanishing media.
Want to help? You don’t need to volunteer. Just:
- Upload media if you have it.
- Download and back up at-risk content—especially from collections under legal or political threat. Save it in cold storage. Revisit in 20 years. But don’t delete it.
Algorithm-Free Zone (Blessedly)
My favorite part is that there are no recommendations!
No autoplay and no infinite scroll. You simply search and explore.
Algorithms don’t expand your curiosity. They create a fucking echo chamber. The Archive works the opposite way -- it is a maze of strange, beautiful, uncategorized media. A 1930s safety film might sit beside a punk show from 1997. No one’s nudging you toward anything. That’s good for the soul.
Also: there is no corporate puritanism, shall we say. There is no sanitization for international markets or demonetization purges. The Archive doesn’t shock but it doesn’t coddle vistors, either. It preserves the weird, sacred, offensive, boring, and brilliant world.
Surprisingly Well-Organized
Unlike most open platforms, the Archive seems to by and large avoids duplication chaos. I was surprised to find the same clip posted a dozen times with minor edits. Collections are curated, metadata-rich, and often annotated by real librarians.
Sample of the Archive’s Video Collections
| Collection | Approx. Items | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Films | 40,000+ | Public domain/Creative Commons movies, mostly pre-1970s |
| Classic TV | 10,000+ | Early television, vintage commercials, and more |
| Home Movies & Amateur Films | 30,000+ | Everyday life captured on VHS and film |
| Prelinger Archives | 11,000+ | Educational and government-produced films |
| News & Public Affairs | 25,000+ | Includes the January 6th Archive and raw TV coverage |
| VJ Archives / Video Games | 15,000+ | Gameplay recordings and early machinima |
| Community Video | 300,000+ | Fan edits, lectures, public access shows, and more |
That’s just the beginning. The Archive’s user-created metadata and collections elevate browsing into real discovery.
Why I Keep Coming Back
It’s radical to browse a library with no limits. I can save, organize, and download without friction. I don’t need permission. I don’t need to “like” something to remember it. It belongs to the people.
And it reminds me: media used to be weird. The internet used to be weird. I am still weird, so let's embrace weird stuff and make the internet weird again. There’s a richness to old tapes and lost broadcasts that no algorithmically sorted catalog—or AI-generated SLOP—can replicate.
Support the Archive
If you're tired of being managed by your media diet, visit the Internet Archive. If you can, donate. They’re not just preserving the past—they’re defending a future where discovery is still possible.
Start exploring: https://archive.org
You’ll be surprised what you find. Also would like to shout out the common crawl project.
Recommendations & Links
- r/NetflixDVDRevival
- r/DataHoarder
- Archive CLI
- Take Action – Internet Archive Blog
- 20,000 Drives on a Mission
- Documentary on the Archive
- Ali vs Russian Boxers
- NASA Langley Footage
- Jeopardy Episodes
- Also: Vimeo still exists! It’s more than just stop-motion student films.
- More at: gideonpotok.com & minevra.co
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