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Fallout from the Kim's raid?
 A few weeks ago, the independent CD and DVD store Mondo Kim's was raided by the police and five employees were taken away in handcuffs. Before the facts were known, blogs and boards all over the net were speculating about the event, and Kim's bashers came out in full force. From endless chatter about the arrogant, sneering staff, to comments about how the DVD bootleggers got what they deserved, there was a lot of unjustified hostility. It turned out that the raid had nothing to do with the video store, but rather with the RIAA cracking down on stores that sell illegal mixtapes. (The charges against the five who were arrested were lowered to misdemeanor charges.) A few days later, Filmbrain stopped in to the video store to chat with the rental guys about the raid, and he learned that Assistant Manager Sean Williams had been fired by Mr. Kim for no apparent reason. Was it in someway connected to the raid? Nobody knew. Sean was a great guy, and a die-hard film fan. He was just as comfortable discussing Claire Denis as he was Shuji Terayama, 70s cinema, or obscure Italian Westerns -- he really knew his stuff. With his laid-back demeanor and a more-than-passing resemblance to Jason Lee, he was friend to many a film lover, and a lot of fun to talk to. Along with co-workers Alex, Brian, and Chris, there was a vast wealth of knowledge behind that counter, and we'd often swap stories about things seen at various festivals, rare videos, etc. As for attitude and sneering -- Filmbrain was never witness to any of that. Sure, there were differing opinions about a particular film, but when isn't that the case amongst film buffs? The loss of Sean is a huge loss to the store, as well as the customers. He was fairly influential in some of the buying decisions, especially of the non-Region 1 titles. Over the years he's made some wonderful suggestions, and there are many films that Filmbrain would have normally passed over had it not been for his recommendations. It's more than a little odd that Mr. Kim would fire Sean without reason. There has been speculation as to why he might have done so, including some quotes attributed to Sean in the Village Voice. However, that article was printed days after he was fired. So, why did it happen? There have been a few resignations since the incident, and it seems that more will follow. As sole owner of the business, it is Mr. Kim's prerogative to let go of an employee -- with or without reason. (Is that legal?) It appears, however, that he places his own interests over those of his customers by doing so. At the same time, it is our choice as customers to decide if we wish to continue spending money there. This is not a call for a boycott -- Filmbrain isn't trying to sway anybody's opinion, but for the time being his personal decision is to no longer patronize the place. As for Sean, should he land at another video store, it will most definitely be their gain. Please feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below. |
July 1, 2005 in Film | Permalink
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Comments
I don't know anything about Kim's specifically, but it does rather worry me if the raid indicated a possible crackdown on such sellers. Living here in the UK, I have a far more restricted (and about twice as expensive!) choice of DVD titles available to me than there is in the USA. I'd always buy a legitimate copy where available but some of the American online specialists do offer me a chance to see rare films that I can't locate anywhere else at all and I'm somewhat reliant upon them. Even Criterion don't appear to sell in the UK, possibly due to some copyright issue. I'm lucky to have a rental store nearby that is run by an enthusiast who'll go to the trouble of importing many such titles rather than wait upon the day they see a UK release. If ever!
As for Kim's, well, I've no problems with staff being opinonated over films, music and the like. I'm always prepared to stand my ground or listen to alternate suggestions. If I asked about Terayama in my other local store, they'd probably direct me to a Chinese restaurant.
Posted by: Sarmoung | Jul 2, 2005 12:53:39 PM
I don't really know enough details about this to make an informed decision. And on top of that I don't know a better B&M rental store than Kim's, so they have my business for the time being.
Posted by: phyrephox | Jul 2, 2005 2:18:04 PM
When I worked at Kim's in 1992-3, Mr. Kim fired people left and right, often for no good reason. In firing Sean, he may just be being Mr. Kim (i.e., a raging asshole.), rather than responding to the raid. I wouldn't go boycotting the store without any further information. For one thing, I've yet to see another Manhattan video store with an equivalent collection of DVD-Rs and discs from other regions.
Posted by: Steve | Jul 2, 2005 7:35:39 PM
Ah...something that I can claim that I actually know what I'm talking about. In the absence of a state or federal statute actually saying to the contrary, it is generally absolutely lawful for an employer to fire an employee for a good reason, a bad reason, or no reason. It's a remnant of the common law that we inherited from Jolly Old England...the employment at will doctrine. For example, an employee cannot be fired because of his or her race or gender, for example, or because of his or her union activities. There are federal statutes the expressly forbid this. But if the reason is something else, or if the State of new York has some statute that says otherwise, anyone can be fired. The theory is based on the rationale that in the absence of a contract, since an employee is also "free" to leave his or her employment, the employer likewise has the right to terminate the relationship. It's bullshit, yes, but that's the way it stands. Of course, there are other quasi-contractual remedies, but that assumes other legal issues, and generally, those quasi-contractual doctrines are kicked upon sumamry judgment.
Posted by: Tribe | Jul 3, 2005 4:38:38 PM
Video Room on the Upper East Side used to be pretty good. I haven't been there in a while. Alan's Alley in Chelsea, too.
Posted by: Jordan Hoffman | Jul 4, 2005 5:24:36 PM
Tribe -- thanks for the history lesson.
As for my no longer patronizing the store -- I heard that Kim's will no longer be selling those "rarities" like they used to, but we'll see how long that lasts.
If what Steve says is correct, then why would I want to give money to a man who treats his employees like that? Sure their non-R1 collection is the best in the city, but there are plenty of online sources for them as well.
And Jordan -- yes, Video Room was a great store (and they even delivered!)
Posted by: Filmbrain | Jul 5, 2005 9:57:00 AM
mr. kim is a hard-on of the first degree. i can't even remember when he first started doing business around the ev.
i personally love the arrogant sneering staff, but then i am an arrogant sneerer myself (moreover they wouldn't dare to jeer or sneer me, it would be like detonating a nuclear warhead -- if nothing else, 20 some odd years in the ev will make you impenetrably and unassailably cool). kim's is you've got to admit kim's has nearly everything and one of their picks is one of my fave flicks: la maman et la putain.
boy the lawyers love the filmboy. they surely do.
Posted by: la_depressionada | Jul 6, 2005 9:06:01 PM
I second Eustache, so very awesome.
and Kim is a good place -- sneering staff, yes, but it's a video store, not a social club or support group or something, right? and anyway, if you mention a movie they know they haven't seen, the snappy dialogue kind of dries up.
Posted by: matteo | Jul 25, 2005 3:40:47 PM
