In the mid-to-late 2000s, the internet was a place of friction. Hard drives were expensive (a 500GB drive was a luxury), internet connections were asymmetrical, and data caps were ruthlessly enforced. To download a 7GB DVD rip was an act of commitment; to download a 1.5GB file was an investment.

Kevin Smith’s black-and-white indie masterpiece is entirely set in a convenience store. No explosions, minimal camera movement, and lots of dialogue. A 400MB encode looks almost as good as the DVD.

While streaming YouTube uses data, the official app allows you to download videos at resolutions as low as 144p. A 2-hour movie downloaded at 360p or 480p via YouTube Premium (or free in some regions) will easily fall under 500MB.

Yet, this limitation created a unique viewing culture. Because the files were so small, they were often watched on small screens: iPods, PSPs, and cheap laptops. On a 10-inch screen, the flaws of a 500MB rip were invisible. The resolution matched the display.