The "Batsignal," as Vulcan Video general manager Jacob Knight put it, went out on May 21: Vulcan Video, the Austin-based video rental store which has, at various locations, hung around since 1986, posted a GoFundMe link titled “Help Save Vulcan Video.” The online fundraiser is asking for $35,000 in donations to “get through the next 15 months that are left on the lease” at the Southwood Shopping Center at 4411 Russell Drive. That is where Vulcan moved from its Elizabeth Street location three years ago.

“Vulcan Video began — as many video stores did — during the major tape boom of 1986,” the fundraiser pitch says. “It's the very epitome of a 'mom and pop' shop that's survived the Blockbuster invasion, and weathered the streaming storm that's been brought on by Netflix. But now, it needs your help to keep the lights on.”

» RELATED: Vulcan Video's Jacob Knight on why Netflix hasn't killed video rental

Swallowing some pride while posting this. Vulcan Video is struggling right now to keep the doors open, and needs your help. Any little bit counts as we move forward and plan how to tackle the future. If you love cinema, this is something worth saving:https://t.co/jp1c7oXOoq

— Jacob Knight (@JacobQKnight)May 22, 2019

In addition to the streaming era, the fundraiser page also attributes Vulcan's struggle to a changing Austin. The city is no longer the small, inexpensive, artist-friendly place depicted in Richard Linklater's "Slacker," it claims.

"Within the last year, we were holding on strong," Knight says. "Frankly, traffic was fine. We had a key core of regulars and a small, steady stream of new sign-ups.”

But Knight says that the nature of the business started changing in 2016, after the move from behind South Congress Avenue to a strip mall.

"In 2013, you could break a sweat during a shift," Knight says. "Helping customers, running movies from the back. The volume of foot traffic made it a whole different animal."

The video rental store's North Loop shop closed due to rent increases in late 2017. Now, the final Vulcan location off Manchaca Road has now been “hit with another rent increase, causing us to feel like we're drowning,” according to the store.

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"This isn't about the future of Vulcan," Knight says. "This is about now."

Listen to our interview with Knight from February on I Love You So Much, the Austin360 podcast: