Hurding Katz

"Edited to fit the time allotted." "Edited for content." "Colour enhanced." Same movie; different can. The movies, as TCM shows them, don't change, but the world around them does. (Blackface is funny/Blackface is anathema.) At one time, we went to museums to look and see. Now we go to touch, feel, experience. "Interpretive centers" establish context. Exhibitions are now "activations." "Culture-forward" is the setting TCM has chosen to display its gems. The films remain the same, but the setting changes to suit the times. That morphing C, however, is a load of stylistic hokum as long as it stands for "Classic." If it stands for "Culture".... And, hey, my moniker just fits!

"Apparently the last two pages’ worth of commenters haven’t seen TCM’s replies on Twitter saying they will continue showing Golden Age Hollywood films, won’t be adding commercials, and that people will be able to watch the channel as they currently do. I don’t think we’re looking at any drastic changes. " Not everyone's on Twitter.

Change doesn't mean improve (actually) in promoland, but that's what its people say. TCM was overdue for a refreshed look, the way things go in the TV world (that's where it lives). "Let's Movie" is 6 years old. The fact we see a set being refeshed in the video is meant to say not everything is changing. Maybe just the mascara and lipstick and a coat of paint, not the underlying structure. As to movies from the 1990s and 2000s, they've already snuck in, from time to time. Age does not make a film "classic." If what they do this time around sucks, they'll soon find out from both current and potential audiences. Younger audiences (the demo that matters when there's advertising of any sort) are connected and cord cut. Linear schedules, talking heads and monochrome are not their things (supposedly, until they're exposed to them, but that's another topic). As long as [T]CM keeps the peace. Strange, BTW that there's nothing in industry or entertainment press about any changes at TCM. Tight lid on this.