Widescreen: With more series choices than ever, why do I keep watching 'Seinfeld' reruns?
This past weekend on NPR's “It's Been a Minute,” host Sam Sanders and his guest, comedian D.L. Hughley, gave voice to a creeping feeling I've had. Sanders asked Hughley, author of “How Not to Get Shot: And Other Advice from White People,” what it's like being a comic in the age of Netflix.
Hughley: “Now people want portraits. ... It's like telling Michelangelo, ‘I want you to paint my family portrait.'”
Sanders: “I also think that a lot of consumers ... want to go to stuff to be affirmed and not challenged.”
Hughley: “The definition of art is challenge.”
I noticed this in my own habits over the past year. We all have an incredible amount of entertainment choices available to us from our couch, which means more chances than ever to seek out films, shows and music that deviate from our norms.
But in my experience, the limitless choices only narrow the focus.
With so many acclaimed entities competing for my attention, I am more wary than ever of making the “wrong” choice. Let's say I enjoyed binge-watching all 20 hours of Netflix's “The Crown.” What if I would have enjoyed the 23 episodes of Hulu's “The Handmaid's Tale” even more? (Not to mention the hours of classic shows I've never seen?) Then I've misdirected my precious free time.
So naturally, I gravitate toward the familiar, the slam-dunks: Those episodes of “Seinfeld” that I've seen 10 times are still funny. Another viewing of “Jaws” can't hurt.
We're 11 years removed from Netflix being a mail-order DVD service, which was my most adventurous period as a consumer. I sought out Korean horror films, indie darlings and classics I had never seen. Today, I can watch literally anything with the touch of a few buttons, and more often than not that “anything” ends up being theme park vlogs on YouTube. (Check out The Tim Tracker's trip to Tokyo Disneyland, if you like that sort of thing.) I spend my time on something I know I will enjoy instead of branching out.
Of course, there is the stereotype of the old guy who only listens to the music from his youth, and my 40th birthday is six months away. Is this adherence to the familiar just a function of aging, or a growing problem in the age of on-demand entertainment? It's both, and I'm not sure how to counteract the latter without completely unplugging.
Hmm. No cable bill? No fruitless, 40-minute scrolls through the Netflix queue? Doesn't sound so bad.
70 mm showcase
Speaking of the familiar, tickets are on sale now for the Music Box 70 mm Film Festival 2018, the annual celebration of movies presented on the rarely used, high-resolution film format. This year's outstanding lineup features 12 films, and almost all of them are bona fide classics. To wit: “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “The Dark Crystal,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Patton,” “The Remains of the Day,” “Silverado,” “The Sound of Music,” “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” “The Thing” (1982 John Carpenter version), “West Side Story,” and “Year of the Dragon.”
The festival runs from Friday, Sept. 14, to Thursday, Sept. 27, at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. See the full list of showtimes and buy tickets ($14 general admission, $70 for the entire festival) at musicboxtheatre.com.
• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.