New ask Hacker News story: Curation in the Age of Streaming and DVDs

Curation in the Age of Streaming and DVDs
2 by xtiansimon | 0 comments on Hacker News.
In the 'old days' of broadcast & cable TV you'd turn on the television and watch _what is on_. This list of media was curated by the networks--what they can get and what's available. You'd sit down and go through the listing and once in a while be surprised and find joy when an old favorite was scheduled. For example, during the holiday season I watch old Christmas movies to get into the holiday spirit. I will certainly find the usual suspects: _It's a Wonderful Life_ (1946), _Bishop's Wife_ (1947), _White Christmas_ (1954). Then, once in a blue moon I'll see _Christmas Eve_[[1]] (1947) with George Raft and Randolph Scott [[2]]--a quirky movie with an eccentric mother who runs a train set on her dining table to serve tea to guests [[3]] (It's the best trope in the film, and every reason to rewatch it). Today there is so much new content. I'm trying to clear up my thoughts on this idea of *what compells us to rewatch an old favorite*. I'm fixated on the fact that in the 'ol days you didn't have much choice. This made watching classics fun, like a rediscovery. You watched what was on (and there's a bit of convincing yourself you were happy to watch something you hadn't seen in a while), and it was a mini-event. To find Christmas Eve scheduled, you would realize this showing might be the only chance to see it until next year. Now with streaming and DVDs, you can watch whatever you want when you want to watch it. But this has taken away the fun of re-watching old classics. Now, it feels like it's just a playlist. Where's the joy? In the social media age you can find curated lists of what's _good_, or what's _popular_, and then stick into your list a surprise classic. What other forms of curation have you run into or can you imagine that compel us to rewatch classics? [1]: https://ift.tt/WF4p1kI [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVGFGmoltDs&t=33s [3]: https://youtu.be/YUH5sRfjYmQ?t=315