In Praise of TCM...

TCM doesn't get the respect it deserves. Full movies played without commercial interruption, book-ended by thoughtful discussions, interesting anecdotes, and historical context to fan favorites and forgotten classics. I could watch a channel just dedicated to the newsreels, propaganda, promos, and other fascinating short subject pieces played between films. TCM also does an excellent job playing insightful interviews, either original or archived, from the personnel involved first hand in the productions.

In the past I enjoyed watching TCM because it was soothing and comforting to watch old movies. It was a nice background channel to doze off to. Robert Osborne had a calming grandfatherly voice.

The real praise is for their recent programming. TCM has noticeably been trying to appeal to a younger demographic the past several years. At first glance I was real worried about the integrity of the station. Usually when any corporate entity tries to pivot like this it can be a real /r/Cringetopia meets /r/FellowKids. Instead TCM has pushed incredibly thoughtful programming series that feel like you're getting a minor in film history, going out of their way to highlight issues in the film industry that have largely gone untouched in Hollywood.

Recent Examples:

Film series on people with disabilities

Footage of House Un-American activities with contextual interviews

Chronological Blaxploitation series - A serious discussion with an historian of African Americans and film followed each film. (This series was incredible)

Film series highlighting female directors

LGBTQ classics series

EDIT List of TCM "Underground" films https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCM_Underground

Documentary about Tab Hunter - Both focusing on the struggle of being a closeted homosexual and life as an actor whose career straddled the studio contract system.

(There are more, these are just off the top of my head)

It's not just social issues, the silent era programming blows by socks off every time. They recently played all the James Bond films (stopping at the Dan Craig era) accompanied by production interviews and retrospectives. There was a hilarious series of 60's sex comedies I'd never heard of, Classic Sci-Fi B movies, and they still play fan favorite classics: Hitchcock, Wilder, Capra, etc...

TCM could have easily slipped into becoming Turner Convalescence Movies as background noise for nursing homes, playing Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, and John Wayne films on a loop. So I applaud them for not just staying relevant, but doing so in a thoughtful and entertaining manner.

My main criticism of TCM is that when they pull punches, they pull them hard. Often times diving deep into an actor or director's life and then drawing the line at the most fascinating and controversial points of their career. Or ignoring some very serious wrongdoings by famous producers/directors they're highlighting.

Also the tribute to Ted Turner fluff piece they've been airing the past month or two has been laughable. Making the guy look like the savior of Hollywood and film.

TL;DR - Not your grandfather's TCM (but still kinda is (in a good way))

Submitted October 02, 2019 at 05:44PM by smudgedredd https://ift.tt/2oG299W