I've been watching some AMC lately, and one of their slogans has been "Future of Classic." Today they were using a different one, "Thanks for the Movies," or something like that. I don't know if "Classic" is over and done with, or if it's coming back. I think it might return. It's on AMC's web site. But what does it mean?
Classic... Hmm... Something is Classic when it has stood the test of time. So a Classic movie is essentially an older film, of quality. Ok, so then if an old, quality film is Classic, what is the Future of Classic? An even older film. But in order for the film to become older, time has to go by. So the Future of Classic is the Future of Today's Classic, which can only occur in -- the Future.
In the Future, let's say the year 2020, the film that was believed Classic in 2007 may still be Classic. Like fine wine, it may have aged to achieve an even higher quality in the new context of life in 2020. However, we don't know that for sure. In fact, for all we know, a film deemed Classic in 2007 may fall apart under the scrutiny of citizens in the year 2020. If that were to happen, then a 2007 Classic film's Future would be to lose its Classic status.
A presently Classic film may remain Classic in the Future, but may also lose its status as Classic. What does this mean? "The Future of Classic" is ambiguous.
To me it means, "Adding unknowable context to our retrospective look of films that are already Classic, to the extent that
- we can no longer tell whether they truly are Classic, and
- we can no longer tell whether they will remain Classic as time goes by."
AMC wouldn't need to use the similar "Future Classics," since they mostly show old movies anyway. A "Future Classic" would be a new film that is sure to become Classic, and since AMC seems to showcase more older films than newer ones, that slogan wouldn't seem to fit.
Even after all this, I still can't tell why AMC is using "Future of Classic." Is it really Up in the Air? Do you know what it really means? If you enjoyed this post, please think about becoming a subscriber to my RSS feed.
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