21 Comments

We should be given the choice of format. I watch 4:3 stuff all the time without angst.

And colorized version of films should be available in black and white as originally produced.

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The writers who set up Frank Pembleton and Tim Bayliss sparring with one another--the one about virtue and vice sticks with me all these years later--deserve as much credit as the truly great acting. What a show Homicide was! And agreed on Southwest, but the prices haven't been great since the pandemic.

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NO! I have been so excited to rewatch Homicide (and watch other people discover it.) The aspect ratio stuff is like publishing a book with tops and bottoms of pages missing. Ugh.

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Homicide! Yes! It was a gem of a show unlike anything else available at the time, with fearless writing and an extraordinary ensemble cast headed by the late great Yaphet Kotto. Not to mention Andre Braugher's performance is a force of nature. Thirty years later I can't think of another show that has portrayed urban race relations with the same level of honesty and compassion.

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SONNY: Thank you for this; it takes me back. In 1991, we had a 32in(!) Sony XBR tube and a laserdisc player. As I played Blade Runner for my high school girlfriend, I went on about the superiority of “letterbox”. However, I was interrupted by having to turn the laserdisc over.

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I loved SW airlines "no assigned seats " setup. Worked great. but I fly so rarely I doubt they will care what I think.

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founding

“I don’t mean to be melodramatic, but pan and scan is an abomination before the eyes of the Lord.” 😂

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I'm in the "I like assigned seats group", in Southwest's infancy one one the major perks was that the flights were cheap and yes, you had to wait in the cattle call...but again, cheap flights, quick take-off. Not seeing much $ savings with them now....and no outlets, uncomfortable seats...I think the changes may pay off?

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I used to go Business Select on SW so that I be on in the A group's 1-15 slots. Then I noticed the huge numbers of people be allowed to board ahead me for a variety of reasons. Why pay more when others who did not get the first seating choice? I switched to the Anytime fare and which got me there cheaper. I booked a December flight prior to their announcement so wondering how that works.

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Sonny is an underutilized talent at The Bulwark. Love the movie stuff, but culture writing needs more play!

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"And look: lots of people like having assigned seats. That’s fine! There are a million other airlines that do it just like that! Go fly on one of them! Southwest does things differently. "

I'm pretty sure that's exactly why Southwest made these changes, people were taking them up on that offer.

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My husband has refused to fly SW because he can't get an assigned seat. So they will likely pick up new potential customers. I never cared and loved them for everything else and this makes me worry about other changes.

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Exactly. Southwest is engaging in what is called a “competitive response.”

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Jul 27·edited Jul 27

Well, they are responding to the threat of an activist investor with the theory is that this will generate more profit. Maybe it will and maybe it will be good for the company in the long run, but sometimes these activists aren't a healthy part of the capitalist ecosystem - just parasites who hollow out great companies to the detriment of consumers, workers, and communities.

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“…sometimes these activists aren't a healthy part of the capitalist ecosystem - just parasites who hollow out great companies to the detriment of consumers, workers, and communities.”

In our late stage Capitalism I would say it is most of the time that the activists are parasites.

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As to Southwest, I wonder if the decision is a result of the court case regarding the sexual assault which was recently decided.

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founding
Jul 26·edited Jul 26Liked by Sonny Bunch

A formative moment of my youth was when I went to purchase a widescreen version of The Matrix on VHS, and the clerk at Suncoast Video said, "You know that's going to have the black bars on it, right?"

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author

A friend in college had a really nice 4:3 TV, one of the last Trinitrons or whatever. He then bought THE MATRIX RELOADED on DVD in Full Screen. And I asked him why he would do this, it's going to be pan and scan. And he said "well ... I have a full screen TV." And I was just like "but ... the whole point of DVD ... nevermind"

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founding

It was a constant struggle. From 2000-2007 I spent the day after Christmas returning full screen DVDs I had been given for widescreen version.

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Wait. Did you just reference Rush's 2112 with the priests of Syrinx?

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author

maaaaaybe

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