Post #1399738

2026-04-15 22:07 UTC

@jhv Because that degradation is part of the semiotics of how we encounter and remember media. This is the whole point of things like the analog horror genre. That said, the idea that degradation is unidirectional can be deceptive. Video essayist Noodle recently discussed how pixel art video games rendered for modern displays actually look worse, because the very ways CRT displays degraded the image were part of how those artists achieved unique effects. Another video essay on the same channel explores the history of green coloring in various releases of The Matrix, which casts into question the very notion that there was ever a non-degraded version of that film. Transformation is part of how art works. Relatedly, a reactor myself follow recently commented on how often TV shows in the 90s used shadow, casting actors in partial darkness, to powerful effect, a technique of film lighting that has been largely abandoned in later decades. Their having pointed thus out, am noticing same in other shows from the 90s. Aesthetics are choices. You, personally, may not like a particular choice, but that doesn't mean another choice would have been better. Only different.

Replies (1)

@beadsland@beige.party 2026-04-15 22:13

@jhv OTOH, there are times when degradation is proactive. Back in the 90s, myself was part of a team managing one of the first ecommerce sites, for a major cosmetics and personal care company. Our client began complaining that the product images on the shopping site looked bad. Whole product lines were sent back to the photographer to be re-shot. We reviewed our entire process for how those photos were produced and added to the catalog database, but couldn't identify the issue. Eventually, we figured out the problem. Most of the folk who worked for our client were visiting the website from home, via the America Online internet service. AOL was helpfully passing all images through a proxy server that compressed them to provide for speedier downloads. Our team was able to figure out ways to take the photos such as to ensure they'd survive the compression process without being severely garbled, by essentially taking lower quality photos to begin with, and then having our quality control team test each photo via a computer running AOL in a company hallway, before approving those that survived the proxy for inclusion in the online product catalog.

Open ##1399739