This week, Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection — your grandparent’s favorite movie channel and the largest distributor of DVDs and Blu-rays in the world, respectively — teamed up and launched an online streaming service called FilmStruck. FilmStruck seeks to fill a hole for niche movie lovers seeking a streaming site exceeding the artistic quality of Netflix or Hulu. No basic people allowed: you’re entering a happy-hipster environment.

FilmStruck is definitely gambling on people’s willingness to shell out the cash for multiple streaming services. With a seemingly endless list of online entertainment options, it seems a little late for TCM to get involved. I mean if you’ve already got Netflix and cable, or Hulu and HBO GO, why would you want to pay $10.99 a month to watch black and white indie movies?

In this age of constant digital exposure, new video information is available almost by the second, and a lot of it sucks. The massive cluster of megabytes that flow through your phone, computer and television every day are so overwhelming that it becomes difficult to sift through the media, and separate good from bad art.

If you’re a movie lover like me, you probably hate the 30 minutes you spend shuffling through the movie recommendations that pop up in your Netflix queue — only to throw on Family Guy because most of the movies on Netflix seem like they’re the same ones on FX every Monday at 6 p.m. after “Rescue Me” reruns.

Even if you stumble upon a good flick, for the most part, the movies available on streaming services are pop-hits like “Iron Man” or “The Day After Tomorrow.” Note: both literally ran on FX for the entirety of my high school years. I’m serious. They’re the cinematic equivalent to plugging straight Coldplay and Maroon 5 albums on your Spotify Discover Weekly playlist.

I need thoughtful, meaningful, auteur content. Don’t feed me American Top 40 because that’s not what I want out of a movie service. Those movies are widely distributed, with promo deals and theatre runs in place to ensure their exposure. I want to see films I’ve never heard of, but Roger Ebert swears changed his life. Movies on Marlon Brando’s top 10 list — because I bet that’s a weird list — chock-full of artistic integrity.

That’s where FilmStruck steps in and stands out. By removing the lackluster clutter, FilmStruck will be a movie website solely for movie lovers. Connoisseurs will no doubt fall in love with the collection, with titles ranging from Jon Cocteau’s “Beauty and the Beast” to Federico Fellini’s “8 1/2.” Honestly, as a movie enthusiast, the collections available under a full subscription to FilmStruck will surely satisfy the best of movie-goers.

FilmStruck has received some criticism for being too specific of a subscription service, haters claim that beyond Netflix and cable, there isn’t much room for another third-party streaming service. Essentially — if you’re a movie person, you probably already shell out the cash for multiple media outlets, and FilmStruck could be targeting too specific of a cult-film audience.

As much as I sympathize with that school of thought, there is no way movie people like me won’t fall in love with FilmStruck. In my opinion, the same specificity that may prevent FilmStruck from reaching mass appeal is what will ultimately drive its popularity within the film-fiend community.

Brian Hamlin is a junior communications and rhetorical studies major.  His column appears weekly in Pulp. He can be reached at brhamlin@syr.edu.

Published on November 6, 2016 at 10:25 pm