Netflix vs Hulu

When they rereleased/remastered the Thriller album a few years ago (when MJ was still alive), there were bonus tracks like the song "Someone in the Dark." That song existed at the time MJ was working on Thriller- but it wasn't part of Thriller- it was written for the ET soundtrack (although to my knowledge, it wasn't used by the film). Thus, it was a good bonus track- a nice thing to have for fans, but not something you want to hear whenever you hear Thriller- not part of Jackson and Quincy Jones's (the artists- the performer/writer and producer) conception of Thriller. Is Thriller a pop product? Obviously! But is it also a piece of art (however great or not you believe it to be) where every piece has been carefully selected for its contribution to the whole composition? Yes! It is that too. It is (like a TV show) a commercial product but NOT ONLY THAT. IT IS FUCKING ART MADE BY ARTISTS AND THAT NEEDS TO BE RESPECTED. But what if MJ or Quincy Jones was not invited to be closely involved in the rerelease/remaster, and his record company just decided, for commercial reasons, "hey, that E.T. song was made at the same time, let's just add that song in between the other songs. we'll put that song as the second track, right after Wanna Be Startin Somethin." Would that be respectful to the artists' conception of the album? Would that be the real Thriller that MJ and Quincy intended? Or would that just be Sony's idea of how to sell more?

You need to consider questions like that in dealing with cropped versions of movies and TV where the artists were not the ones making those decisions. Even when an artist is involved in cropping their own work, that can be problematic because they are still erasing history (see: aspect ratio controversies on Blurays of Apocalypse Now, Last Emperor and other movies shot by DP Vittorio Storaro) but at least it's their prerogative to do that (with the director) if they want to. It's also ambiguous when the artist is dead and left conflicting statements about their artistic intentions, like Kubrick. It's impossible to say for sure how Kubrick wanted his work to be seen. So long as there are people who knew him and claim to speak for him, we have to take their words seriously.

The X-Files HD situation is much more clear: Fox initiated a process to "restore" or "remaster" the show, with minimal to zero real involvement or approval from anyone involved in the show- creator, producers, writers, directors, cinematographers, effects guys, sound guys, music guys, actors. Indeed, even Carter has stated he does not want season one to four in 16:9, he gave into it, Fox has commercial ownership of the show and they can do what they want consulting him minimally if ever. but he doesn't want it. They were made in 4:3 and he wants them in 4:3 on the Bluray.

/r/Xfilesfiles Thread Parent