By: Kiara Wilkerson (’22), Staff Writer
If you’ve been on social media within the past two months then you’ve probably seen posts about how there are more than forty new Black shows, movies, and documentaries coming to Netflix before this year ends. Considering the consistently limited collection of Black stories that Netflix has offered, this is a bit surprising. So, what’s with Netflix’s sudden interest in the satisfaction of its Black audience?
When Netflix first introduced streaming into its services in 2007, they only had about 7.48M yearly subscribers. In 2020, with their global audience on the continuous rise, that number has risen to roughly 183M subscribers, making Netflix the biggest streaming platform in the world. Most people choose Netflix over cable and other streaming sites, like Amazon, Hulu, and HBO, because of its exclusive and original content, the lack of interrupting commercials, and a monthly fee as low as $8.99. All of these features make Netflix a top choice for viewers, but their sudden interest in including more Black content all at once—especially considering the current social climate—has me curious.
If you were to ask someone what shows first come to mind when they think of Netflix, most answers would either be The Office or Stranger Things—both series with one or two Black characters sprinkled into the otherwise white main cast list. Until recently, there has been no real push or visible effort to include shows with predominantly Black casts, whether it be the revival of shows created in the 90’s and early 00’s or newer contemporary shows and films. A meeting even had to be held in 2015 by the few Black employees that were working for Netflix to address this issue. They created a PowerPoint to physically point out and explain how Netflix was neglecting its Black audience with the lack of Black content and representation. Even after this meeting, it still took three years for the “Strong Black Lead” genre to be created in 2018 in an effort to accelerate the recruitment for more Black viewers.
In light of the recent Black Lives Matter protests following the recurring police brutality, Netflix has created a new genre titled “Black Lives Matter” in aims to inform their viewers of racial injustice and stand in solidarity with the movement. Along with this new addition, Netflix has announced several newly added Black titles that are expected to drop before the end of the year. Some of these titles include Moesha, The Game, Girlfriends, and The Parkers. Now, they may have planned to add these titles before the mass protests started up, but it seems a little too coincidental and intentional to target their Black audience when we are in desperate need of allies.
Although Netflix has shown their stance on the matter, some may wonder the true intentions behind this new addition considering the content that Netflix has consistently offered throughout the past decade. Whatever the reason, taking a stance against police brutality and in solidarity with BLM is exactly what we need from big corporations, especially in times like these.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/business/media/netflix-hollywood-black-culture.html
