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Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#11

Post by sokoloff »

Best of luck in your endeavor. I don’t personally have the guts to take on a space where it seems to me like Netflix could decide to squash you at any moment by outbidding for the catalog of work by other creators.

I wonder to what extent that was also true with BET, which is an obviously extremely successful outcome. (Maybe I’m just chicken.)

Again, best of luck; this seems like a really smart idea and has a team that’s got very relevant experience on at least the tech side of the house.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#14

Post by ubercore »

josteink wrote: post #5
f6v wrote: post #2

“X for black people” sounds so bizarre to me(non-American). The cultural divide between the people must be insane.

Seconding this. And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The bizarreness and racist double standard behind this is just astounding seen from the outside.

The concept of racist doesn't work that way, you can't just reverse the positions to make a statement.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#15

Post by treis »

josteink wrote: post #5
f6v wrote: post #2

“X for black people” sounds so bizarre to me(non-American). The cultural divide between the people must be insane.

Seconding this. And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The bizarreness and racist double standard behind this is just astounding seen from the outside.

>And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets.

The idea is that "X" is de facto "X for white people" in America. I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's the argument.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#16

Post by HarryHirsch »

f6v wrote: post #2

“X for black people” sounds so bizarre to me(non-American). The cultural divide between the people must be insane.

It's more understandable when you think about the Irish Troubles. The Black-White issue is really an interethnic conflict.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#17

Post by afavour »

I can't help but feel like everyone commenting here read the headline, brushed straight past the lengthy explanation and went directly to outrage in the comment box.

This is a streaming service set up to elevate content by black creators, to make up for the fact that the mainstream media under-represents those people. I'm struggling to see the outrage on a cultural level and on a startup level I can absolutely imagine there is a market for this.

I'm going to guess that "Netflix for black people" is not going to be the tagline the business will advertise itself on, it was chosen by an early-stage startup to catch your eye and make you think about the ways in which Netflix does not serve black people.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#18

Post by ohitsdom »

josteink wrote: post #5
f6v wrote: post #2

“X for black people” sounds so bizarre to me(non-American). The cultural divide between the people must be insane.

Seconding this. And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The bizarreness and racist double standard behind this is just astounding seen from the outside.

I hear this argument a lot and people use examples like BET and black churches. But take a step back and look at what led to black-specific things. MTV hardly played black artists. White churches excluded and actively attacked black Christians.

White has been the default in America for a long time. Seems like that's slowly starting to change but until it does, there's going to be a need for things specifically targeted at minority groups.

Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people

#19

Post by werber »

josteink wrote: post #5
f6v wrote: post #2

“X for black people” sounds so bizarre to me(non-American). The cultural divide between the people must be insane.

Seconding this. And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The bizarreness and racist double standard behind this is just astounding seen from the outside.

In a majority white country you don't need to say x for white people, because that's the default. X for minority group isn't a double standard, it's a deviation from the norm. For example, it's pretty common to have x for lgbt people and it's pretty well understood that it's not a double standard because we accept that being straight is the norm.
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