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

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

#471

Post by [deleted] »

brownerd wrote: post #166
chemeng wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it’s very interesting that “X for Women” seems non-controversial to most people, but “X for [underserved group]” brings out the trolls en masse.

Perhaps if you tried to approach people with different views from you with an open mind and genuinely listened instead of calling them "trolls" you'd learn more interesting things. If you study the history of the world, "tribalism" in some sense is a common theme throughout all cultures, many wars and many injustices. It might have been "Protestant vs Catholic" or "Sunni vs Shiite" or "Serb vs Croat" or whichever tri…

[deleted]

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

#472

Post by bishoprook2 »

afavour wrote: post #17

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 imagin…

>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.

If you find any niche that makes sense, go for it. There's a reason for MotorTrend to shift into cable and on-demand, Disney, etc. The market can get slice 'n diced in a million ways from the Left Handed Channel to TrannyTV (for transmission specialists naturally).

>make you think about the ways in which Netflix does not serve black people.

Heck, it (Netflix) doesn't serve me, and I ain't black. It's a pity that they can't run out and buy rights to a jillion older movies, but I guess everyone is still loathe to license them (or too expensive).

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

#473

Post by bilbo0s »

habeebtc wrote: post #85
lettergram wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes the country has lost its mind. They’re reconstituting segregation in the U.S. at the moment

Nah. This is no different than, say, CrunchyRoll or Viki.

It is a bit different, because I suspect ultimately, this is targeted at a much bigger market. I'm not sure the exact current population of Africa, but it's huge. And it's getting bigger rather than smaller.

I could certainly be mistaken, but I'd bet my net worth that this is about making a product that will resonate with global black youth. From Canada to eswatini. From Addis to Trinidad and Tobago.

And that market is enormous.

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

#474

Post by neartheplain »

gunshai wrote: post #304
gdulli wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people look for any excuse to be outraged. But I think people are more curious than outraged. I don't have any opinion about the existence this company but it did make me think. For example: > When I grew up in the 90s, it seemed like black people had a relatively high number of TV shows to choose from like "Martin", "Living Single," and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air". It felt good. I felt represented. Unfortunat…

>I also grew up watching shows like these, and being a white person watching a black family didn't feel strange or incongruous at all. What was weird for me was as I got older, all of these shows became just samey Horsein Around type crap on top of that I do remember at a certain point noticing a stark difference between shows that were on UPN, WB, BET ect and ones that were on say like FX, Fox, ABC NBC I'd say start…

>I do remember at a certain point noticing a stark difference between shows that were on UPN, WB, BET ect and ones that were on say like FX, Fox, ABC NBC I'd say starting around the early 00s.

I remember this fork in the road quite clearly. First noticed it when I saw ads for "The Parkers" on UPN during ad breaks for "Star Trek: Voyager." Prior to that point I'd watch hours upon hours of Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Sanford and Son, etc. without the slightest feeling of otherness. I am also white.

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

#475

Post by spicymaki »

whoknowswhat11 wrote: post #81

My netflix feed at least has been pretty full of shows and movies that feature black stories and characters. I think they have a specific channel for this. So have the other streaming networks from what I've seen. My apple News+ has had a black experience and racial justice spotlight - you can't turn some of these off actually.

What is missing here is creative ownership. That content needs to be vetted by tastemakers and producers who are mostly white. What gets funded and not funded is sometimes determined by the target demographic and in America that is usually the white majority.

Netflix and Apple gets to turn on, off, buy, sell, and change this content on a whim. They get to select what is important about black culture. Today the black experience might matter to the audience, tomorrow who knows?

Ownership is the only thing that matters in America and for black creators to get there content out there they will need to own the means of production.

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

#476

Post by em-bee »

robertlagrant wrote: post #254
Uzo0312 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can certainly see where saying "for black people" doesn't sit well with a lot of people. However, that's exactly who we're targeting with the content. That doesn't mean it has to be exclusive. Most of the lyrics in rap songs are generally by black people and intended for black audiences, but it doesn't mean other people don't love it, can't appreciate it, or shouldn't listen. It just means the artist wanted to reac…

> Most of the lyrics in rap songs are generally by black people and intended for black audiences, but it doesn't mean other people don't love it, can't appreciate it, or shouldn't listen. We tried "rap music for white people" and we decided we preferred the rap music for black people :D

do you really mean rap for black people or rap from black people?

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

#478

Post by sangnoir »

skyde wrote: post #418
Joeri wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are apps that cater to comic book fans, are they promoting the comic nerd divide? What is wrong with a service that caters to a content niche? Separate but equal is only a bad thing when people cannot choose which of the two systems they select into. A black person can choose to get regular netflix instead of this niche service.

it’s bad because it create a bubble. It’s like the instagram for republican (parler). It turned into a social network for dangerous extremist very fast and is one of the reason the capital got attacked

I guess it's time to ban HN and force everyone onto reddit then, because HN is a bubble.

I disagree with your implicit assumption that all bubbles are inherently negative.

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

#480

Post by JackFr »

bubbleRefuge wrote: post #384
bxjaii wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is 100% false. Cops brutalize anyone who slightly offends them. More black people are disaffected by this, but it happens to us all. I am white and was nearly killed by a black officer in South Florida. He piled drived me head first onto a concrete floor on video tape. Prior to that, he choked me and threatened to kill me. I was in Miami to attend the VMAs with a billionaire, yet they claimed I tried to fight th…

From south florida and yeah there are allot of aggressive cops. Some of whom I grew up with. They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community. We need to fix the root causes of crime: educational inequality, broken families, lack of opportunity, and…

> They have to deal with very dangerous and aggressive criminals on a daily basis and put their lives on the line. Its a tough job and its a grind, but we need them to protect us from criminal psychopaths in the community.

That is nonsense.

I love cops in general. I am a cop supporter. I have known excellent cops.

But cops enjoy a great license in the performance of their duties. Because of that it’s very important that we 1) hire cops of outstanding character, not just bullies who want a civil service pension, and 2) hold them to very high standards, a standard of behavior higher than you would an average citizen.

If dealing with aggressive criminals turns you into one you simply don’t have the strength of character to be a cop. And good cops who tolerate bad behavior in their peers are not good cops.

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