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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

#481

Post by depaya »

dont__panic wrote: post #369
depaya wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no inherent divide. If this was marketed as only for Black people, other races are not welcome to watch, sure. If this company was vocally against Netflix and demanding Black people watch this instead, sure. As far as I can see neither of these are true - this is a service aimed at delivering a certain type of content. Does the existence of ESPN encourage a divide between those who like sports and those that…

If they plan on engaging in bidding wars with Netflix for exclusive content (as all streaming services tend to do), won't they tend to deprive Netflix and other streaming services of content featuring black people? Since this service is inherently more niche than Netflix, it seems like that's going to result in black stories being harder to access for your average person. And given subscription fatigue levels, "just…

That is an interesting point I hadn't considered.

It seems to me that, unless this new service will be in the business of directly funding or creating their own content, it would be morally wrong for them to engage in exclusive content agreements.

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

#482

Post by pseudalopex »

chemeng wrote: post #100
JacobDotVI wrote: post #33

>Hello Sunshine was founded by Witherspoon in 2016 to create content focused on female voices. ... "Kevin and Tom and our partners at Blackstone see what we see – women’s stories matter, and we have economic power as consumers, creators and business leaders. Their commitment enables us to double-down on our mission and our ambitious growth agenda,” Harden said in a release. Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to be so…

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.

X for women is controversial on HN too.

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

#483

Post by menzoic »

skyde wrote: post #405
warent wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans, which is where the divide comes from and it creates another culture. It's been getting a lot better, but there are still two legal systems, two education systems, etc. My perspective as a white man is that when black people create something for themselves like this, it's reclaiming the power. Like how they use the N word w…

I agree with morgan freeman this is also why I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide. As someone that grew up extremely poor. I am not aware of the two education system other than the “historically black university”. What do you call the “white education system”?

> I don’t think making a black tv channel and black churches and black university help it actually make the problem worse because it increases divide.

You seem to not be informed that black people were expressly banned from many American universities as recently as the 1960s. Even after racial bans were made illegal racial discrimination was heavy, things don't change instantly just because a law is passed.

The only reason black universities exist is because black people didn't have other options. Creating black univerisites couldn't possibly make the problem worse.

The media is dominated by white writers and actors and as a result the large majority of content is based on white culture with storylines that appeal to white people. Black actors audition and black stories are pitched, but most don't get hired or funded. BlackOakTV is making a space for those who are rejected and can't get funding for stories appealing more to a black audience.

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

#484

Post by adenozine »

thegrimmest wrote: post #467
zentiggr wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You make it sound like segregation end... the last few years, and especially the state voting laws passed in the past year, show that while it may not be explicit law anymore, it is still certainly what a lot of people are fighting to do in any way possible. I (as a middle age white male) WANT people to be thinking about because it's still happening 24/7, and people who aren't bigoted should be aware and pushing back…

It's not though is it? "black people" are not a cultural group are they?

American black sorta kinda is, and I think Americanized thought leaders on all this stuff are muddying the waters immensely.

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

#486

Post by dragonwriter »

mattlondon wrote: post #228
f6v wrote: post #2

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

Agreed. Where I work (US-company, but I work outside of US) it is similarly weird to me. We appear to have gone backwards in the past 5-10 years in my view - no longer can you just be "you", but now it feels like we have to be labelled, categorised, and segregated into different groups. We now have to make a big deal and a big song-and-dance to highlight our differences and define what our ethnic backgrounds are (app…

> We appear to have gone backwards in the past 5-10 years in my view - no longer can you just be "you", but now it feels like we have to be labelled, categorised, and segregated into different groups.

I’ve been alive for almost half a century, and I notice no such change.

I have noticed lots of people feeling like there is a recent change when they realize the identities that arr important to many people outside their immediate bubble (or even inside, though those are often just silently assumed within in-group dialogue or by dominant groups), often in the late teens or 20s.

> We now have to make a big deal and a big song-and-dance to highlight our differences and define what our ethnic backgrounds ar

No, we don’t. Some aspects of identity are important to some people. Why some people who notice that then suddenly also feel the fact that certain dimensions of identity are important to other people implies a general obligation, I don't know.

People for whom Black is an important aspect of their identity don’t, as a rule, think it is important for being White to be central to White people's identity. (And the same is true, mutatis mutandis, with other dimensions of identity.)

> What if I don't fit into some neat pigeon hole on some spreadsheet?

Then...you are just like everyone else, in that regard.

> This idea that people are 100% Ethnic-Category-A/Ethnic-Category-B/Ethnic-Category-C and fit neatly in those slots without any kind of overlap seems willfully ignorant at best, and subversive at worst.

Sure. But many of the people to whom minority identities are most critically important and worthy of attention would be the first people to tell you that; in fact, they have a whole analytical framework around it (intersectionality.)

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

#487

Post by dcow »

Are you suggesting white people won’t be interested in your content or that black people disproportionately subscribe to Netflix? Just curious. What if you inadvertently end up with a bunch of white subscribers? Would you continue to make mission driven decisions even if the best business route might be to diversify content?

Do you have data supporting the assertion that black content languished after the 90s? I feel like I anecdotally agree with your experience but I’m also curious if the data reflects as much.

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

#488

Post by runbathtime »

Question to the mods- Would it be okay to make a Netflix for white people company and post it to hacker news?

Question for the founders- At least since Feb 2021, Amazon and Netflix have created and promoted black voices by creating a separate category. Is the problem you attempt to solve more visibility and is what Amazon doing insufficient?

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

#489

Post by skyde »

zentiggr wrote: post #241
sombremesa wrote: post #179

I think people who are being downvoted in this thread have valid points, and they’re not really critiquing the company, rather the problem seems to be your messaging. You shouldn’t say “Netflix for black people” because Netflix is for black people already. Moreover if I start selling boxed water called “water for black people” with black stories on the carton, I’m unnecessarily limiting my audience (even alienating s…

You make it sound like segregation end... the last few years, and especially the state voting laws passed in the past year, show that while it may not be explicit law anymore, it is still certainly what a lot of people are fighting to do in any way possible. I (as a middle age white male) WANT people to be thinking about because it's still happening 24/7, and people who aren't bigoted should be aware and pushing back…

try getting a recent kid book focused on black culture but that isn’t also racist and try to portray white peoples as evil. I have not been able to find any.

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

#490

Post by neartheplain »

Miner49er wrote: post #294

This seems like a great idea to me. Crunchyroll proved that niche streaming services can be successful, and there's already plenty of examples of companies that have succeeded like this for black people. BET, for example. Good luck!

Not all black Americans are fans of BET, or its effect on black society and culture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZchP89w2pJo

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