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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

#571

Post by dragonwriter »

tomp wrote: post #258
zwieback wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. How is it racist to offer something as a business, it's not like it's a government or other public project. We already have BET so this is just a similar offering in a different format. "Netflix for black people" might not be a good choice as a tagline, though.

Actually the courts think that a similar business, "cakes for straight people", is in fact discriminatory and also illegal.

> Actually the courts think that a similar business, "cakes for straight people", is in fact discriminatory and also illegal.

Remind me again which side won Masterpiece Cakeshop at the Supreme Court.

Also, there is a huge difference between denying service on a particular basis and designing a service to appeal to a particular community while leaving it open to all.

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

#572

Post by anthk »

selimthegrim wrote: post #147
jandrese wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or a Netflix for Gypsys. I've always found it amazing how many Europeans will berate Americans for their discrimination and then turn around and talk about how to best get rid of Gypsys that show up.

Or literally sterilize them.

So just like the US against Latin people until very recently. Or Canada. But not under a fascism regime like Franco, but under a self-called democracy, which is far worse.

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

#573

Post by bishoprook2 »

acituan wrote: post #555
bishoprook2 wrote: post #472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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…

> If you find any niche that makes sense, go for it Even if it meant objectifying people into a market segment just to make money, under the branding of empathy and identity? Just because it is branded “black” doesn’t mean it won’t perpetuate harmful racial stereotypes, such as “being black is the most important thing about you as a person”. In fact, it would have every reason to amplify that message to keep and grow…

>Even if it meant objectifying people into a market segment just to make money, under the branding of empathy and identity?

Not to be rude, but what do you think a 'market segment' is? What is there besides market segments? For that matter, what is there besides money? at least in terms of the entertainment biz.

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

#574

Post by jacobriis »

thegrimmest wrote: post #537
imbnwa wrote: post #497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strangely Telemundo/Univision's American arms don't have to deal with this type of criticism. The "for" is clearly indicating a target audience, not that you can't sign-up if you're not Black with photo identification, which is the courts' criteria for illegal discrimination and segregation.

Spanish-speaking is not a physical trait is it?

Just for context those channels are more culturally specific than “Spanish-speakers” it’s basically Mexican which isn’t interchangeable with Spain or Bolivia for example.

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

#575

Post by mod »

tomp wrote: post #258
zwieback wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. How is it racist to offer something as a business, it's not like it's a government or other public project. We already have BET so this is just a similar offering in a different format. "Netflix for black people" might not be a good choice as a tagline, though.

Actually the courts think that a similar business, "cakes for straight people", is in fact discriminatory and also illegal.

Interestingly your (mis) phrasing makes what is probably the distinctive difference.

It was actually "cakes for anyone except gay people."

It's the exclusion that gets you in hot water, not the targeting.

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

#576

Post by imbnwa »

disneygibson wrote: post #550
imbnwa wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Separate and excluded? Bruh, they're not requiring photo identification on sign-up as proof of Blackness, LMAO, lotta people in this thread are reaching for them grapes. I hope you sign-up, maybe you'll like some of the content. Lemme ask you another question since we're asking silly questions: should Telemundo and Univision be illegal to broadcast in the US because its not in English (cohesive national identity, rig…

Who said anything about it being illegal? You are being sarcastic and not engaging in good faith.

> Who said anything about it being illegal?

Sure, lets deescalate: are their broadcasting in America and commensurate content choices discriminatory or working against a cohesive national identity?

> You are being sarcastic and not engaging in good faith.

But I find the last bit ironic

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

#577

Post by [deleted] »

namdnay wrote: post #211
snakeboy wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but suggesting that racism is only racism when the government does it too is a first. I think you've misunderstood this post. This is less like a "white's only" restaurant, and more like an Italian food restaurant. It's supporting a cultural niche, not excluding another.

Now I’m European, so maybe I’m not in the right cultural mindset for this, but your comparison really highlights what is problematic for me: based on someone’s skin colour you are determining their culture/heritage. What does a Nigerian have in common with a Jamaican, apart from the melatonin in their skin? Why would they have similar tastes in media?

[deleted]

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

#578

Post by anthk »

playcache wrote: post #270
jandrese wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or a Netflix for Gypsys. I've always found it amazing how many Europeans will berate Americans for their discrimination and then turn around and talk about how to best get rid of Gypsys that show up.

Everyone feels for the plight of the Gypsies, right up until they move caravans onto the park behind your house.

Or Gypsy women themselves fed up of their own backwards machoist culture.

Most well educated gypsies are being frowned down by their own relatives as if they became "non-Gypsy traitors" and they often run away from their own ghettos to never, ever come back.

That never happened in the US with Black people, even in the worst racist laws in the 50's. They even tried to live with the same rights as the White people.

Gypsy people in Europe, at least the tribalistic ones want to secede from the society, as a reverse MLK and live by their own rules, having those priority over state laws.

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

#579

Post by neartheplain »

ironMonkey wrote: post #560
Andrew_nenakhov wrote: post #340

I'm Russian and, probably, I don't really understand the situation with race in US. But I think that MLK was fighting against this "X for black people" thing. (X == buses, schools, shops, etc). Isn't it racism and segregation?

Oh my, buddy, you had it even worse than the yanks did. Have you ever had an apology from your state for the serfdom, any reparations? The Atlantic empire enslaved people different by color, language, religion and used them as a tool for centuries. Now, they are attempting to fix it. The Rus' enslaved people of it's own creed, skin color and religion. Made them property as well. But, when serfdom cracked, everyone wa…

>Oh my, buddy, you had it even worse than the yanks did. Have you ever had an apology from your state for the serfdom, any reparations?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution

Condescending to others about their own country's history is not a good look.

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

#580

Post by rhcom2 »

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…

This argument for a "colorblind" world view has been criticized extensively. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness_(racial_classi...
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