Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people • Hacker News Board

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

#581

Post by disneygibson » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #576

disneygibson wrote: post #550

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

This is HN, not Reddit. Snarky one liners aren’t welcome here.

In response to your question, yes I would hope that as Latinos continue to become a larger portion of the population, they join the overall “American” culture and influence it. Not remain as a separate group with a separate language and separate media.

If you look at the statistics, this already happens. Second and third generation Latinos identify more as American than as Latino.

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

#582

Post by dlp211 » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #422

tomp wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

LMAO, you're really reaching for those grapes. The courts ruled that "cakes for straight people" meant cannot be sold to non-straight people , which is in fact discriminatory and also illegal. I don't think BlackOakTV is requiring photo identification as proof of Blackness to sign-up. Stop it. Edit: For clarity, the Supreme Court actually ruled in favor of the homophobic cake shop in Colorado strictly on freedom of r…

SCOTUS didn't rule in favor of Masterpiece on freedom of religion grounds, they ruled that the Colorado commission didn't exercise religious neutrality. It was an extremely narrow ruling and essentially kicked the problem back to Colorado to fix their commission. This is an important distinction as it results in vastly different outcomes.

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

#583

Post by blacktriangle » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

eropple wrote: post #289

blacktriangle wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correction: Europeans BOUGHT millions of people from the African contenent FROM OTHER BLACK AFRICANS who had already stripped them of their heritage and family ties! Remember the Democrats little kneeling to BLM while wearing Kente scarves publicity stunt? The irony (or symbolism?) of the Democrats dressing up as Africa's most prolific slave traders was apparently lost on most people.

For those not in the United States: this is (and I assume the spittle-flecking about "kneeling to BLM" made this a tip for some people, but let's make the implicit part explicit) a very common point of rhetoric amongst slavery apologists and Lost Causers of many stripes. The idea of permission structures for white Americans being somehow erected because some ethnic groups and communities sold people from other ethnic…

The complicity of our forebearers? So we'll be sending a bill to Ghana for reparations then right?

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

#584

Post by firekvz » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:09 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #533

runbathtime wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can only discriminate against white people. You can't discriminate against all of the political elite's pets. Pets include blacks, browns, gays, trans, and all the victim groups. Also businesses usually can't discriminate either. I get that this tag line is more for marketing purposes, and in fact they might not refuse to take white ppl's money that want to sign up... but they are in fact discriminating in the ty…

> You can only discriminate against white people. You can't discriminate against all of the political elite's pets. Pets include blacks, browns, gays, trans, and all the victim groups. Wow. Pets, okay. > I get that this tag line is more for marketing purposes, and in fact they might not refuse to take white ppl's money that want to sign up... but they are in fact discriminating in the type of content they will produc…

Pretty sure none of those networks are advertising themselves as 'something for -some race', they just exist, do business and focus a sector of the US population, never mention anything else

You can target a niche, thats fine, but doing this type of headlines, you just end up segregating yourself.

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

#585

Post by thegrimmest » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:10 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #551

thegrimmest wrote: post #537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spanish-speaking is not a physical trait is it?

Majority of Black Americans are a distinct shared cultural group, like Hispanic folk, who come in many different pigments, also like Hispanic folk, who also tend to have an identifiable manner of speaking and protocol, also like Hispanic folk.

The problem is that while "hispanic" indicates a linguistic origin, "black" (like "white") indicates a physical trait - having skin pigment past an arbitrary threshold of darkness/lightness. You can be black and hispanic, or white and hispanic. You can't be a white black american, even if that accurately describes your skin and culture respectively.

Also, you're problematically lumping all sorts of people who happen to have dark skin into a single category. The African immigrants I know want nothing to do with "american black culture" and resent being associated with it.

Finally, in order to be able to discuss these issues clearly, it's important to have distinct terms. If someone wants to criticize "american black culture", they cannot do so without being labelled as racist, despite that fact that criticism of cultural practices is generally accepted.

Basically we have two concepts:

1) Being "black" - being of african descent and/or being above a certain threshold of darkness in skin pigment. We should not tolerate discrimination for being black. It's also worth noting that this sort of categorization of people into black/white is not very scientific.

2) Belonging to American slave-descended culture. You can belong to this cultural group regardless of your skin color. We should be tolerant of criticism of this culture's ideology and practices.

These two concepts need different names. I'm aware "slave-descended" isn't an ideal (if accurate) name, so open to suggestions here.

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

#586

Post by the_other » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:10 PM UTC

spicymaki wrote: post #475

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…

I don't understand why you got downvoted. This seems like a highly relevant issue (and one which, as a white guy, I typically forget about; thanks for reminding me).

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

#587

Post by yellowbanana » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:11 PM UTC

dathinab wrote: post #449

yellowbanana wrote: post #162

There is a default opposition on anything that twitter activists have been protesting for in the past few years Netflix for Africans Netflix for Asians Netflix for Indians ... sounds normal. But Netflix for Black People Netflix for Women Netflix for LGBT Will definitely cause an outrage An other example on how we are tribal, even if the tribes are just activists vs non-activists.

I don't think any " " for " sound normal. I mean if you need e.g. "Restrooms for Indians" implies that "other" Restrooms are somewhat not suited for Indians which normally hints to some major problem with discrimination. Just to be clear I explicitly mean " " not " ", e.g. black people often have a kind of hair which non-black people have rarely, as such a "Shampoo for Black People" (which is actually a "Shampoo for…

News for programmers, would not really imply normal news is unsuitable for programmers.

Since content is often relevant to a particular culture, and streaming platforms collect content together, focusing on content from one culture can make sense.

Neflix is like the news, and Neflix for Black People/Culture would be like HN.

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

#588

Post by neonate » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:12 PM UTC

Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #516

ricardobeat wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone from India, a fairy large and diverse country, might have the same difficulty understanding it.

As someone who lived in Italy and Pakistan all her K-12 education years, your comment is so damn off base. Are you seriously saying that India (and Pakistan for that matter) have the same racial dynamic as America? Yes, India is diverse. Yes, we are not all the same. But that is not akin to the racial structures I have seen in the US.

Are you sure you read that comment correctly? It seems to me to be making the same point that you are, i.e. exactly the opposite of how you've interpreted it.

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

#589

Post by mempko » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:12 PM UTC

jedberg wrote: post #541

Everyone else has given you some good advice on your messaging, so I'll give you some business/technical advice as a former Netflix employee: Try to negotiate your contracts with global streaming rights. It shouldn't cost too much more but will make your life a lot easier as you try to expand globally. That was one thing that slowed Netflix's global expansion -- a lot of the content was not globally licensed. You wil…

This is the quality content I'm here for from HN!

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

#590

Post by Uzo0312 » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 5:12 PM UTC

blackgirldev wrote: post #367

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.

People working for a mainstream service like Netflix are wrapped in maintaining their job and catering to white people. Having a separate streaming service with curators from the Black community means more opportunity to express unpopular ideas. This means less Harriet Tubman bios and more current culture/expression. edit: I should add that having watched a few shows like Jack & Jill (which I had never heard of until…

Thanks for your thoughts here! I'm definitely on the same page with you! Don't love labeling ourselves this way, but by having the "gatekeepers" of what goes on BlackOakTV look like the viewers we're targeting, it opens the door for a very differentiated content and platform experience.