I am not American but the overwhelming majority of the media I consume is American. Given the near hegemony of American popular culture, that is likely true for millions of non-Americans. All these people consume American content because they find it enjoyable and at some level relatable despite living in very different countries and not speaking English as their first language. At the end of the day, the human condi…
Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
621–630 of 898 posts
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#622Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
If they're a few generations removed from their Nigerian or Jamaican ancestors, they probably don't have strong ties to their home countries' cultures. This seems true of most Americans whose families emigrated 3+ generations ago. "The melatonin in their skin" explicitly shaped many aspects of law, society, and culture in the US up until the 60s, which is still in living memory, so I don't think it's that surprising…
I see it regularly today, as African-Americans and many other people commonly say. We can recall that overt racism is practiced in certain political groups which have expanded in popularity. Research shows that racist attacks have greatly increased over the last few years. Regarding the law, many of the laws that existed before the Voting Rights Act have been recently reinstated since the Supreme Court invalidated key parts of the Act and banned federal courts from addressing many state voting issues.
It's also not rare anymore in my personal experience, as it was before 2016. In the last month a white person told me that people with black skin were 'biologically different', which accounted for economic inequality. Over the weekend another told me, highly ironically, that 'minorities' were more prone to disinformation than white people, and that was the cause of problem of disinformation on the Internet. (For the record, I disagreed with both as effectively as I could - you can't tacitly approve.)
A significant cause of discrimination is that its impact and presence is overlooked by people who aren't affected by it. Racism doesn't affect me (directly), so it's not hard to say it's minimal.
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#623Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, Black culture is not simply about skin tone.
That was... my point? My point is that "black person" is a problematic and overloaded descriptor. It can imply a cultural group ("american black culture") to which a light-skinned person can belong (can't they?) and which it should be tolerable to criticize. It can also imply a simple physical descriptor of traits belonging to African-descended people. Is an ethnic Nigerian born and raised there black? Do they belong…
I literally wrote "Majority of Black Americans...who come in many different pigments"
> It can also imply a simple physical descriptor of traits belonging to African-descended people. Is an ethnic Nigerian born and raised there black? Do they belong to "American black culture"? So are they black and not-black at the same time? Do you see the problem(s) here?
This is why I wrote "Majority" but you should also consult a Nigerian-American
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#624Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m a brown guy and I have fond memories of watching the Cosby show with my parents as a kid. I was saddened and disappointed to learn of Cosby’s horrific behavior later on, and it sucks that the show is now going to be lost because of the main characters real life persona. Really would love a modern day family show that is relatable and shows a successful family. Not too far fetched, but real like the set of Cosby s…
A lawyer and doctor having time to raise 5 kids spanning 20 years in age in a house in NYC seems ridiculous to me too.
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#625Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I am telling everyone I know about it as well. Getting the word out and early support is key!
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#626I am not American but the overwhelming majority of the media I consume is American. Given the near hegemony of American popular culture, that is likely true for millions of non-Americans. All these people consume American content because they find it enjoyable and at some level relatable despite living in very different countries and not speaking English as their first language. At the end of the day, the human condi…
I think its clear by your statement that you have no idea about America.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&sor...
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#627Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, Black culture is not simply about skin tone.
That was... my point? My point is that "black person" is a problematic and overloaded descriptor. It can imply a cultural group ("american black culture") to which a light-skinned person can belong (can't they?) and which it should be tolerable to criticize. It can also imply a simple physical descriptor of traits belonging to African-descended people. Is an ethnic Nigerian born and raised there black? Do they belong…
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#628Earlier quoted context omitted.
You need to justify how "for " is exclusionary, as opposed to it's normal meaning of "focusing on ".
Saying it is For implies it is not for other groups. Again, realistically, how many white people would pay for a platform like this? If you think the number is substantial you are delusional. For starters, its being marketed "for black people", its all black content, and other platforms e.g Netflix already have content from black creators (albeit not as focused) Having said that, they do not need white people to sub…
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#629I'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…
Re: Launch HN: BlackOakTV (YC S21) – Netflix for black people
#630Congrats on the launch, but you are attacking a difficult market, with a strong 'political' risk/factor as we can see in this thread. If I remember correctly there was a similar startup in YC S15 ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9903229 ) that shutdown 2 years after ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15292534 , https://techpoint.africa/2017/09/22/afrostream-shut-down/ ). In streaming content is king and ove…
That applies to almost every startup ever. I expect that every founder can report hearing similar feedback.
I did omit one factor that differentiates this startup, but every startup has extra risks particular to it.