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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

#191

Post by disneygibson »

recroad wrote: post #177
disneygibson wrote: post #152

This just makes me sad. We seem to be returning to a segregated society with separate services for every ethnic group. It’s not the “melting pot” idea of America that I was raised with, where everyone contributes their own unique culture to a unified American whole. That was the brilliance of American identity, which is now fracturing at an accelerated rate.

It was never a melting point. It was always a mixed salad.

The concept of “white” is a consequence of the melting pot idea. I had hoped that eventually we could expand from White/European American to just American, a broad identity not based on race at all. This would have solved the injustices of the past and built a more cohesive American identity.

Instead we seem to be going backwards. 2050 New York City might look more like 1900 than 2000.

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

#192

Post by zentiggr »

illuminati1911 wrote: post #122
f6v wrote: post #2

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

[flagged]

I'm really not sure what you're trying to say here.

We in the US have a long history of subjugating and violently suppressing the rights of black slaves (and every black person after outlawing slavery). The last few years have shown that the number of people who still believe that should happen is much larger than we suspected.

It's not a fetish - it's a straight up fight to end discrimination against a group of people.

If it wasn't for the rightwingers (American and otherwise) who want blacks to sit in the corner and shut up, or get attacked and discriminated on, there wouldn't be a problem.

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

#194

Post by disneygibson »

raclage wrote: post #189
disneygibson wrote: post #152

This just makes me sad. We seem to be returning to a segregated society with separate services for every ethnic group. It’s not the “melting pot” idea of America that I was raised with, where everyone contributes their own unique culture to a unified American whole. That was the brilliance of American identity, which is now fracturing at an accelerated rate.

> It’s not the “melting pot” idea of America that I was raised with, where everyone contributes their own unique culture to a unified American whole. Then I don't understand why your response to someone trying to create a platform to express their culture strikes you as "Fracturing."

Because it’s encouraging separatism. I would much rather have a startup that promotes black creators to the broader culture than one exclusionary by design.

Looking at top musicians, artists, and other cultural figures, it seems to me like this is already largely the case. Hip hop sales come in large part from white people. I want more of this cultural sharing, not isolationism.

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

#195

Post by mc32 »

bgroat wrote: post #47
afavour wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know what country you're from but if you don't think there are subcultures in your country under-represented by the dominant media I'd assert you're almost definitely wrong. Perhaps it feels a little strange from the outside that such a subculture is definitively "black" but yeah, that's basically how things are in the US. The country has a deep history of racism and black people being literal slaves, in that…

I used to believe that media representation didn't matter. After all, fictional characters are fiction, why should I expect them to look like me? Then someone pointed out to me that my favourite super-hero was Spider-Man because Peter Parker is a 20-something loser, just like me.

Yeah people used to say video games and violence on TV had no effect on people -that is was just made up worlds and allowed people to role play, etc… now they are admitting there is influence and it does affect people…

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

#196

Post by pjc50 »

josteink wrote: post #25
afavour wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The difference between majority and minority is surely not that difficult to comprehend from outside the US?

They are only a “minority” because someone decided to come up with a way (race) to divide people into groups where one group is bound to end up smaller, and somehow claim that division is of significant importance. IMO the solution to that problem is definitely not to reinforce that division.

> because someone decided to come up with a way (race) to divide people into groups where one group is bound to end up smaller

Well, yes, and this was codified into US law until the last bits were finally suppressed in the 1960s, but that doesn't mean the underlying racism has been eliminated as well.

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

#197

Post by mrozbarry »

I guess something to ask is if black content creators are among the most creative, and black consumers are among the most energetic and prolific users, are you only attributing their lack of success(?) on youtube because of algorithms?

If it's just a question of likes/subscriptions/shares, then the statement that they are the most energetic and prolific users seems incorrect.

If it's something else, can we identify what the problem is with some other algorithm that is not likes/subscribes/shares?

I hope your plans for blackoak is successful, but I'm not sure it solves the problem you're describing. The biggest issue is places like netflix and youtube have a huge market share, and if you are just hosting/moving content off those platforms, you risk your content creators having less recognition unless you can gain enough traction. On top of that, if you're competing in the paid streaming market, like netflix/hulu/prime/disney/etc., now you're telling your market to pay for another service on top of the things they already subscribe to.

So again, best of luck, hopefully you have plans to solve or mitigate what I just described.

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

#198

Post by Uzo0312 »

sokoloff wrote: post #146
knicholes wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It kind of assumes that all black people will like these kinds of shows, like Nickelodeon assumed that all kids would like their shows. In a world where diversity is so celebrated, I find it odd to try to show black people only other black people. Kids like kids shows because the content is more suited for kids. I know the original poster said they felt good seeing the shows with black people in the 90s, but can't th…

Nickelodeon's success isn't predicated on all kids liking that programming, just some substantial/critical mass of them. Same for the other examples, including BlackOakTV. Presumably black people who like to see shows with [non-black] diversity are already having their needs met. Addressing a market whose needs are not being met has business (and social) value.

Couldn't have said it any better!

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

#199

Post by KittenInABox »

josteink wrote: post #36
treis wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And imagine the outrage if someone had made “X for white people”. There’d be riots in streets. The idea is that "X" is de facto "X for white people" in America. I don't necessarily agree with it, but that's the argument.

Thanks for the constructive reply. I wasn’t aware of such default assumptions. I still thinks it sounds like nonsense, but at least it explains the massive downvotes Im getting :D It must be hard to live in a country where everyone is so obsessed with race, yet supposedly also how it “is not important”. To me that seems like a massive contradiction.

The problem is that this country has an extremely long history being obsessed with race, mainly by systematically stripping away the humanity of anyone considered nonwhite. This was most prominently to black people, to the point where they were literally property to wealthy whites, and once they stopped being property it was common to extrajudicially hunt them down and kill them in many primarily white communities for things like staying overnight.

In america there are black people alive who weren't allowed to vote because of their race.

Given the history of race in america it makes total sense that america is still grappling with race while also there is significant pushback against that grappling.

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

#200

Post by BtM909 »

cblackthornekc wrote: post #108
f6v wrote: post #2

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

If you are generally curious about why this is something that is required, I suggest "Trigger Warning with Killer Mike" on Netflix. Specifically the first episode which deals with Mike trying to get to a concert only using black products and services. Long story short: The average lifespan of the dollar is approximately 28 days in Asian communities, 19 days in Jewish communities, 17 days in white communities — and ju…

thanks for the suggestion. Will watch!
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