North Texas Daily

The Black Lives Matter movement continues to rise and expand all over the country. As things progress, major platforms are using their names to highlight what is going on. Streaming platforms like Netflix have put together a collection of films and shows calling attention to work celebrating Black lives. On June 10, when logging into the platform, the user is greeted with the “More Than a Moment” page that showcases a collection of over 50 movies.

“When we say “Black Lives Matter,” we also mean “Black storytelling matters,” the mega streaming platform tweeted on June 10.

While I’m sure the streaming giant thought they were doing something great for the community, viewers felt differently. Many feel that the attention Netflix is giving to the Black community now should have been shown earlier in February.

We have a whole month dedicated to Black history and they could have done a better job covering and showing different documentaries, movies, TV shows, curated films and stand-ups to bring light to the movement, instead of just dropping a random assortment of relatively well-known black films. For example, Netflix added the 1997 comedy “Booty Call“ which features Jamie Foxx and Tommy Davidson on a journey to buy condoms so they can have sex with their girlfriends. Many can agree movies like “Booty Call” aren’t the appropriate titles to be added at the moment.

When we do get films added to Netflix, they sometimes do not last for very long even though they will spend $100 million to keep “Friends” for another year. It should be the same way for black media. We should be able to fight to keep our shows on the streaming platform just like others. Instead, we have movies that are based on our lives trending that do not accurately or honestly represent us.

Since the movement started, the 2011 film, “The Help” has been trending more than any other film that is based on the lives of Black people. This film is a prime example of the white savior trope. Users on Twitter have slammed the film as a wrong way to educate yourself about racism in this country especially when there are other films that can give a better explanation by Black filmmakers.

There are plenty of other films they have under their Black Lives Matter collection that people could be watching, but instead they choose to watch that one. This makes it seem like a joke and that they are laughing in our faces. Although it is a great film, it is based on a book written by a white woman with the movie written and directed by a white man. How is that helping viewers have a better understanding of the movement?

They are doing all this now but what about before the movement too? It seems as though Netflix does not truly care about our lives but just want to keep their viewers happy. Plenty of Black lives have been taken before this but no one wanted to speak out about it then. Now that everyone is speaking out though they feel they must do the same to cover their tracks.

Unfortunately, it is just empty gestures to make them sound good. We do not want it. We have been bringing attention to this and we were ignored. Now that people are protesting and burning down cities everyone wants to speak out. So are we truly being heard by those that sit and record all around us?

This is way more than a movement. It is not just a way to help draw viewers to watch different shows. People are losing their lives every day because Black people are hated in this country. There is still more work that needs to do be done than adding a curated collection on a platform.

Featured Illustration: Austin Banzon