Is Netflix’s “More Like This” Suggestion Tool Racist?
‘Beyond the Lights’ stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Minnie Driver, Nate Parker, Danny Glover, and rapper Machine Gun Kelly (aka Colson Baker).
‘Beyond the Lights’ first premiered at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2014 and was released theatrically by November 2014. ‘Beyond The Lights’ would later receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The song was “Grateful”, written by Diane Warren for the film.
According to a story by the Tribeca Film Festival, ‘Beyond the Lights’ director has a problem with Netflix’s “More Like This”.
She wonders why Netflix connects Beyond the Lights to dissimilar films starring black actors instead of similar films like Notting Hill, Walk the Line, The Notebook and the prestigious Dreamgirls.
Prince-Bythewood also believes Hollywood puts black movies into a category.
Prince-Bythewood also compares the Netflix problem with how Hollywood works as a whole, and justifiably so. Watch what happens when the next movie like 2013’s The Best Man Holiday, with an all-black headlining cast, makes a boatload of money—the trades will write about “black movies” are suddenly in vogue, and how, wouldn’t you know it, black audiences love going to the movies! As if those same moviegoers aren’t also interested in others movies about friendship and human interaction that just so happen to star actors of different races.
You can read the full report here and it is definitely worth the time.
