In 2018, Netflix released an impressive ad at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards. It was a parody of the legendary photo’ Great Day in Harlem’ taken by photographer Art Kane in 1958 for a featured article in Esquire magazine. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’ was the only photograph that gathered jazz musicians who were rapidly emerging in the American pop culture world at the time, and later became an indispensable subject when referring to the history of American pop culture.
Netflix’s commercial parodies this photo to bring together black playwrights, directors, and creative directors working at Netflix. The ad was organized by a team named “Black Strong Lead,” which is an open team of free and lead black executives working at Netflix.
But there was a behind-the-scenes in this advertisement. A few days before the advertisements were sent, Jonathan Friedland, who oversaw Netflix’s marketing, was dismissed because he used N-Word frequently in the workplace to reveal racism. It was considered a very important issue, with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, dismissed him and made a direct statement on the matter. Against this background, there was a discussion about whether this advertisement should be released inside Netflix, but in the end, it was decided to enforce the advertisement. At the same time, Netflix has begun increasing projects with more blacks appearing or participating to take responsibility for internal issues and advertising.
And in 2020, the “Black Lives Matter” movement took place. Before and after this massive social and cultural movement, people said that Netflix was making smart-moving or excessively black-friendly original series. However, the important thing is that they have been more proactive in respecting the culture of black people and actively accepting their participation in the idea and production stage, rather than being on the rise.
By the way, when we talk about this, do we have to know this issue? I also come across the opinion that it is. For me, I have no choice but to make it clear that racism and gender discrimination are not side-by-side or secondary issues. So not even. This is because this is a universal problem for humanity and a very important issue industrially.
So, again, why should we know this context and background? In American society and a networked global market, racism and gender discrimination are not just important issues, but because we need to understand that they are very, very, very important so that we can join together as members of this global society.
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