The murder of the American citizen George Floyd at the hands of the local police made racism once again the centre of debate in society. No strangers to this reality, streaming platforms and television channels have already started to take action in this regard.
The most commented case in the last hours was that of HBO Max, which made the decision to temporarily remove “Gone With the Wind,” a Civil War epic considered a classic of American cinema, although it has also long been considered controversial for its depiction of Black people and its positive view of slavery.
However, HBO was not the only one to take action on the matter. The ViacomCBS-owned Paramount Network has removed the long-running show “Cops” from its schedule in the wake of nationwide protests, and the network confirmed it is dropping the show altogether.
A&E made a similar decision and has pulled two episodes of “Live PD” from its schedule this weekend. “Out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives, in consultation with the departments we follow, and in consideration for the safety of all involved, we have made the decision not to broadcast ‘Live PD’ this weekend,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
While it did not remove any titles, Netflix launched a “Black Lives Matter” collection of more than 45 titles, including movies, TV series and documentaries. This new category includes Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods,” Ava DuVernay’s film “13th” and miniseries “When They See Us,” and the Kerry Washington-led play-turned-movie, “American Son,” among dozens of other titles.
“When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ we also mean ‘Black storytelling matters'. With an understanding that our commitment to true, systemic change will take time – we’re starting by highlighting powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience. When you log onto Netflix today, you will see a carefully curated list of titles that only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and Blackness in America,” the streaming service said in a statement.
Last week, Parrot Analytics has found skyrocketing audience demand for Netflix’s “Dear White People” and “When They See Us”. In detail, the demand for “Dear White People” in the United States grew 329% week over week, while “When They See Us” was up 147% compared to the previous week.
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