In understanding social and political issues, films have always been lauded as an effective tool for not only educating audiences and adding context, but also engendering empathy.
All of the above is certainly needed during this current fight to end systemic racism—and media and streaming companies have been offering up what they can: storytelling.
Warner Bros. made the racially charged legal drama Just Mercy free to rent for the month of June. Criterion is doing the same with a dozen Black cinema classics that are now free to stream. And now Netflix has curated a list of films, docs, and TV shows that “only begin to tell the complex and layered stories about racial injustice and Blackness in America.”
In its featured collection titled “More than a Moment,” Netflix pulled in titles like Dear White People, What Happened, Miss Simone?, 13th, Malcolm X, Pose, Moonlight, Homecoming, and more.
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. https://t.co/dN6XQmsrGK pic.twitter.com/3CIrrno6mw
— Netflix (@netflix) June 10, 2020
Note: The Help is nowhere to be seen on this despite recent headlines that it’s been trending on Netflix.
Amazon has also created a watchlist of its own Black-centered titles.
“When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ we also mean ‘Black storytelling matters,'” Netflix said on Twitter. “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.”
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