Netflix has added Black Lives Matter to its collection of 24 genres. The change occurred after last Saturday when the iconic film The Help became the most streamed title on Netflix.
The BLM category is providing easier access to “powerful and complex narratives about the Black experience.”
“When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ we also mean ‘Black storytelling matters,'” said Netflix 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. 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.”
Unlike the other genres on the service which are organized alphabetically, Black Lives Matter appears first on the genre list. The BLM category includes Malcolm X by Spike Lee, the series Dear White People, Ava DuVernay’s documentary on racial inequality 13th, When They See Us, Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, and Michelle Obama’s documentary Becoming. The Help, which has received criticism for its “white savior narrative” is not featured in the BLM category.
It is unconfirmed as to whether the Black Lives Matter category will remain as its own genre or eventually become a subcategory under the larger Black Stories genre.
