How inclusive are Netflix productions?

When we talk about Netflix we automatically recognize the importance of the original productions they created. In other words, many series and films with LGBTQ + themes were launched which made it possible to address the new issues and feelings of gender diversity.

However, creation does not necessarily imply an ongoing issuance policy. From Magnet Engadget they reveal that Netflix championed diversity , but 17 of the series it canceled this year were "inclusive." That is, 17 out of 23 canceled shows had female main characters, LGTBIQ or of a race other than white.

One of the most obvious cases is Glow . The production company decided to communicate that its fourth season would not be released, which caused one of the main actors, Marc Maron , to ask for a movie to close the story. Against this panorama, we decided to evaluate the situation of diversity and inclusion with Netflix productions.

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Inclusion and diversity on Netflix

Netflix is a platform that a large number of young people are passionate about, and that has allowed them to touch on topics that are being important in the world and, especially, their target audience. For example, gender diversity , feminism and minorities, which are addressed through different stories (such as series or movies).

From the company they mention that they want to take inclusion "beyond the screens". For example, in 3%, the Brazilian series that trending on platform implied an "inclusive spirit" in the production of the plot itself. For example, about 30 young people from women's, black and LGBTQ + communities were recruited in various departments: art and production or makeup and costume.

This would imply that Netflix is increasingly inclusive, releasing really interesting productions in terms of casting or plot. This is due to the new films and series that inspire love without limits, such as Sense8 , Orange is the New Black , You me her , Grace and Frankie , Black Mirror , among others.

This led to UN Women organizing a list of films, series and documentaries chosen by actresses from around the world, that have a feminist theme. In other words, the diversity of stories that made the invisible visible through the platform be shown.

However, not everything is there. The progressive orientation of Netflix has, for example, produced a series that has "Spanish inclusive language" called Pose. This means, Netflix gives the possibility of avoiding gender binarism in the subtitles, betting on a language that is not official, but that is used by feminist groups and young people on social networks.

All this situation leads to conflicts with the more "conservative" wings in relation to content. For example, many users had unsubscribed from the platform for having announced a parody series in which a homosexual Jesus was shown, arguing that it was a progressive production that made fun of Catholic values, which encouraged that unsubscribe.

Anyone with a Netflix account will realize that much of the content on the service is geared toward an audience with liberal values. Betting on cultural diversity, with stories outside the United States, implies retaining the millennial audience, with sexual and racial diversity.

This leads even media like La Sexta to believe that Netflix increasingly resembles political parties. It is not a company that remains neutral in the face of cultural events, but rather they always speak out in favor of progressive trends, almost as an electoral program of the candidates would.

At the same time, the fact of announcing productions that go along these lines will not mean that they will automatically be successful … but canceling them could mean that those stories "don't matter". For example, the cancellation of One Day At A Time , a series with LGBT and Latino characters, was due to an audience issue, but the company came out to clarify that this did not mean that these kinds of stories "were not important."

Therefore, the idea that Netflix has championed progressive values implies the creation of different stories with this theme, although the cancellation of many of them, which are due to a low audience, could generate the opposite effect: that the users think that these are not important frames. Everything will seem to indicate, then, that they will continue in the same line: generate inclusive content and wait to see how successful they are.