How Do Black Lives Matter to Hollywood? Marketing Black Trauma and Joy on Streaming Platforms

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, streaming TV platforms responded by releasing playlists curating Black-focused films and series. This begs the question: how do Black lives matter on their own platforms? What kinds of stories are they marketing? By analyzing the trailers on these collections, we found that streaming platforms reduce Black storytelling to their hardship or trauma. Stories of trauma or struggle are more likely to include joy if they focus on famous or successful people. Stories of joy or complex everyday lives are clearly underrepresented and occur as frequently as stories that do not center Black people at all (despite their inclusion on Black-focused playlists). This study critiques and adds nuance to conversations about how the platforms can construct and enact harmful narratives about the Black experience.