Current Events > It's so annoying and embarrassing how much Netflix dictates culture

(+) Yeah! (+)

I just started using TikTok a few months ago, and I was already a little annoyed about how whenever something new came out on Netflix it would completely dominate popular content. All that "Chrissy wake up" shit was supremely annoying -- and years ago all the Tiger King stuff everywhere.

Right now what I'm super annoyed with is all the Dahmer stuff and zoomers coming at older millenials for their interests in true crime, among other takes regarding the Netflix series. Films and series based on true crime events are far from something new, and they were far from being exclusively a niche thing. Sure there have been tons of bad, straight to DVD films about Dahmer, Gacy, Manson, etc. over the decades - but there have been plenty of critically acclaimed, widely celebrated films about murderers. Badlands (1974), Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), and Profundo Carmesi (1997) off the top of my head. Where was this dialogue then?

Then people will say it's so soon since the murders? That shit happened in the '90s - over 30 years ago. In my previous examples - Starkweather committed his murders 18 or so years before Badlands (1974) was released, and Henry Lee Lucas was still in prison when Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) was released.

People literally mention the families, as if signing on Netflix is unavoidable? Surviving family members are at least in their forties or fifties now, if not much older -- they're likely not flipping through TikToks or sitting at home exclusively binging Netflix. I'm 36 and it's my least used streaming service. My parents don't even know how to access most streaming services aside from Prime. Thinking that elderly people love TikTok and Netflix as much as you do is some weird, childish egocentrism type shit.

I just find it insanely annoying that we're at a point where the pool of media available to us is the largest it's ever been. New movies are being made constantly and with lower overheads. It's easier than ever to self release stuff. More and more old pieces of media are being rediscovered and preserved through better methods to rip vinyl and digitalize older films. The internet is at a point where there are more people than ever searching out and discovering lost media.
There is SO much available to us -- why the fuck do people only know or care about what's on Netflix? It's such an odd paradox.

you watch TikTok for original content? Think that is your real problem.

bobbaaay posted...

(1997) off the top of my head. Where was this dialogue then?

Yes, where was the social media zeitgeist in 1997? >_>

The answer is that popular media dictating discourse was always a thing. We just live in an age where the internet has created a global media culture, wheras before it was more fragmented.

Kim_Seong-a posted...

Yes, where was the social media zeitgeist in 1997? >_>

The answer is that popular media dictating discourse was always a thing. We just live in an age where the internet has created a global media culture, wheras before it was more fragmented.

The internet existed in 1997. So did social media.
But there's a huge difference between something like America's Got Talent or whatever crap was big on network television back in the days of cable and Netflix now. People actually watched different stations back then.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/4/3/AAZdMmAADNQn.jpg

just gonna say your parents are technologically inept idiots lol.

dont use them as a frame of reference for the majority.

bobbaaay posted...

The internet existed in 1997. So did social media.

Unironically how old are you? >_>

In 1997, AOL had just reached 10 million users, and the idea "social media" was just something college kids, professionals, and shut-in nerds were into. Even then, you had to take time out of your day to sit in front of a computer.

This year TikTok alone has a billion users, and every man, woman, and child with a phone accesses some form of social media daily and can shitpost on twitter while they're literally taking a shit.

I'm just saying there are plenty of Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Paramount+, etc. original programs that only get talked about like 1/5th the amount as Netflix exclusives. Back in the days of cable (or just pre-Netflix in general) people actually watched more than one station and you could see people discussing programs from multiple different platforms online.

Netflix literally dominates trends in a huge, huge way - unlike any single television station ever has.

Kim_Seong-a posted...

Unironically how old are you? >_>

In 1997, AOL had just reached 10 million users, and the idea "social media" was just something college kids, professionals, and shut-in nerds were into. Even then, you had to take time out of your day to sit in front of a computer.

This year TikTok alone has a billion users, and every man, woman, and child with a phone accesses some form of social media daily and can shitpost on twitter while they're literally taking a shit.

I'm 36. I exaggerated. I may not have used forums in 1997 - but I definitely used things like Livejournal, Angelfire, Makeoutclub, Blurty, or whatever before Myspace exploded. There was also always Friendster.

Either way that's not the point of what I'm saying. I'm saying that at any other point in modern history you could see equal representation across multiple stations. You're lying if you think something like Candy, Letterkenny, Pen15, or whatever have even close to as much representation as any single Netflix exclusive. The closest thing is probably The Mandalorian.
It's also the point of what I said with the paradox existing where literally faaaaar more stuff, old and new, is available right now than at any other point in history and yet people only consume such a small slice.

seems like youre choosing to be outraged, cuz people wont shut the fuck up about all the other stations' shows like game of thrones 2, severance, star wars, marvel, and whatever other boring shit exists

stop choosing ta be outraged

You're looking at this from a sort of biased perspective.

Yes, Netflix is currently the most popular streaming service, so it's naturally going to have a larger "market share" of pop culture conversation. But you're also looking at the Dahmer series.

Flip it around. How many people are talking about The Boys, House of the Dragon, or the latest Marvel shit? And compared to that, how many people are taking about The Pentaverate, Inside Job, or New Legend of Monkey? <_<

Are we really pretending CBS/ABC/NBC etc weren't the big things everyone watched back in the day versus the dozens of more niche cable channels

Raikuro posted...

Are we really pretending CBS/ABC/NBC etc weren't the big things everyone watched back in the day versus the dozens of more niche cable channels

You didnt know, Lost was totally not a phenomenon that generated buzz for years.

I think the bigger issue is that social media allows very shallow takes to propagate and perseverate because they sound cool and just, because modern forms of social media don't encourage long form discussion. For older people consuming this stuff, this is clear, and the shallow takes are taken in light of deeper general discussion and thought. But I'm not sure younger generations are getting this, so lots of moral discussions are essentially flanderized, and younger people seem to be taking them to heart.

Psuedo_Audacity posted...

I think the bigger issue is that social media allows very shallow takes to propagate and perseverate because they sound cool and just, because modern forms of social media don't encourage long form discussion. For older people consuming this stuff, this is clear, and the shallow takes are taken in light of deeper general discussion and thought. But I'm not sure younger generations are getting this, so lots of moral discussions are essentially flanderized, and younger people seem to be taking them to heart.

This is a very valid response.
I don't think anyone else is getting what I'm saying.

Kim_Seong-a posted...

You're looking at this from a sort of biased perspective.

Yes, Netflix is currently the most popular streaming service, so it's naturally going to have a larger "market share" of pop culture conversation. But you're also looking at the Dahmer series.

Flip it around. How many people are talking about The Boys, House of the Dragon, or the latest Marvel shit? And compared to that, how many people are taking about The Pentaverate, Inside Job, or New Legend of Monkey? <_<

Okay, I'll give you The Boys and She-Hulk.
But there's still the difference with those shows, while popular and being made into memes and whatnot, aren't dictating popular culture and what it's talking about, its trends, etc.
The Dahmer thing being an example - that discussion is literally new to me. I've never heard so many people have this take on true crime, and I highly doubt ANY of those people put forth that much effort into discussing the topic before the Netflix program. Or the fact that Stranger Things was so popular that they literally play Kate Bush on modern pop stations -- or the fact that people tried to "cancel" Metallica after zoomers "discovered"(?) them (despite them literally being like the most overplayed band on generic rock stations? But again, they're probably using music streaming services like Spotify and not listening to the radio and living in their own little bubble).

bobbaaay posted...

Okay, I'll give you The Boys and She-Hulk.
But there's still the difference with those shows, while popular and being made into memes and whatnot, aren't dictating popular culture and what it's talking about, its trends, etc.
The Dahmer thing being an example - that discussion is literally new to me. I've never heard so many people have this take on true crime, and I highly doubt ANY of those people put forth that much effort into discussing the topic before the Netflix program. Or the fact that Stranger Things was so popular that they literally play Kate Bush on modern pop stations -- or the fact that people tried to "cancel" Metallica after zoomers "discovered"(?) them (despite them literally being like the most overplayed band on generic rock stations? But again, they're probably using music streaming services like Spotify and not listening to the radio and living in their own little bubble).

Yes, that's what happens when something popular introduces new audiences to older topics or music. It applies to way more than just Netflix, or even streaming services.

Remember when GTA San Andreas released and older songs like Welcome to the Jungle became popular among teens that had never heard it before? Same thing with the songs on GTA Vice City.

And plenty of shows outside of Netflix have been huge pop culture influences. Netflix just had a head start on all of the other streaming services.