Dear white people, do y’all see us today?
According to data sent to The Root by Parrot Analytics, apparently more people are eager for commentary on race and police brutality because demand for two Netflix projects, Dear White People and When They See Us has gone through the roof. As we’re living in an era surrounded by the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the protests such brutality has sparked, there is clearly an eagerness to engross oneself in the film, TV and music that tackles these topics.
After all, art tends to imitate life.
For Dear White People, the data appears to be based on the 2017 TV series adapted from the 2014 film of the same name (both from Justin Simien). The demand is 1.7 times the average series in the U.S. and in the past 30 days, demand has gone up 43.9 percent. The series was officially renewed for its 4th and final season so new fans have a chance to catch up in time for the grand finale.
As for Ava DuVernay’s limited series When They See Us, the demand is a whopping 9.4 times the average series in the U.S. Though demand for the series based on the Central Park Five case has gone down 11.1 percent in the last 30 days, it’s still clear that it’s among the top in comparison to other series.
In the past week alone, Dear White People’s demand grew 329 percent and When They See Us’ demand grew 147 percent compared to the previous week. That’s noticeable as fuck.
“During a week of pain and protest, these series are finding a resurgence of demand,” Ashley Alleyne-Morris, Parrot Analytics Partner Insights Director said in a statement. “Whether it’s a satirical look at dealing with discrimination at majority-white spaces (universities) or a true story about the miscarriage of justice faced by the Central Park Five, new audiences appear to be turning to these stories as a form of education and understanding of the black experience in America.”
This type of interest isn’t at all surprising as people try more and more to engage with the real-life topics that affect us. In fact, there have been reports that The Help has recently entered the trending Top 10 list on Netflix, which is...a choice.
In fact, people have been sharing lists of highly relevant content to consume during this time. Get into it.