Netflix is one of the most defining technologies of our generation; with over 245 million subscribers worldwide, the innovative virtual platform has changed the film industry as we know it. While the “Netflix Effect” has spelled success for mainstream and blockbuster hits, the company’s outsized influence has been detrimental to the indie film industry.
Indie film is wide-sweeping, but it is generally defined by the independent studios that produce movies within the category. These days, stand-alone independent studios like A24 are few and far between and are getting harder to find. Hollywood studios have always enjoyed an advantage over independent studios, but since the inception of streaming services, indie films have had to fight for success in a world increasingly focused on consumerism. One might think that streaming opens up indie film to a wider audience, but Netflix has become one of the greatest harms to the industry.
When Netflix was launched in 1997, movie buffs still sought out indie films in the aisles of Blockbuster or in local art theaters. While Netflix began as a small video-rental company, its fully online model immediately set it apart from its competitors, subsequently driving physical stores out of business and keeping Netflix on top. The company has changed dramatically since its inception, but its consistent use of a virtual platform created profound shifts. This is known as the Netflix Effect, shaping not only the film industry but also the ways in which we consume media as a whole.
Before Netflix, consumers were forced to go to physical movie theaters or rent DVDs to access the newest blockbuster hit. Now, almost every new film is available to us from the comfort of our homes. The ways in which we interact with entertainment are no longer the same. Streaming has provided the film industry with countless benefits: allowing big studios an avenue to larger audiences, making film more accessible and releasing original content not shown on regular television. Yet, all of these “benefits” are mostly helpful to well-known corporations and to the company itself, harming independent films.
Netflix has made film much more accessible to the average person, simultaneously creating a need for convenience within the entertainment industry. The ability to access any piece of media without leaving the house certainly has its benefits, especially during the pandemic when going to the theaters was impossible. But now that theaters are back open, we can still feel COVID-19’s lasting impacts on the streaming industry and the relationship between convenience and media. Indie film relies on the hope that consumers are looking for something well-thought out and unique, but with Netflix’s quantity over quality approach, there is no safe haven for smaller cinema anymore, leading to a sea of monotonous and lackluster media instead.
Netflix’s personalized algorithm further undermines the indie film industry. Powered by artificial intelligence, Netflix creates personal recommendations for each viewer based on their unique watching habits. However, there is a catch to this supposedly personal algorithm — while recommendations are mostly accurate, data shows that most of Netflix’s marketed content is Netflix originals, favoring its own content over that of smaller studios.
Netflix had a chance to be a platform for independent studios to share their content with a widespread audience and make a powerful art form more accessible, yet the company has shown us time and time again its model for personal gain.
In a world focused on profit and convenience like never before — a world of the Netflix Effect — it is ever important to be conscious of our media consumption. While indie film is still around and thriving, it is increasingly difficult for it to break into mainstream circles. If movie lovers want indie films to survive, it is crucial that we make the effort to support independent studios, whether by going through the trouble to seek out indie films online or by heading down to the local art theater. In the long run, a strong independent film industry is worth that small inconvenience.
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