Netflix Takes Aim at Wokeness
Netflix recently canceled several social justice-oriented projects and on Tuesday laid off 150 employees, many of whom created content that catered to various racial and sexual identities, in an apparent effort to steer the business model away from prioritizing the interests of progressives.
The company yanked Wings of Fire, a kids’ fantasy show based on the book series by Tui T. Sutherland’s which broaches themes of racism and LGBT relationships, as well as Antiracist Baby, based on the 2020 illustrated book designed for preschoolers by critical race theory proponent Ibram X. Kendi, Variety reported.
The latter show was supposed to “leverage the power of earwormy songs to empower kids and their caregivers with simple tools to uproot racism in ourselves and society,” Netflix wrote in a statement promoting the show.
“This series of animated short music videos is based on the 9 ‘steps’ to being antiracist laid out in Dr. Kendi’s “Antiracist Baby,” a bestselling new board book also featured in Netflix’s live-action series Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices,” Netflix said.
Chris Nee, the producer tapped to develop the show, said upon its announcement in January 2021:
I feel deeply honored to have a chance to help deepen the impact of Dr. Kendi’s work. We are living in tumultuous times and it is incumbent on all of us to use our platforms to make the world a better place. Antiracist Baby aligns perfectly with the values of my company, Laughing Wild and Netflix as a whole, and we are excited to be a vehicle through which it can continue to influence the world for the better.
Netflix will also no longer be running Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, a teen-focused documentary adaptation of a Kendi book that alleges that America’s history is rooted in systemic racism, Variety noted. Another version intended for mature audiences, Stamped From the Beginning, is still set to be released, however.
Netflix also discontinued production for the children’s show, With Kind Regards From Kindergarten, which follows the story of two kids whose friendship becomes rocky when one loses their imagination.
The company also laid off 150 employees, 70 of whom worked for social media and publishing teams that focus on racial and gender/sexual identity such as Strong Black Lead, Golden, a channel dedicated to the “pan-Asian Diaspora,” the Latino-focused Con Todo, and Most, a channel dealing with LGBTQ rights, the Daily Mail reported. Netflix claimed the layoffs were due to “a slow down in revenue and decline in subscribers.”
Some of the other employees who were dismissed worked on Tudum, Netflix’s marketing website, which employs many women and minorities, the Daily Mail noted.
The lay-off spree comes after Netflix published an update to its corporate culture memo for the first time in nearly five years, Variety first reported, which declared that the company would be embracing a big tent content strategy regardless of whether staff find some of it objectionable. Rather than indulge the protestations of woke employees, Netflix encouraged them to seek a different workplace more compatible with their values.
“As employees we support the principle that Netflix offers a diversity of stories, even if we find some titles counter to our own personal values. Depending on your role, you may need to work on titles you perceive to be harmful. If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you,” the statement read.
