Netizens accuse Netflix of ‘faking 1990s western culture’
Netflix faces flak again after the release of Zoya Akhtar’s Wake Content.The Archis‘Follower. While one section of the internet has criticized the show for “nepotism,” another accuses it of “misrepresenting” Indian children and “falsifying” 20th-century Western culture. It is a known fact that the OTT giant’s customer base dropped by 2,00,000 subscribers from January to March. Notable figures, including Tesla owner Elon Musk, have previously dubbed the OTT platform for its “woke content,” which some find provocative.
Now, The Archis The trailer, starring star children Khushi Kapoor, Agastya Nanda and Suhana Khan and others, has drawn similar criticism from netizens.
call netizens ‘The Archies’ for misrepresenting Indian children
A Twitter user after seeing the first look poster of The Archis asked in which decade Indian children dressed up as in the photo. The user then claimed Netflix commissioned a project that seems unrelatable to the majority of viewers. The user wrote: “In what part of India and what decade did teenagers dress up like this. Netflix commissions most shows for 50 bright friends of their executives.
In what part of India and what decade did teenagers dress up like this ๐
Netflix commissions most shows for 50 bright friends of their executives. The rest of the country has to stretch its imagination to an impossible level to relate to. https://t.co/s6T8NII3D5
โ Pratyasha Rath (@pratyashaharath) May 14, 2022
Another accused the creators of making Indian children look “white”. “Aside from the nepotism debate, I’m more concerned that they tried to make a group of Indian kids look white,” the user said. Noting the similar issue with changing skin tone, another articulated, “Ridiculous to see Indians faking western culture from the 1900s lol..stop this propaganda spreading unnecessary western culture”.
#BoycottBollywood
Ridiculous to see Indians faking western culture from the 1900s. I mean if you grow up ordinary and show how westernized you are, you won’t change your skin tone to Caucasian, you’ll still stay tan lol. Stop this propaganda spreading unnecessary western culture https://t.co/ZK3q4puQszโ Yash ๐ฎ๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ (@Patelthepatriot) May 14, 2022
Amidst the flood of social media users disappointed with the portrayal of Western culture, one tweetati asked if the creators were “disconnected” from Indian culture. The user shared, “I just saw an ad from ‘The Archies’ by Zoya Akhtar with a handful of star kids dressed up as Europeans, how far from your country do you have to be to make movies like that?”
I just saw an ad for Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies with a handful of star kids dressed up as Europeans. How far away from your country do you have to be to make films like this?
โ Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) May 14, 2022
Check out more reactions below:
In what part of India and at what time were people like this?
โ Amrutha Pagad (@Amrutha_Pagad) May 14, 2022
Buckle up boys, another great start for the star kids as nepotism runs like blood in Bollywood!
โ Triplepie (@Triplepie1) May 14, 2022
What is that? How Netflix wanted India to look like during the British Raj?
โ Kanuv (@AKanuv108) May 14, 2022
My first thought after seeing this – is that supposed to be India or US/UK? Or is this supposed to be representative of the old Macaulayan elite that seems to be losing power and relevance? Anyway – the replies and quote tweets suggest this won’t help Netflix in the ratings.
โ SanksP ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ด๏ผ May 14, 2022
Instead of reviving Mindhunter, invest in things nobody asked for. If you want to know why you are losing viewers, the answer lies here itself.
โ Aritra (@Aritra61228627) May 14, 2022
What is Netflix’s “wake content” problem?
In the recent past, the OTT giant has been attacked by internet users for its content, be it the objectification of women as Viking warriors or the racist portrayal of white people. Netflix lost about 2,00,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, causing its shares to plummet 25%. The streaming service predicted another loss of two million subscribers in April-June while resolving the issue.
Image: Twitter/@NetflixIndia
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