“Inventions come in all shapes and sizes. Some are as simple as purple catsup. Others push the limits of quantum physics. The real measure of an invention is not just how well it works or how impressively it is engineered, but how it changes our lives.” — Times Magazine, 2001
Netflix has undoubtedly been a game changer in the entertainment industry. As of today, everyone is aware of how it managed to gain control of the movie rental industry, bankrupting Blockbuster. So, covering that side of the topic seems rather pointless. However, what if Netflix has become an influencer in the real world? In other words, is it possible that this platform, given its worldwide reach, has the power of moving the global agenda?
This article seeks to unravel one hidden power of Netflix or a hidden consequence of this new technology. The idea is to explore in what ways have documentaries, that are available on Netflix, have had an impact in real life.
That is, do people engage more with the company, university, institution, once it is shown in this platform?
Netflix has 182 million subscribers. Each and every one of its subscribers can watch an array of movies, genres, TV series, cartoons and documentaries. What’s more, Netflix has started to release its own content, and approximately fifty-nine documentaries have been produced by them. Out of these documentaries, some focus on present situations. The objective is to evaluate if these specific documentaries have had the power to influence people’s behavior.
From the economical standpoint it will inspect if the region, company or product being filmed has had an increase in revenue or a deficit; When it comes to engagement, it will study if more people have searched on Google the region, company or product after the documentary became available on Netflix. Two documentaries will be evaluated.
Google Trends can show how many times has a word or phrase been searched in any given location or time. This tool perfectly illustrates how documentaries that aired on Netflix have had an impact that transcends the TV screen.
The documentary Cheer featured a college named Navarro Community College. In the illustrations below it is shown how many people, in the whole world, have searched for the following words in a five-year period: Navarro College, cheerleading, tumbling classes, Rebel Athletic, cheerleading classes near me, tumbling classes near me:
It is evident that in in the first image cheerleading is very popular in a cyclical sense and Navarro College only surged in the dates when Cheer started to stream on Netflix. What’s interesting is the surge of searches for tumbling classes and Rebel Athletic in the same dates cheer became available via streaming (12–18 Jan. 2020). This could imply that people who became interested in cheerleading wanted to take some action and start to learn the sport or perhaps buy new attire.
Rebel Athletic was showed in the documentary as it is a company that makes cheerleading attire and sponsors some members from Navarro College’s cheerleading team. Karen Noseff Aldridge, founder of Rebel Athletic, stated in an interview that the company has had an increase of requests internationally to have their uniforms distributed after the Netflix docuseries dropped. Further, it will be interesting to see after the year 2020 if more people applied or tried out to the cheerleading team from Navarro College.
The Game Changers, a documentary focusing on diet and performance, has been critically acclaimed by many and criticized by a lot. Among other criticisms, some have speculated that the directors from the movie were trying to advertise certain vegan products as they had some form of investment in the vegan industry. Using Google Trends can help to analyze if people were looking for a change in their diet after seeing the documentary on Netflix:
This image is particularly interesting as it shows that the Meatless Hamburger producer, Beyond Meat, surged before the documentary aired on Netflix. This was due to it having its IPO in the Stock Market on late April. Perhaps more striking is the fact that no one seemed to search for the documentary on Google before the week that it aired on Netflix even when The Game Changers was already available in movie theaters since early January of the year 2018. Notice, too, the spike for searches related to a plant based diet the week it aired on Netflix.
Of course, these Google searches don’t reflect if the people who searched for “Vegan Diet” or “Plant Based Diet” actually changed their diet. This is why Beyond Meat was added to the equation as it is a company that sells vegan food, and the spikes in searches when the documentary aired imply that some who saw the documentary also searched for companies that sold these products, hinting that many actually tried out vegan food.
From these documentaries it can be appreciated that Netflix can have a bigger than expected influence in the world. Further, it reveals one key aspect from new technologies — the unforeseen consequences that come with innovation. The founders of Netflix never thought that they would build a platform for it to have a purpose other than entertaining.
When Reed Hastings, Netflix founder, came up with the idea, he only had in mind offering movie rentals. As time progressed, Netflix grew and new opportunities emerged. Documentaries have always had the intention of having an impact in its viewers, but reach was always limited putting a ceiling in the action people could do in their lives — until Netflix.
Now that more than 180 million people can see the documentaries on Netflix from the commodity of their home with unlimited access to internet and with no fear of being called out in a movie theater because they’re using their phones, they can search for what the documentaries are showing, instantaneously.
Google Trends is also an amazing technology that offers a unique perspective of the human psyche. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, writer of “Everybody Lies” writes that the power of Google is that people usually search for things they wouldn’t tell someone else. Google Trends allows access to information about what people are thinking about. If they see a documentary, for example, will they type some theme that peaked their interest? The answer is yes. As Seth Puts it:
“In other words, people’s search for information is, in itself, information. When and where they search for facts, quotes, jokes, places, persons, things, or help, it turns out, can tell us a lot more about what they really think, really desire, really fear, and really do than anyone might have guessed. This is especially true since people sometimes don’t so much query Google as confide in it: “I hate my boss.” “I am drunk.” “My dad hit me.”
…The everyday act of typing a word or phrase into a compact, rectangular white box leaves a small trace of truth that, when multiplied by millions, eventually reveals profound realities.”
Netflix was supposed to be just another source for entertainment, but it has become an agent capable of making tangible impact in the world.
