Analysing Netflix algorithms, capitalism, and glocalisation When Netflix first launched in the UK in 2012, it promised to bring the future of television to our fingertips. More than a decade later, it’s clear that what we get on Netflix is shaped not only through our taste but also determined by licensing deals, country regulations, and […]
Month: May 2025
In an age where most digital media is controlled by advertising algorithms and platform metrics, crowdfunding offers an alternative: a more direct and democratic way to fund culture. One striking example is Polyester Zine, a UK-based queer feminist magazine that describes itself as “a safe space for loud and experimental voices”. Instead of relying on […]
I analyse control of the media in China, the USA, and the UK Growing up between the UK, the US, and China has shown me just how differently media systems can function. It has also shown me how similarly they can concentrate power. From the BBC’s impartial tone to the hyper-commercial US networks and the […]
Scrolling through Instagram in early 2021, I came across Peachy Den’s “Hot at Home” campaign. It was comprised of lo-fi, camcorder-style videos of models lounging on stained sofas in velour flares, lighting candles, scratching their thighs. The captions, including ‘Sensuality is yours to own’, highlighted intimacy and self-love. It really caught my attention. Something about […]
Algorithms don’t just personalise our ads, they categorise us. In doing so, they reproduce the same systems of racial inequality embedded in society. These systems don’t malfunction when they produce biased outcomes. Instead, they are functioning as designed and using data to optimise for profit in ways that reinforce racial hierarchies. Ruha Benjamin It’s something […]