Netflix and Amazon Prime

 

Netflix is an American paid film platform and production company founded on the 27th August 1997. Its CO's are Ted Sanders and Reed Hastings. Netflix is involved in the production of a wide range of films, series and documentaries. 

Amazon Prime is a paid subscription program owned by Amazon. It was released on the 2nd February 2005. The company is involved in the production of  a wide range of films, series and documentaries. 

On this Blog I will be researching and listing some of their current documentaries and writing about their main themes, style and audiences. Let it be noted that both Netflix  and Amazon Prime don't fall under their remit due to the fact that they can afford to experiment.

Netflix

The Devil next-door

The Netflix Documentary "The Devil next door" is about a Cleveland grandfather who is brought to trial in Israel, accused of being a Nazi death camp guard Ivan the Terrible. This documentary explores themes of death, violence and history. The style of this piece is of serialized investigations and attracts a target audience of predominantly males within their 20s to 30s and above.

Inside the worlds toughest prisons

The Netflix Documentary "Inside the worlds toughest prisons" follows the everyday life of a journalist who travels to different locations to explore the imprisonment process of various societies. This documentary explores themes of gangs, crime, and violence. The main target audience for this Documentary series would be from the ages of 18 to 25 with a male skew. 

The last dance 

The Documentary "The last dance" follows Michael Jordan as they went for their sixth NBA title in eight seasons. The final production resulted in an amazing portrait of one of the sport's most iconic athlete. The documentary was filmed in the way that they followed Michael on his journey. Its target audience is predominantly male skew from the ages of 15 to 20. Its main themes are persistence, ambition and athleticism.

It is clear to see when looking at documentaries on Netflix that most are based on death or crime related stories  but their are some sporting and few wild life ones. The trend is that most documentaries are aimed at a younger male audience from there 20s to the 30s.

Amazon Prime

All In: The Fight for Democracy

The Amazon Documentary "All In: The Fight for Democracy" is an insightful chronicle of the history of voting rights in the United States. It explores both themes of gender discrimination, racial discrimination and is presented visually with interviews. This Documentaries target audience is aimed at predominantly women from the ages of 20 to 35 who are faced with discrimination due to their gender or race. 

The Witness

The documentary is based around the1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in Kew Gardens. The documentary reviews headlines, trial transcripts, and police records to determine exactly what happened to the victim and why. The documentary clearly presents themes of death, murder and crime. Its target audience is slightly female skewed with an age of 20 to 25 year olds.

When looking through Amazons Documentaries I noticed that Amazon had a wider variety of documentary genres and that they had an equal amount of content regarding suitability for target audiences.