Dear Mr. Spielberg: Why Netflix Deserves to Be at The Oscars

Dear Mr. Spielberg,

I feel that I should first tell you what a big fan I am. Some of my earliest memories of film are watching Indiana Jones and The Goonies with my cousins whenever our parents got together. Movies like Jurassic Park are what taught me to look around and create fantastic characters and stories to distract from the mundane day to day life of a child in California Suburbia. I mean, watching Schindler's List for the first time felt like  a rite of passage. Living merely two hours from Los Angeles, movies have always been a part of my life. In seventh grade, when we had to research and write about a college we wanted to attend, other students researched for days, but not me. I already knew I wanted to go to film school at USC, because Steven Spielberg and George Lucas went there.

I could go on, but I'm not writing to you out of adoration. I'm writing out of anger.

This year, I only had the opportunity to see two Oscar nominated films. Now, that's not your fault, but hear me out. The only critically acclaimed films I was able to see were the ones made available to me by Netflix, the streaming network you have designated as Emmy material. In Bakersfield at least, anyone hoping to catch an acclaimed film like "The Favourite" can choose between three screening times: 12:25 am, 2:30 pm, and 5:15 pm; until the movie leaves theaters on Wednesday. The theaters in town usually only play "Artistic Cinema" for a few weeks and at the most inconvenient times in order to make room for blockbusters. Last year, in a failed attempt to see Lady Bird, I discovered there were only two showtimes, Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm and Sunday mornings at 9:30 am. I wouldn't get to watch Lady Bird until it came to Amazon Prime a few months later. When I was finally able to watch Phantom Thread, it was at 10:00 pm on a Sunday, in a theater with the original wooden seats, in a room that hadn't been swept since those seats were installed. With a viewing experience like that, it's no wonder why viewers would rather watch from the comfort of their own homes. Which is how Academy members watch the films anyways, right? 

Now, I do understand where you're coming from. I agree that the cinematic experience is one of life's simple pleasures and should be protected, but I can only say that because I am privileged enough to live in a town with five different theaters. If I really wanted to I could babysit and make enough to catch a 5:15 showing, but not everyone is as lucky. Ava DuVernay tweeted last year, “Can't see Selma in Selma. No theater there. Can't see Straight Outta Compton in Compton. No theater there.” By restricting art to the people who have access and can afford to see it, we taking a huge step backwards and also failing to nurture any potential artists from those towns who might have shared their narratives with us in the future. What might have happened to you if you had never been exposed to Alfred Hitchcock or Victor Fleming?

It's not a coincidence that Netflix has helped to diversify the awards, either. While the Academy has drawn criticism in the past few years for the overwhelming majority  of white nominees, in the last year alone Netflix has produced a documentary about women in India making low cost sanitary pads, an art film that starred the first ever Native Mexican Best Actress nominee, and two romantic comedies with an Asian American and plus-size lead, respectively. While the streaming service has had it's hiccups (13 Reasons Why, Insatiable), is obvious that Netflix is committed to giving a platform to artists from all walks of life.

You've been quoted as saying “Once you commit to a television format, you’re a TV movie,”. Surely someone with as much of a background in film as yourself can tell the difference between a beautiful film like "Mudbound" and a Disney Channel movie like "Camp Rock"? You also seem to forget that most filmmakers get into film making with a dream of seeing their movies on the big screen, but have to sell to streaming services due to a lack of interest from big production companies. Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians, sold the rights to his best selling novel for single dollar just to ensure his movie would be shown in theaters, turning down Netflix's offer of seven-figure-­minimum payouts for the movie’s stakeholders and a guaranteed trilogy. I wonder if you realize this quote makes you sound like the cheer coach that says the team is open to anyone... anyone that can pay for cheer camp.

There's just no denying that the company is putting out compelling material that appeals to all audiences, and that's a lot to compete with. However, if there's one thing I've learned from high school it's this: If someone is better than you at something, learn from them instead of tearing them down. My humble advice to you, as well as the rest of the old guard of Hollywood is, to quote Bob Dylan, "Admit that the waters around you have grown, and except it that first you'll be drenched to the bone, if your time to you is worth saving, then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone, for the times they-are-a changing". Your objections to Netflix's Oscar wins don't make you sound like a white knight, defending the dignity of cinema. They make you sound scared.

- Your fan,

Elise Esquibel

P.S. Try not to change too much about West Side Story. It's one of my favorites.