Netflix teen series and the globalization of difference

Abstract

This contribution discusses what we term the globalization of difference: the fluency with which subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix move between different cultural universes while remaining a distinctive point of anchorage for (local) audiences. We argue that, in the streaming era, the use of diversity and the emphasis on categories of differences has become an aspect of conspicuous localism, a way of articulating a strong sense of local authenticity with a cosmopolitan outlook on the world. Therefore, this contribution explores how global narratives around diversity—gender and sexuality in particular—are tailored to local contexts and audiences. Based on a textual analysis of three Netflix teen original series, we highlight how, as subscription video-on-demand service such as Netflix balance global dimension with local ambitions, cultural diversity becomes a key tool of transnational expansion, supporting the transnational circulation of texts while appealing to the distinct concerns and preferences of local audiences.