“Netflix and Heal”

Abstract

This article explores how binge-watching shifted from guilty pleasure to essential self-care during the extended lockdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While binge-watching was prescribed as one of the most effective ways to ward off lockdown ennui, quarantine conditions also led to its reframing as a politically productive activity, one tied to social-justice projects. Following the worldwide outrage over the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, listicles emerged of antiracist films and TV shows for viewers to watch as a means of converting them from unreflective couch potatoes into socially enlightened citizens. While such lists are problematic, COVID culture’s recasting of binge-watching as civic duty compels reflection on how viewing habits in the streaming era might be related to public pedagogy around social-justice struggles. The article concludes by pointing to the continued relevance of binge-watching as a concept that captures the affective intensities of internet TV and user-directed viewing during the pandemic and beyond.