Tiger Kings & Wretched Things
EVERY JUNKYARD, while teeming with trash, has its share of treasures. I see cultural junkyards as attractions where humans wander and sample the ornaments of creativity. In recent years, corporate streaming services have provided us with ever more junkyards, while making it difficult to find the treasures, especially if you’re looking for Canadian content and quality documentary.
Indeed, while each service abounds with drossy bulk, each also has its fantastic finds. Amazon’s Prime Video, home to a hodgepodge inventory of scrap collected without an obvious curatorial strategy aside from “we sell everything!” has its Small Axe exceptions. Apple+ has, among its endless streams of mediocre late 20th century TV and movies, its standout WandaVision. Crave has more treasures thanks to the inclusion of HBO and Showtime fare, and so one may discover occasional gems likeI May Destroy You. Netflix, while seemingly less judicious in its programming than HBO but more selective than Prime or Hulu, has a good deal that isn’t easily discarded to the bargain bin. That’s due in part to economies of scale: the Los Gatos company has an enormous budget and debt roll to repurpose shows through licensing, like Community or the Canadian, publicly funded Schitt’s Creek, as well as to produce its own branded, worthy programs like GLOW or Ozark or comedy specials—many by BIPOC performers—that have thankfully broken stand-up loose from its oppressive moorings.
One problem is how to find the jewels amongst so much junk in digital spaces dominated by the lowest-common-denominator landing pages and addictive-by-design series that can make
