Original Content podcast: Fyre Festival docs shine light on a social media-fueled disaster

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  • January 26, 2019

Netflix and Hulu have each released their own documentaries about the infamous Fyre Festival, and the hard-working hosts of the Original Content podcast have watched both of them.

We’re joined this week by Brian Heater, and the three of us are unanimous on one thing: If you’re only going to watch one of these documentaries, make it “Fyre” on Netflix. It’s the better-made movie, offering a clearer retelling of what actually went wrong at the first-time music festival in the Bahamas.

But if you’ve got the time, watching both films will give you a fuller picture. “Fyre Fraud” on Hulu is the one that scored interview with Fyre mastermind Billy McFarland — though the interview becomes increasingly awkward as he evades or outright refuses to answer many of the filmmakers’ questions (and they’ve taken heat for apparently paying McFarland for the interview).

More interestingly, the Hulu film makes more of an effort to connect the Fyre Festival to the bigger picture of millennial and influencer culture. In fact, McFarland’s fake-it-till-you-make-it ethos sometimes felt uncomfortably close to what we’ve seen when writing about tech startups.

The Oscar nominations were also announced this week, so we discussed the Best Picture nods received by Netflix’s “Roma” and by “Black Panther” — the first superhero film nominated in this category.

You can listen in the player below, subscribe using Apple Podcasts or find us in your podcast player of choice. If you like the show, please let us know by leaving a review on Apple. You also can send us feedback directly. (Or suggest shows and movies for us to review!)

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