21 Jan 2019

Fyre vs. Fyre

It’s the end of the long weekend and by now, you probably don’t need me to be the one to tell you which documentary you should watch. Hulu and Netflix both had their shot at it and released it within days of each other. Knowing me though, I like to have all the facts so I ended up watching both. Is one better than the other? That, I’m not sure I can answer. If I had to choose which I preferred more, it would be Netflix. Honestly, I’ve got criticism on both documentaries.

Since it has been some time since I’ve gone to any music festival at all, Fyre never caught my attention. I didn’t even follow many of the models or celebrities that were tricked into promoting it. My whole fascination with the festival, however, stemmed from what I know about music festivals in general – the logistics and the operations behind it all. The Netflix doc nails it on the head. The organizational team behind the festival had zero experience and it was clear every step of the way how out of touch they were.

I’ve been told that whichever Fyre documentary you end up watching first becomes your favorite. I chose Netflix first, but here are some other reasons why I enjoyed it. Those that were featured were all people that were directly involved with the process. They worked with Billy themselves in a wide range of roles associated to the festival. There was more footage behind the scenes of the festival pre-planning and up until that day. They made Billy look anything, but the hero. Obviously he isn’t, but they didn’t victimize him the way that Hulu did. The criticism is that Jerry Media was heavily featured. They also were involved with making the documentary so you have to scratch your head a bit and wonder – well – aren’t they also just as responsible for the downfall of this?

On the other hand, you have Hulu. Right out of the gate, the Fyre Fest is fast-moving and a little bit all over the place. There’s a heavy emphasis on millennials and why this sort of things appeals to people “like us” that have money. I didn’t particularly care about this segment very much. I felt that Hulu’s documentary, while interesting, was a little bit more disorganized. Instead of featuring individuals that worked on the festival, they brought in “subject matter experts.” The kicker here is that Billy McFarland is actually interviewed in the documentary. This was before he was sentenced to prison. He doesn’t add anything substantial whatsoever and they start the documentary with praising him for being an entrepreneur. Billy isn’t the victim here; everyone else is. The criticism is that Hulu PAID him to be a part of this documentary.

It’s interesting to see how both Hulu and Netflix have tackled Fyre Festival. Neither of them outshines the other, but I do think that it really depends on the individual watching it. Curious to hear which one all of you enjoyed more!

Posted on January 21, in Music