Fyre Festival Documentaries

Netflix vs. Hulu

Anjolia Swaba, Digital Journalist

Fyre Festival was supposed to be “the most insane music festival the world had ever seen”. It was sold as a luxury experience in the Bahamas, but in reality it was not. The much-hyped Netflix documentary “Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened,” was released on January 18. The Hulu documentary, “Fyre Fraud,” was released on January 14, just four days before Netflix’s. Both covered the basic events of the story but, each told it in a unique way and with different interviews. Billy McFarland, the co-founder of Fyre Festival, worked with rapper Ja Rule to create the “Fyre” brand.  They hardly had any time to organize this festival and all the bands set to perform ended up cancelling. McFarland was eventually sentenced to six years in prison for fraud. Hulu has their interview with McFarland in which, he speaks on the controversy firsthand and provides insight into his thought process throughout the debacle. Fyre Fraud is fast-paced — it gets right to the action and disaster. Netflix tells the story through a long build-up, creating an intense storyline. Because they don’t explain the full story at first, it’s exciting to anticipate how it will end. Both of these documentaries show different parts of the story. You should definitely watch both if you haven’t already.