About eight years ago, my husband and I had a revelation.
It all started with the bill we received from the cable company. I don't know why, on this particular day we were fed up. We had been paying for cable for much of our young adult life and always deemed cable as one of those essential utilities.
So what was so different now?
The two of us, realized that the quality of what we were watching, was not adding up to the amount we were paying each month. Even without my husband's football packages, we were still paying too much for the little we had been watching. Over time we became disgusted with all the filth on TV and all the commercials pushing a certain agenda. After all, we really only watched football and maybe a few shows here and there. Paying for a service we didn't really like or use that much was equivalent to throwing money out the window. Our weekend nights were spent renting and watching movies from the Redbox and we realized that, Movies were enough for us. We didn't need all the channels. We didn't need all the commercials. All we needed was a few good movies.
And then there was Netflix.
Netflix was originally a subscription that mailed DVD's of your choice to your home and in return you mailed them back to the company within a certain amount of time. If the company didn't receive the DVD's within an allotted time, you were charged a late fee. They also had an online streaming service but the video quality was horrible. We were certain that this company wouldn't last but we continued to use them. As a matter of fact, back in 2000, Netflix tried to buy Blockbuster for 50 million dollars and they were laughed at. Even the large video giant was sure Netflix was no competition.
Well we all know how that ended.
Years later, we watched as Blockbusters all around the country closed their doors one by one and Netflix and Redbox become the newest and most convenient way to rent movies.
Over the years of its existence, Netflix grew from a postal service to an online giant, even surpassing Redbox. Netflix had it all. The movies and the shows. No commercials. And best of all, an affordable monthly price. When it became digital, we signed up for an app on the XBOX and became loyal Netflix customers.
Until earlier this year.
At the end of 2019, a new film about Jesus began to emerge on Netflix. The Brazilian movie was called The First Temptation Of Christ and was suppose to be a Christmas comedy. Instead it portrayed Jesus as a homosexual and it wasn't until early 2020 that we discovered it. We were appalled that anyone would illustrate Jesus or any religious figure in this manner. As Americans, we understand the right for people to express their thoughts and opinions but as Christians, we just could not support a company that allowed this show on their platform. This was blasphemous. It didn't sit well with the people from Brazil either. Since Brazil is predominantly Catholic, more than 2 million people signed a petition to have the show removed and a judge from the Rio Court of Justice ordered the films withdrawal from the platform. However, the request was overruled by the President of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil claiming that this was a form of censorship and a setback for those in the LGBTQ community.
That was it for us. After many years of loyal service we finally canceled our subscription.
Prior to canceling, we had already started utilizing our Amazon Prime membership for movies and began exploring new apps such as Hulu, HBO, Showtime, etc. We are so thankful we did because a few months ago, Netflix released another disgusting film called Little Cuties. This movie is about an eleven year old girl brought up in a conservative home but becomes curious and joins a provocative dance crew. And I'm not talking about innocent dancing here. These little girls are twerking and dancing like they were strippers at a club. Not only is this disturbing, it's sending a message that it's okay to be sexual at this age, it's desensitizing people into thinking this is normal and it's attracting the attention of pedophiles. Dancing is not the only concerning issue here. There are several other incidents in the movie where the young girls act out sexually. Before the show was released, the movie cover was circulating all over the internet displaying a picture of young girls wearing minimal clothing in a sexual manner. This did not sit well with many Americans and Netflix was scrutinized for allowing this show on their platform. Once again, another petition was signed for it's removal and on August 20, Netflix tweeted this:
"We're deeply sorry for the inappropriate artwork that we used for Mignonnes/Cuties. It was not OK, nor was it representative of this French film which won an award at Sundance. We’ve now updated the pictures and description."
Even if they changed the cover photo, it still doesn't change the message of the movie and who it attracts. A concerned viewer contacted Netflix Customer Service regarding there views on pedophilia and this is what they had to say.
As you can see here, this is not a company we want to support and even though we canceled Netflix, we are still utilizing other apps with similar services. We have not suffered too much from this loss. We did have a few shows that we really enjoyed but for the most part we have moved on. I understand that the Hollywood culture and movie industry is not Christian based so I can't expect them to cater to Christian views and beliefs. However, when you start to blaspheme my Lord and Savior and support the sexualization of children, you leave me no choice but to cut the rope. And I'm happy to say that we're not the only ones. After the debut of Little Cuties, many concerned citizens have decided to do the same.
For those of you looking for a new service, maybe even one that is Christian based, I recommend Pureflix and Yippee TV. Like most subscriptions, these two offer a free 7 day trial and then charge a monthly fee of 7.99. The best incentives for these platforms, is that you don't have to worry about subjects such as the ones mentioned above, popping up on your streaming app.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks and have a blessed day!
