Bans, Censorship and Boycotts: Netflix Faces Increased Scrutiny Overseas
Bans, Censorship and Boycotts: Netflix Faces Increased
Scrutiny Overseas
As the streamer expands rapidly worldwide, it finds itself
embroiled in regional controversies — for example, there were calls in Jordan
to ban a show in which a female actor kisses two different boys — while
navigating a minefield of local sensibilities and regulatory and political
challenges.
Until very recently, Netflix has taken a "move fast and break
things" approach typical of Silicon Valley startups, with most criticism
of its shows either ignored or dismissed.
But as the streamer
moves from new kid on the block to industry leader, it is coming under
increased scrutiny over concerns about the influence its shows might be having
on children, or society at large. Take the company's decision to alter a
graphic suicide scene — two years after it debuted — on its hit teen drama 13 Reasons Why, or its recent capitulation to
anti-smoking advocates by committing to cut back on depictions of smoking on
its shows — a response in part to outrage over the puffing seen in 1980s-set Stranger Things.
These moves follow a host of other regional controversies Netflix
has found itself embroiled in as it attempts to navigate a tricky cultural
landscape amid its rapid global expansion.
"Netflix has a lot of growing pains to go through," says
Michael Pachter, a media analyst with Wedbush Securities. "They are now
bringing a lot more of that content in-house. I think they recognize with
ownership comes civic responsibility."
Ever since its
aggressive launch into local-language content, controversy has followed. In
Jordan this summer there were calls to ban Jinn,
Netflix's first Arabic-language original series, because of two scenes in which
female actor Salma Malhas kisses two different boys — shocking for some in the
Muslim country. In Brazil, left-wing politicians called for a Netflix boycott
in protest of José Padilha's crime series The Mechanism, a
lightly fictionalized version of a political kickbacks scandal that has divided
the nation. Netflix's award-winning Israeli drama Fauda has been
attacked both by pro-Palestinian groups (for its sympathetic depiction of
Israeli commandos) and by pro-Israel campaigners (for its sympathetic depiction
of Palestinian terrorists).
It's tempting to
characterize Netflix as a liberal American company facing draconian censorship
abroad — as when, in January, Saudi Arabia ordered that an episode of Hasan
Minhaj's Patriot Act, in which Minhaj criticized Saudi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, be taken down (Netflix ultimately complied). Or the
recent move by the Turkish government giving its national broadcast watchdog
censorship powers over international streaming sites operating in the country.
But international originals can also spark controversy closer to home. Baby, an Italian Netflix series that depicts high
school girls drawn into a prostitution scheme, came under fire from U.S.
anti-porn group the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which claimed the
show "glamorizes sexual abuse."
What is considered
sensitive or scandalous also varies widely from country to country, as does
local regulation. In Singapore, TV portrayals "glamorizing or encouraging
the use of illegal drugs" are banned. New Zealand, a country with a
startlingly high rate of teen suicide, introduced a new censorship category
specifically to deal with 13 Reasons Why. The
new rating, RP18, prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from watching the show
without adult supervision.
As Netflix becomes truly a major player in international
territories, the challenge will be navigating 190 different regulatory
environments, and 190 different cultural sensitivities, while still maintaining
a single service. This is a particular issue for the streamer, which wants
"to be everything to everyone," as one analyst puts it, offering
everything from family-friendly kids' shows to cutting-edge adult drama on a
single platform, and presenting it to its global subscribers simultaneously.
"This isn't just a free speech issue and isn't just about politics,"
says Claire Enders of U.K.-based Enders Analysis, who believes that many of the
current debates around Netflix "scandals" are really about
regulation. "By 2020, Netflix's audience in the U.K. will be larger than
[national commercial network] Channel 4," Enders adds. "Do you think
they'll be able to avoid the same kind of regulation imposed on every broadcast
and pay TV network in this country? They won't."
Comments
Post a Comment