Netflix: We're Not In The Truth To Power Business, We're In The Entertainment Business
from the good-to-know dept
You may recall that back in January Netflix took something of a public pounding for pulling an episode of Hasan Minhaj's Patriot Act, after Minhaj went hard at Mohammad bin Salman. Netflix pulled the episode inside of Saudi Arabia when the country claimed the episode violated the kingdom's internet laws, which mostly revolve around keeping any criticism of the Saudi royal family off of the internet. Critics in America and elsewhere slammed Netflix for kissing the Saudi family's ring, while still others pointed out that the episode was still available on Netflix's YouTube page, including in Saudi Arabia. Some even argued that Netflix knew that all of this would be Streisanded, actually getting the episode more attention in Saudi Arabia that way.
Such strategic moves to hold to moral values doesn't appear to have been reality, however, as Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently came out and publicly washed his company's hands of any kind of value-based stance.
‘We’re not in the truth-to-power business. We’re in the entertainment business.’
That’s Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix Inc., defending a decision earlier this year to pull an episode of comedian Hasan Minaj’s “Patriot Act,” which was critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, keeping it from airing in Saudi Arabia.
“We can accomplish a lot more by being entertainment and influencing a global conversation about how people live than trying to be another news channel,” Hastings said Wednesday in an interview at the New York Times’ Dealbook Conference.
I can't say I know for sure exactly who is supposed to be the intended audience for Hastings' remarks, but sure as hell hope the creative public is listening. For content creators, Netflix has made it abundantly clear that it will not support disruptive art in the face of authoritarian criticism. Given how much of art and content is specifically designed to speak truth to power, and given just how squishy many governments legal justifications for censorship are, the future is certain to be filled with these types of take down requests. Do artists really want to utilize such a platform for expression?
Making all of this even more frustrating is where Hastings decides the lines should be drawn, which only serves to throw all of this into more confusion.
Hastings added a caveat on how far he would go: “If they can came to us and said you can’t have gay content, we wouldn’t do that. We would not comply with that.”
What the hell? I'm all in favor of supporting the rights of the LGBT community, but there are plenty of governments out there that are unfriendly to that community, to art made by and about that community, and plenty have laws against such expression. You know, like Russia, for instance. Why is Netflix willing to defy Mother Russia on "gay content" (weird phrase), but Hasan Minhaj's mainstream criticism of MBS's actions somehow are ripe for censoring?
It's a disappointing stance for Netflix to take. Although, to be fair, bowing to authoritarian regimes has become something of a fad lately.
Filed Under: censorship, criticism, culture, entertainment, free speech, hasan minhaj, patriot act, reed hastings, saudi arabia, truth to power
Companies: netflix
