"Netflix cancellation" ... Why does the network insist on provoking everyone?

Hussam Fahmy

Netflix angered many after its "Messiah" or "Miracle Man" show earlier this year, as it issued campaigns to demand that it be banned, and signed more than 3,500 petitions demanding that it be stopped with what it described as bad and evil propaganda against Islam.

But it appears that Netflix is ​​not blaming public anger and resentment facing some of its controversial content, whether it comes to beliefs and religions, or social customs and cultures.

Christian anger
At the end of last year, Netflix faced the wrath of millions of Christians around the world because of its controversial film, "The first temptation of Christ", which mocks the personality of Christ, peace be upon him, and appears in contemporary treatment that has reached the point of portraying him as a "homosexual".

Christian anger turned into a boycott campaign with the slogan "Cancelnetflix #" that attracted thousands of followers in the United States and the world, to the point that a group of its participants created a petition of signatures directed to Netflix demanding that the film be deleted.

The matter did not stop at the electronic rejection campaigns only, but it arrived violently and violently, through the attempt of some religious Christians to bomb the headquarters of the workmen, who are a group of Brazilian satirical artists who are based in Rio de Janeiro.

The group that carried out this explosion, before attempting to infiltrate the company’s headquarters on New Year's Eve, used Molotov cocktails in its attack, but in the end the explosion did not result in any casualties.

The makers, led by Brazilian comedian Giorgio Dodiever, have announced that he expected many verbal protests on social media, and even some insults from some US Congressmen, but he never expected that it would come to a real attack with explosives.

The attack necessitated the intervention of the Brazilian police, who announced that they were acquainted with one of the participants one day after the fact, although Brazilian artists have held the Brazilian President Gere Bolsonaro responsible for the attack that the artists are being subjected to recently because of his policy, which some see as an attack on freedom of art and expression .

"We support the right to expression, but is it worth it to attack the doctrine of more than 86% of the people? I will leave you with the judgment," Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of the Brazilian president, said on his official Twitter account.

Jordan and Jordan
In the social context, Netflix also faced the middle of last year sharp criticism from the Arab public in general, and the Jordanian public in particular after its "Jen" series, its first experiment with Arab production.

The Jordanian Artists Syndicate Hussein Al-Khatib commented on the series that "some of the scenes are not consistent with our customs and traditions, nor with our values, our legacy, or the humanitarian framework in general." He stressed the commitment of the Jordanian Artists Syndicate to freedom of expression, explaining that freedom should be specific.

Contrary to Netflix's silence, because of its criticism regarding the series “Christ” and the movie “The First Seduction of Christ”, the network has commented on the criticisms of the Arab street in a tweet published through its Arab account that its position has always adhered to the values ​​of diversity, and that it always strives to provide a safe space for all series fans And films in the region, and they will not tolerate any of the behavior and words of prejudice to the crew.

With this controversy constantly posed by Netflix and angry and tolerant reactions to its content, the network achieves one of the important marketing goals for any company within an expanding and intensifying market struggle for dominance in the world of digital broadcasting.