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Cockburn has always said that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going…to a bar. But when the going gets tough for giant corporations — in this case, “tough” meaning $50 billion in lost subscriptions for Netflix — companies tend to get going in whatever direction will induce the mob to keep paying for their goods and services.
Netflix has done just that by updating its “corporate culture memo” to let employees know they may have to work on material that triggers them. And letting them know if they don’t like it, they can leave.
Over the course of the last several months, as he kept searching in a stupor for The Crown in the wee hours, Cockburn began to notice an increase in the amount of Netflix programming featuring in-your-face progressive messaging. Take, for example, this description of the Netflix show “Dear White People,” which thewrap.com includes in its list of “15 Shows You Should Watch to Stay Woke”:
This witty Netflix series reminds you to check your privilege before entering the fictional yet unnervingly realistic world at the predominantly white Winchester University. Although the title and premise stirred up controversy among those who felt the show was an attack, a deeper analysis reveals the significance behind the satire: to address the complexities of prejudice that take different forms — whether it’s white or light-skinned privilege, sexism, or homophobia.
When Elon Musk tweeted last month that “The woke mind virus is making Netflix unwatchable,” the Twittersphere was inundated with examples from fed-up viewers who helped prove his point.
Then came the final strike. The left-wing freak-out and subsequent act of violence over the trans jokes Dave Chappelle tells in his Netflix special The Closer seem to have ended — or at least slowed down — the streaming service’s continued censorship. As Cockburn’s colleague Stephen L. Miller wrote at the time of the incident, “Chappelle was physically attacked at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, during a comedy set. …According to Rolling Stone, the assailant has links to the trans community.”
Netflix went woke and is now going broke. So in an effort to salvage what’s left, the newly released and updated Netflix Culture memo includes a new “Artistic Expression” section, which, Variety reports,
[explains] that the streamer will not “censor specific artists or voices” even if employees consider the content “harmful,” and bluntly states, “If you’d find it hard to support our content breadth, Netflix may not be the best place for you.”
Where will the woke warriors go to work? CNN+ is always a good … oh wait. It seems the number of censor-friendly companies is dwindling as average folks, tired of being lectured to, seek programming that informs and entertains without some radical agenda. The Disney corporation remains, for now, an employment option for those intent upon infusing left-wing ideologies into modes of escapism. But Cockburn has a feeling it’s only a matter of time before Disney will also be forced to reverse course faster than the Kali River Rapids ride.
