Netflix Is the Most Intoxicating Portal to Planet Earth
Instead of trying to sell American ideas to a foreign audience, it’s aiming to sell international ideas to a global audience.
"Netflix’s push abroad has not been without incident. Late last year, the company earned international condemnation
for pulling an episode of “Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj” from its
service in Saudi Arabia. The comedian had criticized the Saudi crown
prince, Mohammed bin Salman, after the C.I.A.’s conclusion that the
prince had ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident Saudi
journalist.
Netflix argued that it
had no choice but to obey the Saudi legal authority, which said the
episode violated a statute, if it wanted to continue operating in that
country. The company’s executives suggested that bringing the Saudis the
rest of Netflix — every other episode of “Patriot Act” or shows that
explore issues of gender and sexuality, like “Big Mouth” and “Sex
Education” and “Nanette” — was better than having the entire service go
dark in that country."
