We have not completed even two months of 2023 but, when it comes to the film and television industry, it is going to be difficult to imagine a story that eclipses the media bombshell of the moment. This is none other than Netflix’s controversial maneuver to control shared accountswhich has involved, among other things, a more than considerable price rise without providing any benefit to subscribers.
How could it be otherwise, the reactions to the strategy of the Big N of streaming have not been long in coming. While in financial terms the company’s shares have not suffered from the controversy, there have been many voices of dissatisfied users who have risen in networks harshly criticizing the decisionthreatening to cancel your membership or providing proof of it.
However, despite the understandability of the anger and the obviously unfortunate nature of the platform’s alternative to take advantage of accounts with several profiles in use outside the same household or family nucleus, judging by many comments, we are forgetting something fundamental : Neither Netflix is a non-profit NGO, nor is having a subscription to a service a constitutional right mandatory.
The price of culture
Go ahead with the following: Culture is a good that, in addition to being necessary for the correct development of our society, must be accessible to all citizens. from a country. Having said this, it is rigorous to emphasize that this responsibility falls on the shoulders of official institutions and different government agencies, and not on private entities that, on the other hand, are always in a position to pitch in.
Sticking to the audiovisual medium, we can illustrate this reflection with bets like those of RTVEon whose website streaming movies are offered at no cost or, especially eFilm, popularly known as “the free Netflix” that allows the free digital rental of feature films orchestrated by the network of public libraries —access to the devices and the connection necessary to enjoy them by families and vulnerable groups is another matter.
Unfortunately, everything in this life, and even more so if it is managed by large corporations, has a price; and the one who has used to have the consumption of movies and series —and even music— on digital platforms has sinned not by excess, but by default. Sums like the 4.99 euros per month that Amazon Prime Video charges us for accessing a gigantic catalog they have spoiled a large part of consumers and have contributed to insulting the value of culture and art.
Years after the advent of the vod in our lives we have become accustomed to consume feature films and episodes at the click of a button and with bargain prices or, directly, for free —although the latter goes back to time immemorial. This has encouraged that, when it’s time to take out your wallet and scratch your pocket, the shortest path is the one that leads directly to the cancellation button.
Patch in the eye and rum in the flask (but the cheap one)
While, on the one hand, I fully understand the indignation of Netflix users at the recent crazy management, I can only show my rejection of many messages posted on networks boasting of canceling their account accompanied no longer by screenshots, but by links to web pages to download the content of the platform without prior disbursement.
Leaving aside the incongruous nature of many arguments, which, in the same way that the hustler on duty brandishes “you’re not that hot either” when a woman rejects him, they hide behind criticize the deficiencies of Netflix productions to later celebrate the existence of torrents and direct downloads to binge content you think you deserve; as if paying for it was an act of charity towards the company.
If I consider that the price to see the titles of a platform is excessive, I don’t see them. If my soccer team raises the price of tickets, I don’t attend the stadium. If the trendy joint does the same with the drinks, I don’t drink them. If a supermarket charges more for a bag of snacks, I don’t eat it. If I can’t afford something or don’t want to invest in it more than I think is convenient, I’ll skip it..
We can—and should—criticize Netflix’s move, but hide behind everything free, the eyepatch and the peg leg For this, he not only does a disservice to the industry; It is also an act of hypocrisy that reveals how apparently little many of those who turn to it to enrich their leisure time love the medium.