American Family Association: Resolve to #DumpNetflix in 2020
TUPELO, Miss.—A controversial film streaming on Netflix is making headlines again, after a judge in Brazil ordered Netflix to stop streaming the movie that depicts a homosexual Jesus. But very soon after, a Brazil court reversed the judge’s decision and ruled Netflix can stream the offensive content.
Regardless, the American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) says 2020 is the perfect time to #DumpNetflix once and for all.
Netflix began streaming “The First Temptation of Christ” just before Christmas, and the movie also depicts the virgin Mary as an adulteress.
“The film is in Portuguese but comes with English subtitles and is available to subscribers worldwide,” shared AFA President Tim Wildmon with AFA’s 1 million friends and supporters in a December Action Alert. “While Christians worldwide were celebrating the birth of Christ, Netflix was using the most holy time of the year to blaspheme the Savior and spit in the face of Christians everywhere.
“Netflix’s conscious decision to air ‘The First Temptation of Christ’ is a clear and repulsive display of corporate arrogance and shows complete contempt for the faith of Christians who currently subscribe to or could subscribe to its services,” he added.
AFA had previously taken issue with Netflix for the graphic teen-targeted series “13 Reasons Why” and committed to warning parents to remain vigilant about their children’s TV viewing—especially binge-watching damaging programs like this one. This was after AFA shared the tragic story of 14-year-old Anna Bright, who committed suicide after binge-watching Season 1 of the program. Other parental groups also urged Netflix to stop streaming the series because of other similar cases of suicide as well as the show’s graphic content, but to no avail. Season 3 premiered this past fall, and filming just wrapped for the fourth and final season.
“Parents’ pleas about ‘13 Reasons Why’ were also ignored by Netflix, so it’s clear the streaming service does not care about its customers,” Wildmon said. “It’s time to #DumpNetflix in 2020, and AFA will make sure every person knows exactly how to cancel his or her subscription.”
Rebecca Davis, AFA editor-at-large, has been a vocal expert in the “13 Reasons Why” debate and has viewed and analyzed all three seasons of the series. Season 1 was based on a young adult novel by Jay Asher in which teenager Hannah Baker commits suicide as an act of revenge and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes blaming people for her death. Season 2 explored a myriad of heavy topics related to the aftermath of Hannah’s death, then ended with a graphic rape scene and an attempted school shooting. Season 3 has the homicide of a serial rapist at the helm of its darkness, filth and perversion, and includes an abortion storyline that depicts pro-life advocates in a negative light.
“While AFA is glad to know the end is in sight for this terrible series, it unfortunately remains on Netflix for children and teens to binge-watch,” Davis said. “Therefore, AFA will press on, stronger than ever, to urge families to put maximum pressure on Netflix to pull all seasons of this series from its streaming service.”
AFA is suggesting several action items regarding both the controversial film and graphic teen series on Netflix:
Cancel your subscription to Netflix here.
- Sign the AFA petition regarding “The First Temptation of Christ,” which includes a note to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
- Join nearly 160,000 others who have signed AFA’s “13 Reasons Why” petition. All three seasons are still streaming on Netflix, and a fourth season is already in the works.
- Share AFA’s information on Netflix with family, friends and fellow church members, and urge them to take action to stop Netflix’s brand of anti-Christian hate and graphic content aimed at teens.
View the media page for AFA here. For more information on American Family Association, visit www.afa.net or follow AFA on Facebook or on Twitter @AmericanFamAssc.
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To interview an American Family Association representative, contact Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Jeff Tolson, 610.584.1096, ext. 108, or ext. 102.
