Just when you thought that the proposed unholy acquisition of Warner Bros., with its vast library of entertainment content and widespread cultural influence, by Netflix, Leftist media conglomerate extraordinaire, had been averted by the timely intervention of Paramount, the parent company of CBS, there's reason to believe that Netflix may be itching to try again. That would be a catastrophe, since not only would woke extremists control an unprecedented proportion of our entertainment industry, but, as usual, those Hollywood lefties would make it their business to offend U.S. conservatives 10 times before breakfast – but they would treat communist China with kid gloves. We simply can't have that!
Netflix's progressive credentials are beyond question – and impossible for company executives to live down. From its peddling of kid-friendly trans propaganda, to its embrace of questionable climate change narratives, to its hostility to immigration enforcement, to the sweetheart deal it extended to the Obamas in 2018, to the simple fact that Netflix employees give no less than 98 percent of their political contributions to Democrats, the evidence that the company is “all in” for leftism and the Democratic Party is abundant. Anyone who thinks a potential Netflix-Warner Bros. monstrosity would create balanced or family-friendly or even watchable content is off their gourd.
That Netflix behaves obsequiously towards China is also clear, and, sadly, it's arguably par for the course in the entertainment industry. Netflix has avoided topics in its programming that touch a nerve for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). You won't find the Dalai Lama throwing himself in front of a Chinese tank in Tiananmen Square in any zany Netflix comedy, that's for sure! Meanwhile, even though Netflix is essentially frozen out of the Chinese market, it shares streaming content with the (CCP-linked) Chinese platform iQIYI. No doubt Netflix's fondest wish is that hundreds of millions of Chinese will someday be binge-watching its veritable mountain of digital junk via Netflix itself. Imagine all the yuan they could make!!! Netflix has a long record of kowtowing to the preferences of any and all authoritarian regimes (except, for some reason, that of iron-fisted “dictator” DJT).
Why is there reason to think that Netflix still has its eye on Warner Bros.? All you have to do is read the tea leaves, which conveniently Puck News has already done for us. State Attorneys General seem to be organizing for an offensive against the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal. Meanwhile, numerous Hollywood celebrities and bigwigs have signed on to a slick, well-funded campaign to “Block the Merger”, which some allege Netflix is helping to gin up. Nicholas Hill, an economist, has emerged as a prime critic of the Paramount-Warner Bros. deal, and it isn't entirely clear whether he speaks for Netflix or just alongside it. You can bet your bottom dollar that, where tens of billions of dollars are at stake, Netflix won't give up easily.
For the sake of genuine ideological and cultural diversity, and to avoid delivering yet another media conglomerate into the gaping maw of the CCP, we must push back against Netflix's 11th-hour attempt to sabotage the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger and annex the famous studio into its own entertainment empire. This close to success, we must press on to victory!
Dr. Nicholas L. Waddy is a history professor at SUNY Alfred and blogs at: www.waddyisright.com. He appears on the Newsmakers Show on WLEA/WYSL.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member