Wednesday, April 27, 2022

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It’s the Woke, Stupid: Why Netflix Lost $60 Billion in a Single Day

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 04:15 PM PDT

 

Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, surprised its investors this week by reporting a drop in subscriber counts in the first quarter of the year. After falling short of its own expectations and slipping into reverse, the media behemoth’s stock dropped more than 35% and the firm lost as much as US$60 billion in value.

 

NFLX is the worst-performing stock in both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 indexes this year, having lost more than two-thirds of its market cap since November last year.

 

What’s the story behind the company’s latest setback?

 

In the first three months of 2022, Netflix had its first subscription drop in in than a decade, with 200,000 subscribers leaving the service. The result was a major ‘miss’ when compared to the company’s previous prediction, which predicted 2.5 million new members during the same time period. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the company’s future prospects have further worsened the situation.

 

The company’s subscriber base is expected to drop by another 2 million people in the second quarter of 2022, according to management.  To put this in context, the corporation has routinely been able to grow its subscriber base by at least 25 million customers per year. That era seems to have finally ended.

 

The first quarter of 2022 revealed a difficult backdrop, with the company losing customers in three of its four core geographic segments. Netflix lost 600,000 users in the United States and Canada alone, and its results would have been significantly worse if not for a solid performance in Asia.

 

 

But what is behind these losses? 

 

Netflix attributes the decline in their business to a number of factors, including the relaxation of pandemic restrictions. While stay-at-home orders were in effect, the streamer benefited, but as lockdowns were eased, households began to shift their focus and money elsewhere. At the same time, increased competitiveness is a hot topic in the media streaming industry. Amazon is heavily investing in its Prime Video service, Apple is following suit, and Disney, HBO Max, and others are all vying for the same subscriber base.

 

Following increased content investment to drive subscriber growth, Netflix recently announced a price hike. With Joe Biden’s increasing inflation, people are starting to see Netflix as a luxury item they can do without and are canceling their subscriptions. 

 

The final reason Netflix claims is hurting their business is password sharing, which they claim is limiting their upside growth. They estimate that up to 100 million households around the world are participating in the activity, which they previously ignored.

 

The times they are a changing…

 

In response to their massive losses, Netflix is considering launching a cheaper, advertising-supported option for users in the coming years as a result of the large loss in customers. However, intelligent customers believe Netflix has another issue that is limiting their development that they are refusing to address: wokeness.

 

 

From the self-own of their global virtue-signal of shutting down their service in Russia after the Ukraine invasion, to their far-left content that turn off more and more subscribers, Netflix is doing themselves no favor. 

 

Did thousands of subscribers decide this was not content they wanted to watch?

 

Amala Ekpunobi recently explained how Netflix is “full of propaganda” during an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle.”

 

I think it’s this woke mind virus and people are waking up and inoculating themselves from it. They don’t want to hear this anymore, and Netflix is known to be doing this. They put out a French film called “Cuties,” with 11-year-old girls with barely any clothes on, twerking and shaking their butts on film. They have a series called “You” where they denounce people who are anti-Covid vaccine. They’re full of propaganda. They’ve subscribed themselves to anti-Whiteness, anti-racism, radical feminism, and that’s what they put in their content. You can’t find a piece of Netflix content that does not have leftist ideology embedded in it. And I think people are fed up with it. They don’t want to pay a monthly fee to be lied to and to be fed propaganda, and to be told that they are hated. 

…

I as a Black person do not want to hear this demeaning message about how I need help from you, and how I need help from the rich and how we need to invest in Black business. What is Netflix doing for Black people or for lower income communities? Virtually nothing. When this whole Black Lives Matter scandal broke out and people were taking to the streets – what did Netflix do? They opened up a category on their streaming service for Black creators and Black content, not only segregating their consumers and creating a divisive climate, but doing nothing for Black people in their efforts. It makes no sense. It’s all virtue-signaling and it’s all propaganda. That’s all that they want. 

 

Watch the entire interview here:

 

 

 

Netflix has recently been preoccupied with woke, left-leaning content, which the general public despises. Hollywood's woke content, which has infected Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and Doctor Who  have been total disasters. Netflix could have taken a hint and realized people might be tired of all the virtue signalling, and if they provided them with quality content, they would surely reward you with a subscription.

 

But they double down on it. Shows like Dear White People, The Get Down, Sense8, and others that lean into identity politics, were actually praised by The Wrap as must see shows in order to “Stay Woke,” and Netflix regularly portrays Christianity in a negative light. The First Temptation of Christ, which portrays Jesus as gay, drew criticism both online and offline. 

 

 

The company’s decline is also a reflection of the failure of its costly partnership with former president Barack Obama. In 2018, Netflix signed a multi-year agreement with the Obama’s to produce films and series. While it’s unclear exactly how much money they burned to hire the Obamas, we know that Netflix paid the creator of Glee $300 million for a five-year deal, so it’s a sure bet that the amount for the Obama’s was exorbitant.

 

On April 13, Netflix released all five episodes of its documentary series Our Great National Parks, produced and narrated by Barack Obama. While left-wing culture critics in the liberal media received the series warmly—one at least admitted, “I can’t say that I learned a tremendous amount”

 

Clearly Netflix’s investors were less convinced.

 

 

It is not the price, and it is not the password sharing. It’s the content stupid. And it remains to be seen how long the remaining users will stay loyal to the media streaming giant. Netflix has indicated it might be a 1-2 year timeline before the company can fully harness the benefit of its efforts. I say it won’t turn around until they recover from the “woke mind virus” that has infected the company.

 

What do you think? Has Netflix lost its mojo or is this a temporary setback?

 

The post It’s the Woke, Stupid: Why Netflix Lost $60 Billion in a Single Day appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Nickelodeon Syndrome: Why So Many Millennials are Neurotic

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 03:25 PM PDT

There's no ignoring that the Millennial generation is in crisis. Just take a look at their skyrocketing incidence of depression.

 

 

While most Americans are feeling more depressed, we've seen the sharpest increase among those who were aged 16-25 as of 2017.

Those ages encompass the birth years 1992-2001, which is an almost perfect match for the generational reckoning favored at this blog.

It's probably not an accident that the first spike in depression figures came in 2013-2014, when the average Millennial was leaving adolescence. After all, that cohort was raised by television – and then the internet – to believe they could achieve any dream they set their hearts on. And what's more, they deserved to.

 

What Millennials found instead when they entered the real world was that they had the same personal limitations as every prior generation – if not more.

 

The resulting difficulty with adapting to adult life due to a steady diet of "You can be anything you want!" marketing is what I call Nickelodeon syndrome.

 

 

Check out any post-Ground Zero (which also coincides with Millennials' formative years) kids' show, and you'll notice a steady and unsubtle drum beat of "Kids are savvier and more imaginative than adults. Your mom and dad work dull 9-5 jobs because they lack ambition, but you can be a movie star/rock god/millionaire!"

 

This is of course a vicious and cruel lie to tell children, because vanishingly few people have the talent and resources to realize all of their ambitions as they envision them.

 

Equality – another evil concept peddled to children – does not exist in any measurable form among individuals. Someone who's 5′ 4″ is not going to excel in the NBA. If your IQ is 89, you will not be founding a successful tech startup.

 

Diversity is real, though not in the warped sense the Death Cult intends. There is a hierarchy of being in which every on the spectrum of ability is filled. This full expression of possibilities inherent in the human condition honors God and man.

 

The serious mental and larger societal problems we're seeing stem from denying the natural order. And worse, going against it. A generation is coming to grips with the fact that most of them cannot be full-time game streamers or glass ceiling-shattering female CEOs like their cartoons promised.

 

These internal contradictions have rendered a disturbing number of Millennials severely neurotic. Ven. Fulton Sheen compared neurosis to squeezing a tube of toothpaste with the cap still screwed on. The contents could burst out anywhere. Some medicate in various ways to deal with the pressure. Others let it erupt into frenzied attacks on the world they feel betrayed them. That is a root of campus and shitlibopolis havoc we've seen these recent years. Note that Millennial depression took another dramatic upturn in 2016.

 

The cure for Nickelodeon syndrome is a healthy dose of humility – the virtue by which one makes an accurate assessment of his ability and submits to the cosmic order accordingly. The surest and fastest way to grow in virtue is to petition God for it. But since Millennials have been taught they don't need God since they're Him, few are taking this route.

 

What's clear is that generations X and Y are being passed over for leadership so Boomers can hand the reins over to their Millennial clones. The tragic spectacle of foreign policymakers taking cues from Reddit suggests that the handover is already in progress.

 

If you thought that rule by demented fossils was bad, just wait until the self-entitled neurotics who can't boil water or change a tire take charge.

 

 

For a vision almost as scary, read my hit horror-adventure novel.

 

 

Originally published here.

The post Nickelodeon Syndrome: Why So Many Millennials are Neurotic appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Why Hasn’t Warner Bros. Fired Amber Heard or Ezra Miller by Now?

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 09:20 AM PDT

 

The actor who played the Flash in the DCEU franchise recently caused another ruckus in Hawaii, as relayed by the BBC:

 

US actor Ezra Miller has been arrested after allegedly assaulting a woman in Hawaii.

The Fantastic Beasts star threw a chair at the woman, leaving her with a cut to her forehead, according to police.

Miller was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning for second-degree assault at a private property in Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island, after reports of the attack.

[…] “During the course of their investigation, police determined that the individual, later identified as Ezra Miller, became irate after being asked to leave and reportedly threw a chair, striking a 26-year-old female on the forehead, resulting in an approximate half-inch cut.”

[…] according to reports from Rolling Stone, Warner Bros and DC executives met after Miller’s first arrest, agreeing to pause any future projects with the actor.

 

Some of the most bizarre things about Miller, if the BBC report is to be taken seriously, are that he supposedly supports gun rights, yet he identifies as non-binary(!), and uses the pronoun propaganda started by LGBT activists for self-description. Clearly, a most insane person indeed, and tragic he was ever hired in the first place, surely without any background check or proper morality clause vetting. As of now, he’s merely been fined $500 by local authorities for his assaults, and why are any of his victims letting him get away with it that easily?

 

Marca addressed the subject in an op-ed, and says it’s disturbing how WB’s retaining Miller and Amber Heard, even as Johnny Depp gets shunned:

 

Warner Bros has been making executive mistakes for the better part of the last decade, and they certainly made three mistakes with Amber Heard, Ezra Miller and Johnny Depp. These decisions came as they caught wind of the smallest hint of bad press coming towards them before doing a proper investigation.

[…] Initially, there were reports of Amber possibly losing her role as Mera in the ‘Aquaman’ franchise but she has kept her job until now. Depp lost his role as Grindelwald in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise. Disney immediately dropped Johnny Depp’s contract with the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise. If the trial goes in Johnny’s way, both companies will have to issue apologies and Depp could even file lawsuits against the two of them.

 

What if they don’t? The sad reality is, they lost their moral compass long ago, and now the chickens came home to roost. But, after all this dreadful news, will they at long last sever ties with such hoodlums? They could’ve done so long ago, yet in PC steps that have been commonplace for a long time now, they kept hiring these scum.

 

The recent merge with Discovery brought a lot of new ideas and hopefully better decision-making skills. After all, they don’t want to seem like the company that keeps real-life villains and fires folk heroes. It’s just bad press for them.

 

Admittedly, that WB’s board of director decided to cease all associations with Miller for now is fortunate. But it likely won’t be the last time we’ll be seeing this kind of hypocrisy in motion anywhere in Hollywood, though for now, WB will certainly have difficulty releasing the planned Flash movie and Aquaman sequel with serious fanfare. Who knows? In the end, they may just be released on cable TV streaming services.

 

 

Originally published here.

The post Why Hasn’t Warner Bros. Fired Amber Heard or Ezra Miller by Now? appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Content Bloat: Here’s a Squirrel Girl Podcast No One Asked For

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 08:25 AM PDT

 

Marvel has launched of a scripted "Squirrel Girl" podcast that serves as a continuation of the comic book series from Ryan North, Variety reports. The six-episode SiriusXM podcast series titled "Marvel's Squirrel Girl: The Unbeatable Radio Show," which stars Milana Vayntrub of AT&T-ad fame as Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl and is written by North, debuted across multiple platforms today. The podcast is produced by Radio Point, the podcast arm of "I Think You Should Leave" and "Life & Beth" production company Irony Point.

Here's the official description for the "Squirrel Girl" podcast:

"Squirrel Girl has taken down Thanos and Doctor Doom — but now she faces something far more terrifying… living authentically. The new series follows Empire State University college student, Doreen Green, who has recently been outed as a super hero — The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl! Hoping to unify her personas in the public eye, Squirrel Girl has created a new student radio show on ESU's own college station. With the help of her best girl-friend Nancy Whitehead as producer and her best squirrel-friend Tippy-Toe in the booth; Doreen is ready to help more people than ever with her greatest super hero advice. And when the going get rough, she can always lean on her heroic friends: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Chipmunk Hunk, Koi Boi and Brain Drain.

“However, with a call-in show comes caller anonymity and not all the folks on the line want help – some want to crime – and crime hard! When a suspicious caller wreaks havoc on New York City, Squirrel Girl and her friends will have to put their heroics to the test and prove that once and for all Doreen Green is the unbeatable Squirrel Girl."

 

Embrace the bloat.

The post Content Bloat: Here’s a Squirrel Girl Podcast No One Asked For appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Elon Musk Buys Twitter – and the Meltdowns Have Been Glorious

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 04:45 AM PDT

 

Twitter stock trading was temporarily paused yesterday in anticipation of an announcement from the social media behemoth. It was soon revealed that Elon Musk had in factinitiated the process of purchasing all of Twitter’s shares in preparation for taking the company private. Musk had tweeted in advance of the news that he hoped his opponents would remain on the site.

 

 

The problem for Musk and conservatives on the platform has been the Big Tech tyrant’s proclivity for banning content that contradicts leftist mainstream narratives. Musk claims to be a free-speech purist, arguing that any viewpoint that is not unlawful should be permitted on the platform. This includes letting Donald Trump, Laura Loomer, and thousands of other “banned” accounts to be unbanned.

 

 

 

Progressives on Twitter had public meltdowns, responding to the purchase in by calling for government intervention to control “misinformation” on public venues. They argue that the internet in general, and social media in particular, require government regulation. Since Musk announced his plan to buy Twitter on April 14, both former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have spoken out in favor of censorship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When will those weirdos learn that Twitter is not an airport, and they don’t need to announce their departure?

 

Musk will still have to deal with another issue if he wants Twitter to be a free speech platform. Twitter apps are still part of Google and Apple’s infrastructure. They will try to persuade Twitter to continue censoring by threatening to deactivate popular mobile apps if Twitter does not adhere to their authorized narratives.

 

 

As ‘your boi Zack’ said, while many were showing respect for Savage Dragon creator Erik Larsen of Image Comics for actually deleting his account after the Musk deal was announced, why should anyone find it noble for a grown man to announce he is going to throw a tantrum, and then throwing a tantrum?

 

 

 

We’ll have to wait and see how Twitter’s new age unfolds. For many, this appears to be a sign that the days of censorship on the platform are coming to an end. Will Elon Musk be able to salvage Twitter from itself? Let’s wait and see.

 

The post Elon Musk Buys Twitter – and the Meltdowns Have Been Glorious appeared first on Bleeding Fool.

Behind the Scenes from the Set of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted: 26 Apr 2022 12:50 AM PDT

 

The Star Wars universe continues to expand on the small screen with the imminent arrival of the latest spin-off series on Disney+. Obi-Wan Kenobi sees Ewan McGregor reprise the role of the iconic Jedi, last seen (in live-action, at least) dropping off baby Luke Skywalker on Tatooine at the end of Revenge of the Sith.

 

McGregor inherited the role from Alec Guinness, and fleshed out the character (and his beard) over the course of the prequel trilogy. But, 17 years after he last wore the robe, McGregor is back, and he's not the only familiar face appearing in the new series. For starters, his former Padawan-turned-nemesis Hayden Christensen returns as Darth Vader.

 

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi premieres on Disney+ on May 27th.

 

Images courtesy of Total Film magazine.

The post Behind the Scenes from the Set of Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi appeared first on Bleeding Fool.
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