Farewell, Netflix

I am not a holier-than-thou person. Like many of us, I enjoy watching good TV shows and movies. And I’m not a big boycott guy. You could probably find a reason to boycott every company we purchase from if you look hard enough. But enough is enough.

I finally canceled Netflix and Disney+.

I get the message: you hate me and people like me. And you want to convert our kids to your death cult.

If they’re depicting historical or current events and they want to make sure everyone understands who the villain is, figure out who we’re supposed to hate, Netflix makes them look like me and hold my religious or political beliefs. The virtuous heroes will be gay or trans. Same for Disney.

And they really want to make sure the kids get the message. The shows for children are filled with new non-binary characters, gay couples, and trans propaganda. They hijack brands with an already-existing fanbase, like Transformers, Strawberry Shortcake, and She-Ra, by inserting 2SLGBTQIA+ characters. They glorify transgenderism with its attendant life-altering horrors such as genital mutilation and chemical castration with documentaries like The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone and shows like The Baby-Sitters Club. The list of shows goes on and on.

We all draw the line somewhere and maybe I should have canceled these streaming services sooner. My kids are grown now so I haven’t really been up to date on the details of what they have been doing to shows for kids until recently.

But I did settle in to watch The House of Guinness this week. The Guinness family is one I’ve admired for quite a while. Stephen Mansfield’s book, The Search for God and Guinness, had a lot to do with that. I’m not a total fool. I understand no one is perfect and there are aspects of people’s lives we’ll never know about but Arthur Guinness a good man.

If you type “Arthur Guinness Christian faith” into Google, the AI response reads,

“Arthur Guinness was a devout Protestant and influential Christian, whose faith deeply informed his business practices and charitable work. Influenced by the evangelist John Wesley, he applied his beliefs by creating a nutritious, less potent beer as a healthier alternative to the era’s pervasive and dangerous liquors, using his wealth and business to serve the poor. He also founded Ireland’s first Sunday schools and advocated for ethical treatment of his employees.”

That’s a fair assessment based on what I know of Arthur Guinness and his family. He was a good, Christian man who used his gifts and talents within his secular vocation and deployed his wealth and influence for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. Not everyone needs to be in vocational ministry in order to serve God. We need more men and women today who are willing to serve like Arthur Guinness from the positions where God has placed them.

So, of course, Netflix made Arthur gay.

I understand this Arthur is a composite character not meant to depict Arthur the founder of Guinness but there was no reason for the show’s creator, Steven Knight, to invent this fiction. Yes, one recent historian published a book making assumptions about a descendant who shared the name “Arthur” and re-writing history to make popular figures magically gay is nothing new.

Knight could just have easily gone another direction and thrown the family a bone by incorporating positive aspects of the family’s Christian faith. Instead, he quickly nips that in the bud in episode one. The siblings are squabbling over the will on the day of their father’s funeral. Sister Anne admonishes her brothers,

[Anne] Today of all days, we must behave like a civilized Christian family.

[Arthur] Which we’re not.

[Anne] Which we are.

We can’t take Anne’s correction too seriously as the episode clearly insinuates and then confirms she is having an affair.

Arthur Guinness, the devout Protestant and influential Christian, whose faith deeply informed his business practices and charitable work? You’re not going to get that from Netflix.

I’m not necessarily calling you to join a boycott or cancel the same streaming services I have. But I’m tired of giving my money to people who make it as clear as possible that they hate me and the things most important to me, including actively promoting evil to our children and grandchildren.

Farewell, Netflix.

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