Remember when Netflix was simply Blockbuster 2.0? Good times.
I recall my father renting the latest Harry Potter flick on a Thursday night and then grinning with anticipation when I opened the mailbox on Friday to collect a small white package with a disc inside. We enjoyed many nights as a family renting movies from Netflix. I wouldn’t say it was a tradition but indeed… they were good times.
Netflix soon became the international movie and television network for aficionados and casual watchers alike. While the selection of cinema was relatively limited and overtly American, you couldn’t ask for more at a decent price of $7.99 a month.
Then Netflix upped the price to $12.99 around 2019, which caused an exponential dip in their subscriber count, but my family chose to stick it out with good ol’ reliable. Serviceable enough, I suppose it was worth it at the time. To quote the great Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me BACK IN!” They pulled us back in for a few more years… until recently.
As of late 2022, Netflix announced that they would no longer allow password sharing, meaning that subscribers can only operate their accounts under their home Wi-Fi, which sucks. Therefore, I wouldn’t be able to watch Netflix under my family account unless I’m at home. Being a college student, I can’t even use the app under the comfort of my own dorm, which doubly sucks. Like what the f*** Netflix!?!? To whomever that was considering cancelling their Netflix subscription: do it! It’s simply not worth the money, the insecurity, nor the product they put out. Netflix has shot themselves in the foot with this egregious shift, and it is quickly going to kill whatever goodwill they’ve built over the past decade. Their downfall will be storied and swift, and I will be a witness. I guess it was only a matter of time before cupidity fell before creativity.
123Movies, here I come!