Netflix vs Saudi Arabia: Free speech at what cost?

Editor’s note: The following Opinion column was one of three essays selected for publication from students in World Cultures classes taught by Brian Busby, West Chester East High School.

The recent drama that has unfolded on Netflix, a popular entertainment subscription group, was not revolving around one of their hit movies, Bird Box, but something to do with the company itself.

Netflix recently pulled out an episode of “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” from Saudi Arabia in which comedian Hasan Minhaj calls out crown prince Mohammed bin Salman from the perspective of a Muslim concerned about Saudi Arabia’s impact on Islam relating to the murder of Washington Posts columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

This episode is no longer available on Netflix in Saudi Arabia. Think of “the first amendment” and then flip it!

In Saudi Arabia, there is an autocratic government and the right to ‘free speech’ is not among the basic human rights. The country is home to modern cities and technological advances yet the nation’s government is anything but modernized.

Life is fine for the rich Saudi male, but the rest of the population that does not fall into this category have minimal human rights.

Women seem to be impacted the most among the population such as not being able to discuss their opinion and having segregated areas in public. Saudi Arabian women are also required, according to Islamic law, to fully cover their bodies by wearing an abaya which is a long black cloak while in public. If these conditions seem appropriate or humane, then all hope in humanity is lost.

Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is, however, attempting to change Saudi Arabia into a more liberal country.

Before he became crown prince in June of 2017, Saudi Arabia was under outrageous laws such as women not being permitted to drive.

Women had to depend on chauffeurs and male relatives to travel anywhere by car.

A year after he became crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman lifted the ban on female driving.

This event sparked positive feedback among the women in Saudi Arabia and people were excited for more changes to come.

Fast forward to 2019, where the crown prince is under heat for possible involvement in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi often criticized the government of Saudi Arabia, particularly Mohammed Bin Salman.

After Khashoggi’s death, Netflix aired the episode, “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj.”

The Saudi Arabian government took offense to the episode which linked the murder to the crown prince and twisted Netflix’s arm to pull the episode off the air.

This operation created lots of controversies and made people in Saudi Arabia realize that they do not even have the basic right, “the freedom of speech!”

People in Saudi Arabia need to rise together, march forward, and fight for their right to free speech which is a fundamental human right.

The United Nations (U.N.) and the rest of the world should support the people of Saudi Arabia as they protest against their monarch.

There should be protests held around the country by the Saudi citizens declaring that they want and deserve more freedom.

Next, the U.N should petition and work with Saudi Arabia to help people get their basic privileges. If the petition does not succeed, then the next step should be to force sanctions against Saudi Arabia.

As oil is a major export for Saudi Arabia and the lifeline to their economy, the nations around the world should boycott the purchasing of oil from Saudi Arabia.

This would have a severe impact on their economy and make Mohammed bin Salman question the approach he and his government have taken.

In Hasan Minhaj’s episode, he pointed out “MBS is not modernizing Saudi Arabia. The only thing he is modernizing is Saudi dictatorship.”

Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government should lead towards the path of complete liberalization instead of half-hearted gestures.

Humans need to have the right to free speech and the right to freedom and as humans, we owe that much to the people of Saudi Arabia.