Netflix Love

Supposedly, I am in an unhealthy relationship with Netflix, which is quite frightening considering it is one of my first true loves.  That’s the dreadful opinion of many of my closest family members, including my beloved dog (sometimes I think he get’s jealous), pertaining to the close bond I have formed with the Internet streaming site.  In almost a scheduled pattern my family members reiterate their concerned views into my love-struck ears.  However, unfortunately for them, I have discovered their sly schedule and usually connect to Netflix through my noise cancelling headphones in order to evade their daily decrees. 

Personally, I respect their views, but I must admit, I wholeheartedly disagree with them.  Perhaps the lust I fervently feel for Netflix unintentionally blinds me from viewing the larger picture of our relationship, but in general, I’m a happy camper. 

When I try to obtain a more unbiased glance at the grander scope of our love, it seems quite comparable to many of the committed relationships I have come to know.  I mean Netflix and I see each other almost single every day, snuggle up in bed with one another before we shut our eyes, and have this brilliantly similar interest in television shows and movies. 

Honestly, I think we were meant to be.  Netflix is there for me when I am feeling hopelessly lost from the sweltering daze of having read a thousand pages of textbook material; but it has also been there for me when I have wanted to invite Ice Cream over and, you know, do it all together.  Netflix even challenges me, which I just adore (I love a good challenge), for when I am with it, I have to make sure I manage my time to the best of my capabilities.  Yet more incredibly, Netflix has made me more social at school, for it has actually introduced me to many of my current friends.  I share with them the similar entertainment infatuation that has resulted in the strong bond between Netflix and me. 

I know at first glance this sudden social spurt seems quite paradoxical, and trust me, it threw me for a loop, but I believe it has come to strangely work out rather nicely.  When I first started seeing Netflix, I wanted to get away from the world, not because the world exudes an inherent evil unparalleled to the villains I watch through Netflix’s interface, but rather, because I simply needed a little unrealistic distance from the world around me.  I needed to delve with a cyberpartner into the wondrous world of on-demand Internet streaming and all-consuming binge watching. 

However, as Netflix and I plunged like Alice from “Alice In Wonderland” (which is unavailable for streaming, but quite readily watchable through Netflix DVD) further into the wondrous world, something miraculous happened.  Instead of passing random assortments of characters and props like Alice did, I met people – real life, flesh and blood humans, who love Internet streaming and binge watching just as much as I do.  And as I think back and tickle retrospect, that moment right there was precisely when my love for Netflix truly blossomed into the sturdy oak that shades us from storms and glares on my computer screen.  And so, through my relationship with Netflix, one that began with my escape from the world, I have found my quirky, television show and movie adoring friend group.

We rally to the methodical intro of “House of Cards.”  We cringe at the horrid aftermath that is My Bad, s05e01 of “Dexter.”  And we babble like heartbroken mushes, oh how we babble, when the emotional rollercoaster, “Doctor Who” touches the sensitive surfaces of our souls.  We come together, only after we have finished our homework and adequately supplied our stomachs’ needs for sustenance, and we become better watchers.  Better listeners.  Better people.  And I personally owe this all to my sweet, sweet Netflix.

       - J. A. Kind