Fifty Shades of Netflix

Dinosaur King is a 2007-8 animated TV series based on a Japanese card game of the same name.  It has all the elements that would appeal to pre-teen boys. There doesn't seem to be anything sexual about the the series.  Netflix describes it as follows:

2007 78 eps TV-Y7 FV
Aided by tablets found near a downed meteorite, Max, Rex and Zoe race the evil Alpha Gang as they travel the globe in search of living dinosaurs.

The TV-Y7 FV designation means:

For those programs where fantasy violence may be more intense or more combative than other programs in this category, such programs will be designated TV-Y7-FV. Most parents would find this program suitable for all ages.

There doesn't seem to be any indication that this would include sexuality of any type, nor that such programs would be themes of a so-called adult nature.

One of the features of Netflix is that after watching a program, Netflix makes recommendations of other offerings that might be of interest based on watching and liking a certain program.  Based on my 12-year old son's viewing of Dinosaur King, Netflix kindly recommended fifty other programs "Because you watched Dinosaur King."

All of the 50 recommendations say explicitly: "Because you watched Dinosaur King."  I took screenshots of all of them.  The icons for almost all of the films are pretty racy.

I broke down the themes, ratings, and years of the 50 recommendations:

Themes
Homosexuality: 25
Lesbianism: 17
Underage sexuality: 13
Mockery of religion: 6
Adultery: 5
Transgenderism: 4
Prostitution: 2
Drugs: 2
Pornography: 2

Ratings
TV-MA: 19
NR: 16
R: 8
TV-14: 4
PG-13: 2
NC-17: 1

Years
1990: 1
2006: 1
2008: 1
2010: 3
2011: 3
2012: 1
2013: 2
2014: 8
2015: 19
2016: 8
2017: 3

A sample of these Netflix recommendations:

• King Cobra is a 2016 film (TV-MA) described as follows by Netflix on the screen that says: "because you watched Dinosaur King": "Veteran gay pornography producer Stephen battles two rival producers over rights to his underage creation, Brent Corrigan, with deadly results."  The Wikipedia article of the film points out that this movie is "based on the book Cobra Killer: Gay Porn, Murder, and the Manhunt to Bring the Killers to Justice by Andrew E. Stoner and Peter A. Conway."
• Kiss Me is a 2011 film (NR) that inches toward a theme of incest, described by Netflix: "When Mia attends her estranged father's engagement party and meets her soon-to-be stepsister, sparks fly and Mia unexpectedly falls in love."
• Elena Undone is a 2010 film (NR) as described by Netflix: "When openly gay writer Peyton and love-starved pastor's wife Elena meet, they immediately form a bond which erupts into a sizzling affair."
• I Am Happiness on Earth is a 2014 film (TV-MA) in which "a gay movie director finds himself on both sides of the camera, blurring the line between his real sex life and erotic filmmaking" (Netflix).
• Tangerine is a 2015 film (R) summed up by Netflix: "Fresh out of a stint in jail, transgender prostitute Sin-Dee and her pal Alexandra hit the crazy streets of LA to get revenge on her fickle pimp."
• Henry Gamble's Birthday Party is a 2015 film (NR) described by Netflix: "A teen struggles to reconcile his desires with the strict morals of his religious family, while the adults around him struggle with similar conflicts."  
• Blue is the Warmest Color is a 2013 film rated NC-17 (which is the modern equivalent of an X rating).  Netflix: "Determined to fall in love, 15-year old Adele is focused on boys.  But it's a blue-haired girl she meets on the street who really piques her interest."  The Wikipedia article notes: "At Cannes, the film shocked some critics with its long and graphic sex scenes" and quotes a Variety writer: in saying that the film includes: "the most explosively graphic lesbian sex scenes in recent memory."

So, one can only speculate why an anime series that would appeal to pre-teen boys, that has nothing to do with sex - LGBT or otherwise - nor prostitution, swinging, adultery, mockery of religion, underage gay porn, or other such themes would spawn a recommendation of fifty such movies.

It's also interesting that there has been an explosion of such films since 2014-2015.

This adds meaning to the Netflix slogan: "See what's next."

Note: Thank you to Lew Rockwell for publishing this at LRC, January 5, 2018 here.

Search ResultsThank you Lew Rockwell for publishing this piece on January 5, 2018 at LewRockwell.com here.