The reflection of Netflix's Drama on cultural and social values in Arab World

(A critical study of the most watched series in light of the theory of media framework analysis)

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the most cultural and social values ​​that the Netflix platform adopts within its original dramas, and to explore the reflection of the promotion of these values on viewers. A pilot study was conducted on a sample of Netflix original drama series to find out the most popular cultural and social values for the period from (01-01-2020 to 01-06-2021). The pilot study concluded that homosexual acts were among the most imposed and promoted on viewers as a cultural and moral value within the Netflix dramas. Accordingly, the content of those dramatic scenes was analyzed, then the frequencies and proportions of the themes and dramatic contexts promoting homosexuality were calculated.

This study utilize the mixed method, as it began with a qualitative analysis to reach the themes covered by the original Netflix dramas, followed by a quantitative analysis to identify the volume of topics and the negative and positive contexts of homosexual scenes. The results of the study concluded that the Netflix platform presented its homosexuality dramas in a scientific method. Moreover, Netflix has used seven media frameworks that are consistent with the frame analysis theory. It also showed its focus on addressing five main themes, which are: homosexual contexts, homosexual behavior, homosexual rights, motivations, and characteristics. It has 13 categories, composed of 119 Codes.

The theme of homosexual contexts classified as highest percentage by (35.46%), followed by the theme of homosexual behaviors by (29.77%), While the theme of characteristics occupies the bottom of the list by (%3.15).

Data showed that all original Netflix series topped the list of most popular and watched for the year 2020-2021It's got homosexuality scenes. that the total time of homosexuality scenes appearance was about 312.83 minutes, for 424 scenes. This confirms that there is at least one homosexuality scene every 42 minutes, and homosexuality intercourse scene were in every 15 episodes. homosexuality verbal terms are the most frequently used by %57.54. homosexuality action was the second frequent scene by %14.15.

The data also showed an increase in the size of direct homosexuality contexts by (81.94%), compared to the size of the indirect homosexuality contexts, which was %18.06.Despite this, indirect contexts were also employed in a way that works to achieve moral sympathy for the viewer towards homosexuals, by showing the suffering that homosexuals face from the society around them. The study recommends the importance of conducting more qualitative and quantitative studies to identify the impact of homosexual scenes promoted through digital video platforms on the viewer’s perception, the extent of their mental acceptance, and the need for the competent bodies to protect intellectual security to educate the lllviewer about the seriousness of what these platforms offer, activate their supervisory role and block scenes that contradict with Islamic and cultural values.