The words “pandemic” and “quarantine” relate to one of the most important aspects of every human’s life—time. People stress about schedules and not having enough time every day. It’s no secret that COVID-19 provided every person with a huge amount of time, whether it be relaxing or not. As the nation progressed through the pandemic, unity and love sparked through the ups and downs that everyone was going through. One commonality that seemed to bring us all together was movies and television shows.
Netflix, arguably one of the best streaming platforms, was a part of the glue that held our nation together during the peak of quarantine. With thousands of shows and movies to watch, the amount of binge-watching that took place was absurd.
Statistics about Netflix’s rise during the Summer of 2020 proved how much the United States invested in taking the extra time handed to everyone into television.
Netflix said that “revenue increased to $5.76 billion, up more than 27% compared to the same period in 2019. Profits almost doubled, from $344 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $709m.”
Teens and high school students all were a part of the large binge-watching group in the United States. Gonzaga students certainly did not lack behind the general public when it came to sitting down and watching some Netflix.
Gonzaga senior Liam Melley shared about his journey during quarantine and how Netflix played a role in taking up parts of his days.
“New Girl has easily been one of the best sitcoms I’ve ever seen. Every single one of the main characters are just so genuinely enjoyable and funny. I highly recommend it to anyone who needs a show to watch,” Melly said.
It’s obvious that sitcoms were a popular choice because another senior John Degnan talked about how the start of his quarantine was dedicated to Netflix and other streaming services. He discussed how watching shows helped him cope with the time when he wasn’t able to go out with his friends.
“I watched Community on Netflix at the start of quarantine. I loved it, and it’s definitely in the highest rankings of shows I’ve ever watched because of how unique it is. Some episodes are funny parodies of past movies, while others have huge paintball fights break out randomly,” Degnan said.
One junior spoke super highly of his experience watching Netflix during this past summer. Peter Mildrew excitingly shared about his new favorite show of all time that COVID-19 introduced him to.
“I watched The Queen’s Gambit at the beginning stages of the pandemic, and I never thought that I could be as excited by a game of chess as
the Super Bowl. The acting on all fronts was superb, and the cinematography complemented the mainly simplistic dialogue and writing as a whole,” Mildrew said.
At this point in time, it’s definitely necessary to thanks Netflix and other streaming companies for helping everyone get through this pandemic. Through old shows, new movies, hilarious standup comedians and so much more, these platforms provided the whole world with an opportunity to embrace the cinematic advancements and creativeness that have risen in the past decade.