Censorship and editing movies to clean them up isn’t exactly new. R-rated movies, like Die Hard, usually get the edit treatment on network television, and there's been some changes to movies on Disney+. Heck, even Delta airlines has edited in-flight movies for their audiences.
Now, it looks like Netflix has joined the list of editing movies for content they don’t think appropriate for their audiences. A fan of Back to the Future recently caught a scene edited out on Netflix and shared it on social media. Check it out:
The strange part about this edit is while they cut out adult content that they probably didn't deem appropriate for younger audiences, it's not all out. So it almost feels a little pointless. Then again, if they cut it all out, it would be hard to understand why Marty is so upset.
As you might recall, in Back to the Future 2, Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) sneaks into Principal Strickland’s office to get the sports almanac. Once he successfully gets it, he opens it up to find that it had been replaced by one of Biff’s dirty magazines. Netflix cut out the part where they show the cover of the magazine.
Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time Netflix has edited out content. The sometimes controversial Netflix original 13 Reasons Why had a scene in Season 1 that its fanbase had been asking to be removed for some time. Netflix kept the scene in for a few years before finally announcing last year that they would edit out the scene.
Netflix isn’t the only streaming service caught for editing content. Earlier this year, Disney+ was caught making edits and alterations to the movie Splash, starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah. In the edited scene, a nude Daryl Hannah kisses Tom Hanks on the beach before running and diving into the ocean. Disney covered Daryl Hannah’s bare butt with CGI, trying to make her hair look longer. As you can imagine, the internet had a field day, criticizing the censorship by Disney.
And it doesn’t really stop there, either. While the United States might have its own rating standards, other countries are a different story and regularly edit movies for inappropriate content. Lady Bird was edited for language in Australia to appeal to younger audiences, Bohemian Rhapsody had six scenes removed by Chinese censors, and Spectre had certain kissing scenes removed in India for being “too excessive.”
I have little doubt that Netflix has edited scenes in other movies and not just Back to the Future 2. While it’s kind of fun (and frustrating) to catch the edits while you’re watching, at this point, we probably shouldn’t be too surprised when it happens.
