Are you lost, baby girl?

-The closest thing to the porn on Netflix

Erotic Polish film' 365days(original title: 365dni)' is currently one of Netflix's most popular movies. It is based on the first novel of a trilogy written by Blanka Lipińska. Since its streaming debut on 7 June, the film has remained among Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched titles in the United States and many other countries.

For whom who haven't watched this movie yet, here's all you need to know.

"Massimo Torricelli, a young and handsome boss of a Sicilian Mafia family, has no other option but to take over after his father has been assassinated. Laura is a sales director in a luxurious hotel in Warsaw. She has a successful career, but her private life lacks passion. She is taking one last shot to save her relationship. Together with her bone-headed boyfriend, Martin, and some other friends, she takes a trip to Sicily. She does not expect that Massimo, the most dangerous man on the island, will get in her way, kidnap her, hold her captive and give her 365 days - to fall in love with him."

-Netflix-

Sounds appealing? Like the description from official Netflix said, their 'relationship' started by kidnapping. And 114minutes of the running time is filled with BDSM-based, hard-core, graphic sex scenes.

According to this article by Travis Bean from Forbes.com, '365days' might very well be the biggest movie to hit the streaming service in 2020. How come this Polish film has gained global attention like crazy with seemingly no promotion? I concluded that there were two leading causes.

1. Timing is everything

“In a way, it was almost custom-made for pandemic viewing: beautiful people having exotic sex in opulent settings,”

Like Caetlin Benson-Allott, an associate professor at Georgetown University, said, it is perfect for us. I mean, look at us. We are literally asked to stay at home, and who knows how long it's going be? We desire the distraction from frustration. Sitting on the couch and watch Netflix is the easiest way to numb our brains. So, yes, that one-click excess to a full package of masturbating, sucking, and choking with the touch of a hot Italian Mafia on top does sound appealing.

Among the countless sexual scenes in this movie, yet there is a scene that stands out the most. Meghan O'Keefe from Decider.com called this infamous boat scene 'the closest thing to the porn on Netflix'.

2. TikTok takes over

The time we spend on social media is getting longer as well as the time we sit in front of the TV. Going viral matters. Michael Morone, who used to work as a gardener, now has more than a million followers on his Instagram. TikTok users, especially teenagers, deserve a large sum of credit for spreading the word of this movie. The posts with #365days on Tiktok have been getting 2.7 billion views, and it's still counting.

The posts are mainly reaction videos or fan-based videos that young girls showing huge crush on Massimo, the main character.

These two TikToks are typical; by a young woman, using Massimo's signature line 'Are you lost baby girl?', and they made kidnapping and sexual abuse look like somewhat...okay. And there are tons of TikToks just like these(I mean, 2.7 billion views!). I am not against the '365days' craze or the fans expressing their love for this movie on any platform. But these are not on my 'For you' page, and let me tell you why.

-A bone of contention

It is not the first 'romantic' movie about dominant/violent male and conforming women, and their destructive sex life. Maybe it reminded many people of 'The fifty shades of Grey'. It was also at the center of much controversy back then. However, at that time, cynicism about the film's disappointing quality was the main topic.

However, when it comes to '365days', it has been slammed by worrying voices claiming that this movie can mislead young people by beautifying forced relationships. The TikTok craze about this movie makes us look back on how indiscriminately the younger generation can perceive distorted information through the media. Also, in most videos, TikTokers show their fake wounds and bruises on the whole body. It can be disturbing for some people, especially survivors of sexual crime or domestic abuse.

Welsh singer Duffy, who has confessed her sexual assault experience, appealed to Netflix head Reed Hastings to stop streaming the film in an open letter.

However, it is unlikely that Netflix will give up this masterpiece. They have already announced their official position not to remove this movie from the list. It is no surprise that Netflix took sides of loyal viewers, who are the absolute majority, rather than a relatively small number of alert voices.

-For you

This is the TikTok that's on my #fyp. I want to ask your attention just for a moment to this, for it deserves more of it.

It already got more than 200k views, but when you go back and see the number of the total views on #365days posts, it isn't that much. I'm not trying to tarnish the huge success of this film. I don't want to be a party pooper or anything, but I took my stance to be more aware of underlying issues in this avalanche of social media.

Don't miss out on the comment section of this Tiktok; Sensationally entertaining erotic thriller vs. Irresponsible justification of sexual assault. Which one is #foryou?

(The link below: The petition that she mentioned in the video)

*The subtitle is quoted from this article.