Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock and handful of other A list celebrities, debuted on Netflix just before Christmas. Within hours, the thriller took social media on a whirlwind, creating memes and tweets surrounding this motion picture. In the recent months, it seems more and more films are being created on streaming services, taking the popcorn and movie experience to a household rather than a theater. With Bird Box becoming such a big hit, it seems inevitable that more streaming services will be producing quality, big budget films. The Wall Street Journal mentions that the film “deepens [Netflix’s] movie push ahead of increased competition from Disney, AT&T.”

When watching Bird Box for the first time, it felt remarkably similar to A Quiet Place, starring husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Something about the idea of taking a vital sense away makes a film more suspenseful. Not a lover of horror in any form, I thought I would’ve had a difficult time sitting through this two hour episode of terror; however ,it wasn’t anything like that. Sure, palms were sweating and hearts were thumping, but I enjoyed the unknown the movie had to offer.

Yet, the fascinating thing was not just the movie, but the outpouring of attention the movie has received. Recently, the ‘Bird Box Challenge’ has sparked some controversy. 2018, a year that saw challenges from In My Feelings to Tide Pods, this has to be one of the most absurd. It features going through your daily life blindfolded, as shown in the movie. Not only is this unrealistic in the world we live in, but it is also crazy dangerous. So, if you see car windows painted black while you’re driving, get out of the way.

This film, when breaking it down, is a pretty simple concept. However, it shows the impact media has our lives. If you go away with one thing today, don’t partake in the ‘Bird Box Challenge.’