It does feel a bit awkward, not feeling like I can really take a clear side on the culture wars engulfing Disney and the American Right.
Republicans are, of course, in the midst of a moral panic for political purposes, and they are an awful, awful party at the moment. On the other hand, I don't think I have felt very sympathetic to Disney ever since Frozen indicated a clear change to an essentially anti-male perspective in their new stories. If the company doesn't care to tell stories where relationships with men can work, I think they can expect a bit of a backlash from men who think about what they are watching. I did complain before about the deliberate massive increase in female roles in the new Star Wars trilogy too - the last of which I still haven't bothered to watch. (I don't mind a female being the lead protagonist - but it seemed the entire universe was under new, female, management, with no explanation given as to why.)
And just as the Star Wars universe has long lost its interest for me (nothing Star Wars on Disney + impresses me much, either), I have a hunch that the company may have more limited success in the next wave of Marvel movies and streaming content too.
I've also noticed how Youtube is full of videos complaining about the trajectory of the theme parks - both in cost and ideas. Their whole "interactive" Star War or Marvel areas of the parks look really underwhelming and cheesy to me. And the very expensive hotel that is supposed to be like a star cruiser in which you partake in a story - I expect it will fail spectacularly. (Oh, and they chose to pin hopes on new Avatar movies being successful too - brave, very brave.)
Am I just getting old? Maybe - but as I say, dissatisfaction with the company and its entertainment choices seems to be shared pretty broadly at the moment, and not just from the Right. It has a feeling of a company that has lost its way, as it has in the past, and is now pumping vast amounts of money into story worlds which I really don't think have the cultural "legs" that the company thinks they have.
I know it's not going to back to what it was in the past - and not every story has to end with a successful heterosexual romance. But it does feel to me to be making poor choices in so many areas at the moment.
I hesitate to say it - I really do - but I guess what I am saying is that I think the company does deserve some anti-woke pushback; and even apart from that, it's making some really poor decisions as to stories, and story universes, they think they can make "stick" with the public.
Probably we're at the end of an era with regards to movie making. Everywhere there are signs of creative exhaustion - sequelitis, and the endless plastic superhero franchises. Maybe there was a novelty factor to the ludicrously superhuman feats of action in movies like The Matrix to my generation (I always disliked those movies though!) but now, 30 years on, Hollywood seems to be intent on imitating this style of hyper-dramatic violence every movie. The novelty factor is gone, as is the believability.
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