The Culture Wars and Disney: A Complex Battleground
It’s hard to envision a more emblematic battleground for the ongoing culture wars than the vast Disney empire. From classic tales with morally ambiguous narratives to a direct line into the imaginations of children, Disney ticks all the boxes. With a staggering valuation of nearly $250 billion, Disney must navigate the complexities of maintaining both its iconic legacy and its modern-day relevance while competing with the giants of Big Tech. Therefore, it’s hardly surprising that amid a recent wave of corporations dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives under the new presidential administration of Donald Trump, Disney’s response has ignited significant debate.
In the wake of George Floyd’s tragic murder in 2020, which sparked widespread protests against systemic racism, Disney took a proactive stance. The company implemented internal policies aimed at fostering diversity within its casts and workforce. Additionally, it appended a cautionary message to several classic films, acknowledging the outdated and harmful stereotypes they contained. Films such as Peter Pan, with its derogatory references to Indigenous peoples, The Jungle Book, criticized for its offensive racial caricatures, and The Aristocats, featuring a problematic depiction of a Siamese cat, were all included. The warning read, “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it, and spark conversation to
