[The Editors' Verdict] Disney Defends Its Management Amid 'PC' Controversy

Series of Box Office Failures Including Black Mermaid
Defended Against Activist Fund Attacks
Also Became Target of 'One-Sided Progressive' Criticism

"Watching movies or shows is for enjoyment, not for gaining messages."

Activist investor Nelson Peltz, who challenged the management rights by criticizing Walt Disney's ‘PC (Political Correctness)’ stance, failed to join the board of directors.

Previously, Peltz demanded a board restructuring, citing Disney's investment failures and succession issues. He pointed to the Marvel movie The Marvels (2023), which features a predominantly female cast, saying, "It's not that I have any particular aversion to women," but criticized, "Why should audiences have to watch a Marvel series featuring only women?"

Peltz mentioned this work to raise the recent ‘woke’ issue attacking Disney. ‘Woke’ means being aware of social discrimination such as race and gender, but recently it has been used sarcastically to refer to ‘one-sided progressive’ views. This is the so-called ‘PC controversy.’ Disney has been a target of related controversies, such as casting Black actress Halle Bailey as the lead in The Little Mermaid last year.

Founded 100 years ago last year, Disney is the world’s largest entertainment company. It completed an unrivaled content empire by acquiring ABC in 1996, sports channel ESPN in 1998, Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2008, Lucasfilm in 2012, and 21st Century Fox in 2019.

However, its stronghold has been cracked as recent releases have consecutively failed at the box office. In particular, setting a Black Little Mermaid and a Latin Snow White as protagonists and inserting homosexual themes throughout the works under the banner of ‘eliminating discrimination and prejudice’ drew criticism for excessive ‘PC-ism.’ After the Black Little Mermaid’s box office failure, the release schedule for the Latin Snow White movie has been postponed by a year.

Due to poor performance, the stock price plummeted, falling 58% from its peak in March 2021. However, the stock price has risen this year, which is interpreted as both Disney and Peltz spending tens of millions of dollars to win over shareholders. Disney is estimated to have spent up to $40 million, and Peltz’s side about $25 million.

Disney’s troubles do not end there. Disney clashed with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis over the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which bans sexual identity education for children. The law prohibits education on sexual orientation for children from kindergarten to third grade, and Disney publicly opposed it. The conflict escalated into a lawsuit, dragging on for over two years, and ended with a settlement last month. However, local media described it as "Disney’s surrender" and "DeSantis’s victory."

Walt Disney, the founder of Disney, is considered the most influential person in the arts since Leonardo da Vinci. He famously said, "I don’t make movies to make money; I make money to make movies," turning imagination into a product and selling ‘dreams’ to people. His imagination gave birth to countless world stars such as Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Snow White, Pinocchio, Cinderella, and Peter Pan, leading not only children but also adults into a fantasy world. Who would want to think of reality while watching fantasy? What Disney needs now might be the vision of Walt Disney from 100 years ago, who pursued dreams beyond reality.