By Larry Tomczak
The column below brought to you courtesy of Striker Journal …
Striker Summary: Disney’s recent “woke” agenda, showing up in many of their film and streaming releases, is costing them a fortune in lost earnings as former fans are forgoing ticket-buying or television viewing. Will the massive, storied corporation get the point and change course? Or continue on their current path and continue to bleed millions?
by Larry Tomczak
There comes a time we must stand for righteousness. Disney threatened Elon Musk with pulling Twitter advertising and he didn’t cave but told them, “Go x!#!” He bought Twitter for $44 billion to counter intimidation and preserve free speech; he stood for righteousness. Now it’s our turn!
A week ago here in Franklin, Tennessee I attended the International Christian Visual Media ministry conference. My 50-year friend, Chris Rogers of CDR Communications and Animated Word serves in leadership along with his wife, Nancy the co-administrator. Angel Studios, Kingdom Story and Redeem TV were present with many other innovators promoting wholesome entertainment.
Celebrating the success of inspirational films like Sound of Freedom, Journey to Bethlehem, Jesus Revolution and The Hill kept participants buzzing with excitement. And now the upcoming release of The Daily Wire’s (Ben Shapiro) hilarious film “Lady Ballers” (lampooning a “trans” basketball team of guys identifying as women) should be another success!
Contrast the above with ongoing dismal reports from the most famous entertainment corporation in the world. I’m talking about the Disney conglomerate which caved to the woke movement and is struggling horribly. They’re still functioning because of the steady stream of theme park revenue but that could be next on the chopping block as people join in trying to jolt Disney back to its original mission from its Christian founder, Walt Disney (who wouldn’t be seen on screen with a cigarette lest he influence young people).
Turnaround Time
The prophet Jeremiah tried to warn people in his day of the need to get back on track when they drifted from God and His righteous standards. “Hear O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and, as for my law, they have rejected it” (Jer. 6:19).
He included in his warning, hope, if they would turn around. “Thus says the Lord: stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (v.16).
Recently, the Babylon Bee, which publishes satirical news reports, joined the effort with some suggestions:
- Thaw Walt Disney out of his deep freeze and put him in charge again.
- Release Frozen in theaters again for the thousandth time.
- All executives must bring their own snacks to their weekly satanic rituals.
Their appeal: “Go back to actually making original, entertaining and wholesome movies that are great for the entire family!”
Survey the Scene
Since the “Progressive Movement’s” LGBTQ and BLM activists infiltrated influential Disney corporation positions, they aggressively pushed ungodly agendas embedding issues into characters and storylines. Under the guise of “inclusion, diversity and nondiscrimination,” anything goes sexual activists, maneuvered into Disney and slowly but surely advanced the LGBTQIA+ agenda. Seizing upon partnership with the media, entertainment and radical Democrat party, they became emboldened to exploit the situation with Disney executives who cowardly caved.
Indoctrinating our children has to stop and united action has caused their credibility and our trust to shake their “secure no more” corporate world.
Masses on the frontlines blew a trumpet and a soft explosion occurred when conscientious politicians, pastors and parents discovered the attempts by these activists to instill inappropriate and even perverted ideas into small children. We didn’t sit back passively. We acted biblically and decisively to boycott Disney films, cable offerings and theme parks.
Disney Disasters
The Bible teaches that united action increases effectiveness! “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil” (Eccl. 4:9). “One can put 1000 to flight, two can put 10,000 to flight” (Deut. 32:30).
Pray that pastors sitting silently on the sidelines not addressing serious social issues repent and equip their congregations to take action and be “salt” as Jesus told us to stop societal decay. Look what happens when we do!
On March 12, 2021 Disney stock was $197 a share. Now it is $86 a share! This summer alone they had over $1 billion in losses and the Daily Wire reported, “Independent Audit Blasts Disney for Pulling ‘Bait and Switch’ on Florida (12/4/23). More trouble coming! Just like the fabulously successful Birmingham Bus Boycott of 1955 and recent Miss Universe bankruptcy, plus Target and “Bud Lite” meltdowns, it’s apparent what some action can achieve.
Read the recent Newsmax article, “Disney Admits its Left-Wing Politics Hurt Shareholders” to learn the brutal realities!
Consider the hemorrhaging of Disney movie disasters:
• Wish, Disney’s latest offering, is the worst ever film opening in their history as the movie and marketing needed a gross of $400 million to simply break even and it barely got $32 million in the weekend start.
• Lightyear bombed at the box office.
• Strange World was a financial catastrophe.
• Elemental was a phenomenal flop.
• Haunted Mansion needed tens of millions to simply break even as it cost $300 million to make. It made $117 million as a colossal failure.
• The heavily promoted The Marvels established a new record for the studio’s worst opening weekend gross then plummeting 80% in week two, a massive loss again!
• Even Little Mermaid lost money! When “leaks” slipped out about tinkering with Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, executives, allegedly began backpedaling before even that movie would become another embarrassing venture.
Disney has to face the facts: their social and political propaganda has tarnished their reputation in unfathomable ways! Their bowing to leftist progressives has torpedoed the entertainment giant as countless millions have lost trust in the Disney brand. If people start backing away from theme parks with the exorbitant, unreasonable costs, it’s chilling to consider what could happen to the once invincible behemoth. Additionally, check out how many have “pulled the plug” on Disney’s Streaming service, shocking their executives to the core!
Here’s the deal: A decade ago I did an educational video on same-sex “marriage,” and was let go from my church for doing so (the leader called it a “dealbreaker”). When I phoned him a year later, he chided me, “Did you really think your video would’ve stopped gay marriage?” I told him, “Not necessarily, but I wanted to do my part to bring the truth to people being deceived.”
Jesus said, “The reason I came into the world, was to bear witness to the truth” (Jn. 18:37). That remains our mission today whether it’s standing up to the titan of entertainment, Disney, or simply people with whom we engage in our corner of the world. May we be found faithful staying united in our quest for spiritual awakening in America today.
The views here are those of the author and not necessarily Striker Journal.
Image: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/; Adapted from: https://www.deviantart.com/jmantheangel2/art/Young-Jack-Martin-and-Mickey-Mouse-praying-2022-912402366
Larry Tomczak, with over 50 years of trusted ministry experience, has trained leaders and planted dozens of churches in the U.S. and abroad. He’s the author of 10 books including the 1/4 million bestseller “Clap Your Hands!” and the innovative, video-supplemented “Bullseye Challenge” which develops informed influencers in 30 days.
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