Tag Archives: Bob Iger

My Challenge To Every Anti-Woke, Anti-SJW Grifter/Whiner

Whenever someone makes an argument, a claim, or a prediction of some kind, it’s important to question just how sincere they are in making it. By that, I don’t mean always doubting them. People can say plenty of dumb things that that they’re convinced are true, even after most reasonable people point out how objectively dumb it is. The internet and social media has made this distressingly easy for any number of issues, be they political, cultural, or mundane.

But I don’t want to bemoan the method or the medium this time. There’s certainly a conversation to be had about the nature of social media and it has affected our collective approach to discourse.

Instead, I want to narrow my focus on one particular vocal group of people who keep making one particular argument again and again about a particular issue. The issue in this case has to do with pop culture and genre entertainment, which are subjects that have always inspired plenty of debate, productive and unproductive alike. Specifically, it has to do with the concept of “Get Woke, Go Broke,” a constant refrain that certain pop culture critics, YouTubers, and social media personalities love to state whenever an entertainment company dares to be diverse.

Now, let me make something clear. I think that refrain is a complete crock of shit.

Let me also make another thing clear. There was a time when I got somewhat sucked into this whole rabbit hole of anti-woke, anti-social justice warrior subculture that emerged in the mid-2010s. I even wrote about it on this site. And I genuinely regret that. I’m even embarrassed that I ever bought into that crap, thinking that there was some nefarious agenda by left-wing activists to ruin pop culture and beloved franchises.

These are multi-billion-dollar corporations, last I checked. Their only agenda has been profits and market share. That’s what it was before the word “woke” ever got coined. That’s what it’ll be whenever the next internet hate mob decides to whine about something.

As for the membership of that hate mob, I genuinely hesitate to identify them by name. I seriously don’t want to give these people any more undeserved attention than they already get. I’ll just say they’re the YouTubers, social media personalities, and online personas that whined constantly about “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” complained endlessly about comments Brie Larson made about a lack of diversity in film criticism, and never hesitate to bemoan any piece of media that dares to be more diverse than a 1980s action movie.

These are not legitimate critics who have something meaningful to say about the state of popular culture. Their professional whiners and grifters, plain and simple.

Now, I understand that’s a strong statement from someone who regularly reviews and criticizes pop culture. I’m an aspiring YouTuber, as well. And for the most part, my audience and subscriber base is a fraction of what some of these other personalities have. It’s very likely I’ll never achieve their numbers.

However, having followed some of these critics/grifters/whiners over the years, I’ve watched them become more and more dishonest with their criticism. It’s at a point now where I can easily predict their reaction to any new movie trailer, video game announcement, or entertainment news without ever even clicking on their videos or social media feeds. It goes like this.

If the news celebrates or announces something about diversity, inclusion, or anything that’s ideologically left of Archie Bunker, they complain that this is left wing, SJW attack on pop culture.

If the news celebrates or announces something that aligns with or reaffirms their personal politics, which tend to be right-leaning and often glorifies people or characters who are white males, they celebrate it as a triumph.

It’s why they’ll make a big deal about “Top Gun: Maverick” being a huge box office success, but constantly forget that Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel” made over $1 billion at the box office. They may make endless excuses for why that is, but they’ll never concede that their arguments, rhetoric, and entire perspective are full of shit.

I have no respect for these grifters, in case that isn’t abundantly clear. And with each passing year, their whining and excuses get more pathetic.

But recently, a unique opportunity has emerged for these whiners/grifters to prove that they aren’t just saying what they think will get them subs, clicks, or attention. In fact, it’s an opportunity that could potentially make them and their families very rich.

It has to do with Disney and how it was recently announced that Bob Iger was returning as CEO. Now, there are a lot of uncertain details about this story and why it’s happening. Many have their theories, but it’s very unlikely that any of these wannabe critics know even a fraction of the story. Since Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars, it certainly has the anti-woke, anti-SJW crowd talking.

To be fair, not all of them are whining about the same thing. But they’re all still whining about something. That’s just how grifters work.

That being said, I do feel this might be the best possible moment for those who genuinely believe what they say to set themself apart from those dishonest grifters. Because in the same news that announced Bob Iger returning to Disney, it made clear that he was going to be in charge for two years. That’s an important detail for what I’m about to propose.

So, with that in mind, I have a challenge for those who believe Disney has become too woke and will ultimately fail in accord with the whole “Get Woke, Go Broke” mantra. And it’s a simple challenge that any one of these individuals can do.

Short Disney’s stock.

That’s right. Put your money where your rhetoric is. Prove to everyone, supporters and critics alike, that you genuinely believe what you believe about entertainment that’s too “woke.” Because if that holds true and it eventually does hurt Disney’s business, then you have a perfect opportunity to profit from it.

In case you don’t know what shorting a stock is, I’ll gladly help. In general, it’s a way for anyone to profit from a company’s stock price going down. Instead of buying low and selling high, you essentially borrow shares of a company at a certain price and sell it off at that price for a profit as the stock declines in value. Almost any bank or brokerage offers these services. Here’s a quick video from the YouTube channel, ClayTrader.

I’ll even offer another tip that will help multiply those returns even more. Since Iger is going to be at Disney for two years, you can use that information to essentially leverage your investment through the use of options trading. That way, your returns are greatly increased. Yes, the risk is considerably greater and there is a chance you could lose much more than your initial investment. But that shouldn’t concern you.

Remember, you’re the ones who keep saying, “Get Woke, Go Broke,” remember? That means if you’re right, there’s no chance of that happening. If Disney’s commitment to diversity and inclusion continues to fail, its stock price will fall. And you’ll be there to profit from it. You just have to utilize a put option with a two-year timeframe.

If you need information on that process, here’s another helpful video by the YouTube channel, TastyTrade.

This isn’t just a chance to vindicate everything you’ve been saying about diversity and inclusion in media. This is a chance to turn a massive profit from a multi-billion-dollar company’s failure. You won’t just be proven right in the eyes of every critic who has ever posted a nasty comment about you. You’ll end up richer, as a result. What could be more satisfying than that?

So, with all this knowledge and insight, what’s stopping you?

What’s preventing you from actually taking advantage of Disney’s actions on this front?

If you truly believe that Star Wars, Marvel, and the whole of Disney’s business is doomed to fail because of their agenda, this is your chance to take advantage of it and do something great for your financial future. You, your family, and your credibility in the sphere of pop culture and entertainment will be better.

Your only possible excuse for not doing this is if you actually don’t believe in the crap you say about getting woke and going broke. And the only reason you repeat that is because it earns you easy clicks and a reliable audience. If that’s the case, then you have no real credibility. You’re just a whiny grifter dancing like a drunk monkey in a digital space for tips. If that’s what you are, then that’s fine. People need to make a living. I get that. Just be honest about what a dishonest piece of shit you are.

I’ll ask again. What’s stopping you from doing this?

Go on. Short Disney’s stock. Throw your entire life savings into it. If Disney truly goes broke by going so woke, then you’ll come out ahead. Don’t you want that?

I dare you.

I double dare you.

I triple dog dare you.

Prove to the world that this anti-woke shit is more than just whiny grifters telling people what they want to hear.

I’ll wait.

Leave a comment

Filed under Current Events, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, superhero movies

Disney Investors Day Announcements: The Five Shows/Movies I’m Most Excited For

It’s almost over, people. We’re almost out of 2020 and the end of this global pandemic that has hurt so many is finally in sight. For that reason, it’s okay to start looking forward to 2021. As long as this year doesn’t bring us a new pandemic or an alien invasion, it should be better by default.

We should all be excited at the prospect of the world getting back to some sense of pre-pandemic normalcy. It’ll never be the same, but it’ll be nice to sit in a movie theater or go to a restaurant without having to wear a mask. The world will recover and many are looking to ride onto that wave of recovery.

Chief among them is our Disney overlords. It’s no secret that the pandemic has hit Disney harder than most. Once the envy of the entertainment world, this pandemic hit it with a gut punch that would down the Hulk.

However, those predicting the fall of Disney are exceedingly premature. This is a company that has navigated dark times before. They have too many resources and incentives to just give in, even in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

They’re already making the effort. A while back, Disney had their big Investors Day presentation in which they pitched their future plans to investors and the public. Among those plans were a host of movies and TV shows from.

It was ambitious, even by Disney’s lofty standards. I even dared to let myself get excited again. There was so much to take in, but for the best possible reasons. It made surviving 2020 that much more paramount.

Of the many announcements made during the call, a few stuck out to me. Here are just a few of the shows and movies that have invigorated my spirit once more. For that, I thank our Disney overlords.


Ms. Marvel

Don’t act surprised.

Seriously, have I not made my love of all things Ms. Marvel clear enough?

If this had been the only thing Disney announced, I would’ve been excited. Kamala Khan is exactly what Marvel Studios, their Disney overlords, and the world needs right now. We already got confirmation of the casting of Iman Vellani for the titular role. This time, we also got a teaser trailer for what we can expect from her and from this show.

I’m not going to lie. I watched this trailer at least 10 times and I couldn’t stop smiling.

This is a character who endeared herself in the comics with just one issue. This is also someone who channels the same spirit of the fans who love all things Marvel. She’s young and idealistic. She sees superheroes through the same lens as us, the fans. Now, we get to see her navigate the MCU in a world where the Avengers assembled, saved the day, and Tony Stark made the ultimate sacrifice.

There’s so much to explore and so much to embrace. I think this show will do for Marvel Studios what “The Mandalorian” did for Star Wars. After a year like 2020, we need that.


Star Wars: Ahsoka

This shouldn’t surprise anyone, either. I’ve made my love for Ahsoka Tano known before. She’s also a fan favorite among legions of Star Wars fans and for good reason. Her story is so vast and dramatic. She started as the brash, immature Padawan of a pre-Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker. She then became a key player in the secret war against the Empire.

Even though she has never appeared in any Star Wars movies, she has still found a way to endear herself to so many, myself included. That’s an accomplishment worthy of her own show and the timing couldn’t be better.

Most recently, she made her live-action debut in Season 2 of “The Mandalorian.” Played by Rosario Dawson, she’s made her presence known in the emerging Star Wars canon that’s unfolding on Disney Plus. This show will give her a chance to shine like never before.

She’s no longer someone’s Padawan.

She’s no longer some shadowy agent for the Rebellion.

She’s just Ahsoka being Ahsoka. Sign me up!


Fantastic Four (By Marvel Studios)

When it comes to movies from Marvel Studios, I’m in the same boat as most lifelong Marvel fans. No matter what they put out, I’ll likely be first in line to see it, whether it opens out in theaters or debuts on streaming. While we don’t know what the movie theater scene will be like in 2021, we can be certain that studios will keep making movies and those movies will find an audience.

While Marvel Studios has revealed its movie plans before, this event was special because it confirmed what many of us hoped the day we found out Disney was buying Fox. Marvel Studios is officially making a Fantastic Four movie.

Now, I’m tempted to recount all the ways the Fantastic Four have been butchered by previous movies. Believe me, I could spend hours talking about how 2015’s “Fant4stic” was botched at every turn. However, I prefer to look to the future rather than the past.

Finally, Marvel’s first family will be in the hands of Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige. They’ve shown time and again that they know what they’re doing. They love these characters every bit as much as the fans. They will do them justice.

With John Watts from “Spider-Man: Homecomingset to direct, the stage is set for the Fantastic Four to arrive in the MCU. It took a long time and a huge media acquisition, but the wait is almost over. Fantastic things are worth waiting for and I hope this is one of them.


She-Hulk

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Disney is going all-in on streaming. Given the current state of the movie business and the large catalog of content they have, that’s the best route they can take at this point. While I have high hopes for “WandaVision” as Marvel Studios’ first foray into streaming shows, I’m still more excited about She-Hulk.

I’ve mentioned this series before and I stand by my excitement. I believe this show is more critical to the continued success of Marvel Studios than “WandaVision” or even some of its movies.

Since the somewhat forgettable “Incredible Hulk” movie with Edward Norton, the jolly green rage giant has been relegated to a supporting character in pretty much every subsequent story. When he’s not teaming up with Thor or providing muscle for the Avengers, he’s basically just there.

In the comics, Hulk has his own world of sorts and She-Hulk has always been a big part of that. I believe this show can start building that world and with Tatiana Maslany in the starring role, I think this show could be special.

Plus, it’s a show with a beautiful woman smashing things. How can I not be excited about that?


Star Wars: Rogue Squadron

This announcement was an unexpected treat. Among many other Star Wars announcement, this one stood out to me almost as much as the Ahsoka show. Those who didn’t own a Nintendo 64 in the late 90s and early 2000s may not understand, but trust me. Those who did were very intrigued.

There was a time when Star Wars: Rogue Squadron was the pinnacle of Star Wars gaming. This video game essentially ditched the light sabre duels in favor of X-Wings, Y-Wings, and plenty of other exotic spaceships. It involved plenty of space battles, secret missions, and blowing stuff up on alien planets.

Good times, indeed.

Now, we find out Disney is making it into a movie. On top of that, they tapped Patty Jenkins, the woman who brought “Wonder Woman” to the big screen, to do it. I love everything about this. The same woman who tapped Wonder Woman’s wonder is now in charge of a fleet of X-wings. What’s not to love?


Besides, we’ve already had plenty of Star Wars content involving light sabers. Why not focus on elaborate space battles? I know my excitement for all this still assumes that 2021 will be less chaotic and more functional than 2020. At this point, assumptions like that are risky. However, I’m choosing to embrace hope and optimism once more. This past year has left my spirit broken, but I’m ready to start putting the pieces back together. These movies and shows can only help in that process.

Leave a comment

Filed under Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, superhero comics, superhero movies, television

Free Speech And The Long-Term Fallout Of The “Rosanne” Cancellation

rosanne

When it comes to free speech and freedom of expression, I consider myself somewhat of an extremist. If I were in charge of setting the standards, I would permit un-bleeped profanity, unfiltered hate speech, unblurred nudity, and anything else that One Million Moms finds offensive. That’s how much I believe in free speech.

It’s probably for that reason that I would be woefully unqualified to establish a legal framework for what constitutes free speech and how it would be enforced. I’m not a lawyer, a legal expert, or some colorful TV personality who pretends to be one. Despite my qualifications, though, I do feel like I have something worth contributing to an ongoing debate surrounding free speech.

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet or a TV over the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard about the scandal surrounding Roseanne Barr. Simply put, Rosanne Barr made some offensive tweets that she blamed on sleeping pills. The tweets triggered a major outrage across social media. As a result, ABC canceled her hit show, which had been generating strong ratings since its return.

On some levels, I can understand this reaction. ABC is owned by Disney, a company that has one of the strongest brands in the world. They are not the government. They are a publicly traded company and as such, public perceptions affect their profits and their image. If you think that doesn’t matter, just ask the NFL what happens when a brand gets undermined.

On every other level, though, I see this reaction as one of those short-term solutions that could create many other problems in the long run. Whether you agree with Roseanne Barr’s politics or hate her guts, she was still just voicing her opinion. Yes, it was in bad taste and had some racial overtones, but she did apologize for it. The sincerity of that apology is hard to gauge, but the effort still counts for something in my opinion.

Even without that apology, the potential precedent and backlash are already in place. We, as a society, have established a process for punishing speech that we don’t like or find offensive. The process has nothing to do with an authoritarian government cracking down on its people. It doesn’t even involve the kind of mass censorship that other countries routinely practice. We’re doing this all on our own.

Essentially, we’re doing Big Brother’s job for him. We’re just not calling it censorship or a crackdown. Instead, we’re creating our own category of speech that a significant number of people believe ought not to be expressed or shared. There are no lawyers or police enforcing those standards. We’re doing that through a type of speech-based vigilante justice.

Me being a die-hard fan of superhero comics, many of which are built around vigilante justice, I’m somewhat sympathetic to those who want to right the wrongs that our imperfect justice system leaves unfinished. In this case, however, I don’t see the kind of justice that Batman would pursue, nor do I see the kind of villainy that the Joker would carry out.

I see an emerging system where a huge population of well-connected, well-informed, and generally well-meaning people want to confront people and ideas that they feel our damaging to others, themselves, and society as a whole. I don’t doubt their sincerity or their idealism. However, I seriously doubt they understand the implications of what they’re doing.

I don’t agree with Roseanne Barr’s comments. I didn’t find them funny, but I didn’t find them that offensive either. I see far more offensive comments on message boards and Reddit at least twice a day. That sentiment is out there. It exists. Even if the internet disappeared tomorrow, people would still have these thoughts and opinions.

That’s exactly why the outrage, protests, and subsequent consequences don’t necessarily achieve much beyond removing a few offensive comments from an immense network that’s full of so much worse. It does nothing to actually change the sentiments of those expressing the speech. If anything, it just makes them regret getting punished.

It’s akin to the inherent conflict we feel in accepting a criminal’s apology. We can’t know for sure whether they’re genuinely sorry for doing what they did or whether they’re just sorry they got caught. One is very different from the other. Without reading Roseanne Barr’s mind directly, we don’t know if her show getting cancelled has changed her political persuasions or just made them worse.

Moreover, her losing her show, her job, and her credibility reveals to a hyper-connected world that this is how you combat speech you find offensive. You don’t try to change someone’s mind. You don’t grow thicker skin and deal with it. You just get enough people to voice enough outrage and eventually, you can both remove the speech and punish the person who spoke it.

For those who didn’t like Roseanne’s comments or were genuinely offended by them, I doubt that seems like a bad thing. They are, after all, simply voicing their own free speech and using that to effect change from a non-government, publicly-traded company. They probably see themselves as the heroes in this story.

What happens, though, when the script is flipped? It’s not unlike the distressing thought experiment I pitched a while back that involved swapping the genders of famous movie or TV scenes. Reverse the roles and suddenly, the situation takes on a very different context.

You don’t even need any imagination to contemplate this because it already happened with Colin Kaepernick. Like Roseanne, he expressed himself in a very public way that triggered a very public backlash. He ended up losing his job and any prospects of getting another.

The same people celebrating Roseanne Barr’s cancellation likely protested how Kaepernick was treated. Some of them even protested on his behalf in a very public way to apply pressure not unlike the kind ABC faced. While the two situations are not exactly the same, the general premise is clear.

If someone expresses a political opinion that you don’t agree with, you and those like you can protest as well to silence that opinion and publish the one who expressed it. Conservatives can do it to liberal figures. Liberals can do it to conservative figures. The end result is the same. The speech is silenced and the speaker is punished, but the underlying attitudes remain untouched.

It’s those untouched attitudes that may end up having the biggest long-term impact of both the Roseanne Barr situation and that of Colin Kaepernick. Being public figures, these two made themselves targets with their controversial expressions. However, the way others confronted it is potentially damaging to the very concept of free speech.

Thanks to the internet, social media, and outrage culture, both situations make clear to those of any political persuasion that you don’t have to confront the actual substance of someone else’s speech. You don’t have to thicken your skin, evolve your thinking, or learn how to process offense. You can just protest the speech and punish the speaker, all without getting the government involved.

That’s the kind of approach that does not foster a free, open exchange of ideas. If anything, it ensures that people internalize their feelings and sentiments that others may find offensive. In doing so, that makes it even harder to confront them and potentially change their minds. Roseanne losing her show isn’t going to convince her that her critics are right. If anything, it’s going to make her hate her critics even more.

The end result of this kind of self-censorship is downright dystopian. Imagine a world where everything online, on TV, and in movies is so filtered, so watered down, and so overly polished that nobody even has an opportunity to voice anything offensive. The government doesn’t enforce it. We do.

In that world, hate and bigotry still exists. It’s just hidden and we have no way of knowing about it. History and human nature makes clear that internalizing these feelings can be very damaging. Now, we’ve just given Roseanne Barr and everyone who shares her views to be angrier and more hateful. We’ve also given them a tool with which to fight back against those they disagree with.

It’s a dangerous situation with damaging implications for the future of free speech. We could argue whether or not ABC was right to cancel Roseanne’s show or whether a company like Disney has the right to fire people who damage their brand. At the end of the day, though, the source of the outrage and conflict still comes from us. If offense is all it takes to censor speech, then speech is no longer free.

4 Comments

Filed under Current Events, gender issues, human nature, media issues, political correctness