The battle between Walt Disney World and Florida continues to make headlines as both sides continue to file lawsuits in state and federal courts. Disney, one of the largest media companies in the world, would probably prefer to focus on its business of producing films and operating theme parks. And to that end, Disney CEO Bob Iger recently told investors that Disney plans to “quiet the noise” when it comes to the culture war that has sparked the fight.
The battle between Disney and Florida began when the Mouse House opposed a Florida law that critics called “Don’t Say Gay.” Additionally, Disney has been criticized by conservative media outlets for making films and shows that feature gay characters or otherwise advance what DeSantis and others call a “woke agenda.” Iger’s comments, made during a recent presentation to investors about the future Disney Parks deal (via Reuters), indicate a desire to move on and an apparent understanding that such struggles are not good for business .
The comments echo other statements Iger has made in recent months. In response to a question from a shareholder at the recent Disney shareholder meeting, he clarified that Disney’s goal is to entertain and that decisions are not made with an agenda in mind. Iger said…
Our primary mission must be to entertain and continue to have a positive impact on the world through our entertainment. I’m very serious. It shouldn’t be agenda driven.
Although Disney has been accused by some of being an agenda-driven media, Bob Iger does not accept that this is the case. While Iger clearly wants to focus on Disney as an entertainment company, he also clearly believes that Disney can focus on entertainment and still create stories that reflect the world we live in. He continued…
I want parents to be able to trust the content we create for their children, and we are committed to providing age-appropriate content for family audiences while telling stories that reflect the world around us and promote greater understanding and perspective . greater acceptance of all people.
These statements seem to indicate that while Bob Iger wants to curb the noise, simply stopping what Disney is doing (which causes much of the noise) isn’t exactly the plan. The obvious question arises as to what the plan actually is. Some sort of settlement with Florida over the various lawsuits would be an obvious solution, but the fact that Disney filed them first would likely indicate that they would need significant concessions from Ron DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District to back off and to get in Given the current political climate, this seems unlikely.
At the same time, money is being talked about, and Disney just announced that it plans to double investment in its parks over the next decade. While there are some updates planned for Walt Disney World, the largest known expansion is at the Disneyland Resort, and Disney not spending money in Florida might be the best way to make its expectations known without making too much “noise.”
Source : www.cinemablend.com