Hollywood’s “Woke” Implosion

Hollywood – That word alone has come to encompass many things. A city, an industry, a way of life, and more recently, a political ideology. Hollywood has become synonymous with Progressivism. Sadly, classic liberalism, that promotes freedom and open-mindedness, is no longer represented in the modern American left. In fact, they are busily trying to cancel liberalism with today’s fascist version of Progressivism. Gone already are the golden glory days of Hollywood, but if the entertainment industry doesn’t change its ways, Hollywood itself may be, am I even allowed to use the phrase, gone with the wind? Lately, we have seen a rash of incidents where Hollywood has bowed to Cancel Culture, a culture they themselves have helped to create. Just this past weekend we saw the latest installment of Political Correctness on Steroids. 

(Featured image courtesy Disney)

Looney Tunes character Pepe Le Pew was taken out of the upcoming Warner Bros movie Space Jam 2 after a New York Times editorial claimed the skunk character “normalized rape culture.” Warner Bros didn’t even wait for actual feedback on the film. Fearful of the mob, they preemptively took Pepe Le Pew out of the film. This editorial called “Six Seuss Books Bore a Bias,” written by Charles M. Blow, known for his progressive editorials in the New York Times and appearances on the leftwing news networks of MSNBC and CNN (a sister company of Warner Bros), targets what he calls “racism in children’s culture” which must be “exorcised.” Obviously, by its title, the piece went after the highly publicized controversy on Dr. Seuss books, but it also went after cartoon characters like Pepe Le Pew, as well as another Loony Tunes character, Speedy Gonzales.

Blow has written other masterpieces, such as one about advocating for people of color to move to States where they can build a political majority, and another about his rage over what he calls “white women weaponizing racial anxiety.” For someone so concerned with rape culture, I wonder if Mr. Blow has ever written about the likes of Andrew Cuomo or Joe Biden, or if he reserves his outrage only for animated cartoon characters. Flying a bit under the radar because of the Pepe Le Pew controversy was the latest example of Disney bending over backward to appease the Cancel Culture Mob. In their latest move of putting their tail between their legs, Disney’s streaming service Disney+ removed the films “Peter Pan”, “Dumbo”, “Aristocats” and “Swiss Family Robinson” from its offerings for children under 7 on its platform. It also “flagged,” aka added a warning, for “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures” to “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “Jungle Book,” and “Dumbo.”

I sound like I’m writing a piece for The Onion or the Babylon Bee, but sadly this kind of ridiculous insanity is real and happening everywhere. I’m thinking the Execs at Disney may need a safe space of their own to cope with the content of their own product, which ironically they still market and make millions off of. This is only the latest example with Disney. Last year, they made the decision to change the theme of the attraction “Splash Mountain” which is currently based on characters in the movie Song of the South, a movie Disney has basically banned. It will soon be replaced with a Princess and the Frog theme. 

The irony in this? The movie Song of the South is based on the book “Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings” by author Joel Chandler Harris. His book which featured the Bre’r Rabbit Tales were stories that originated in Africa and were passed down through generations of black slaves. Princess and the Frog is based on a children’s book – a fairy tale – written by the white female author E.D. Baker. So in essence, Disney is replacing an attraction whose story is rooted in African folklore and history, and replacing it with a fairy tale written by a white woman, that only had a black princess in it when Disney made it into an animated movie in 2008 (the same year Obama was elected President). This is what happens when you have cowardly leftist executives running a company. Image matters more than truth, and an ignorant mob dictates to these people to where they won’t even stand up for their own product. I actually wrote to the Walt Disney Company as a stockholder about the Splash Mountain issue. No surprise, I didn’t even receive the courtesy of a reply.

I’ve watched the iconic company that Walt Disney created fall victim to the fascist left that does nothing but leave devastation and destruction in its wake. When speaking of the Walt Disney Company, I often refer to the sound of Walt Disney rolling over in his grave at the politically correct cowards ruining, er I mean, running what was not just his company, but his dream and lifelong work. Speaking of Disney, Walt himself had something to say about creativity and who we are: 

“Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.” 

By today’s standards, Walt himself would be canceled. Hollywood relies on one thing above all – Creativity. 
Creativity is the lifeblood of the entertainment industry. Without it, Hollywood can not survive. But how can creativity bloom and reach its full potential under the type of cancel culture we see today? The progressives who claim they are “Anti-Fascist,” are the greatest offenders. They are stopping just short of burning books and locking people up for disagreeing. How is one to be creative and innovative when they are locked into a box, and threatened if they dare venture out of it?

The answer is, Hollywood will die a slow and miserable death, one which has already begun. Even before COVID, box office numbers were down. Lack of creativity, the bowing to the progressive overlords, limits the products and audiences they are able to reach. It affects the quality of the product. When that happens, people stay home. The scary thing for Hollywood is that COVID has shown many what they can do without – going to the movies is one of them. Theme Parks have taken a huge hit having been closed for over a year now and could take a hit for years to come. Award Shows Ratings are at record low ratings, Late Night Shows have become political talk shows, not the comedic entertainment it once was, and the ratings reflect that.

Hollywood has survived through economic downturns, wars, political upheaval, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and more. None of these outside forces, even the aftermath of COVID, will ultimately take down Hollywood. No, Hollywood will do themselves in. The Cancel Culture monster they helped to create, the box they have put themselves in, the hypocrisy they wallow in, the mistaken self-righteousness, this all will lead to the implosion of a once-great industry unless they wake up and reject this “woke” culture they have given the power to.