A Tarnished Legacy
I have always loved Donald Duck. The image above is from the Sega Genesis game, Quackshot, which was released in December 1991. This game remains one of my all-time favorites, on the Sega Genesis, and across all of video games. This game brings me back to a time in my life when the Disney name meant something and the quality of their products was unquestioned. I’m talking video games, movies, and whatever they were putting out on television. It was quality, although I will admit that not all of Disney’s video games were great. Still, there wasn’t this dread with the Disney brand that I think plagues the company today.
Activism. The act of being woke. Ruining beloved and already-established properties. Pandering. Disney has been busy through these last few years, busy enough to keep people like me the hell away with all of the nonsense they’ve brought to the table. Disney went and ruined Marvel, Star Wars, and many of their own properties, all for the sake of being diverse and inclusive. Disney wasn’t this screwed up years ago and yet, here we are. From what I understand, nobody’s really watching Disney Plus, which I was never a fan of anyway, so that’s no big loss for me. I don’t really watch Netflix or many of the streaming services out there today all that much either (or TV in general), but rest assured, if I had to choose between Netflix and Disney Plus, I’d watch Netflix all day.
I already knew that Disneyland and even Disneyworld were expensive as hell and I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping my distance from both parks. I last visited Disneyland in 2001 and have absolutely no intention of returning…ever. Now, I have the money to partake in the so-called fun and festivities that each park has to offer, but why would I bother? Disney, as a company, is such a fucking mess that I see no reason to give them any of my hard-earned dollars.
I don’t know where to start, so I’ll just brainstorm and hope that I’m able to make some sense of everything I’m thinking.
I am not and will never be a fan of the constant race-swapping nonsense that, of late, Disney thinks is cute. I’m not racist in the slightest, as much as maybe I am observant. The Little Mermaid is not black. Electro, from Spiderman, is not black. Mary Jane Watson isn’t black. Hell, the genie from Aladdin isn’t black either. Snow White isn’t a Latina. Rachel Zeigler is an absolute moron, by the way.
I don’t know why lately everything that Disney does has to be woke and somehow all inclusive. Suddenly, their DEI (Diversity, Equality, Inclusion) practices have become so important and such a focal point that it’s actually ruined a lot of what Disney has done these last few years. I haven’t watched a Disney movie in years and given the current trajectory of how they’re moving of late, I don’t see this changing any time soon. While I was never a huge fan of Star Wars, I have been disheartened by what they have done with Marvel. I know that the third Deadpool movie is slated to release at the end of July 2024 and I am hopeful that Disney doesn’t fuck that movie up. Still, it would not surprise me in the slightest if it were to be a less-than-stellar product. I remain hopeful that the third Deadpool ends up being at least halfway decent.
I remember growing up when just hearing the name of Disney meant something, like you knew that you were in for a treat with whatever it was you were going to watch or experience. Now, I avoid anything and everything tied to and associated with Disney, which absolutely sucks, because I’ve always been a fan of Marvel. I am genuinely concerned that eventually, Disney is going to obliterate what The Punisher and Daredevil are and completely screw up those universes, much like they did with She-Hulk.
Disney continues to recycle old stories, adding woke nonsense to those long-standing classics. I don’t know why this became a thing for Disney, but I don’t think it’s done anything to help their brand. I’m just concerned that eventually, Marvel is going to be ruined in the same way that some of Disney’s classics have already experienced.
I read somewhere that Elon Musk wants to buy Disney? Can he bring back the respect back to this now tarnished brand? Only time will tell, assuming that he actually follow through with buying Disney. I wouldn’t hold my breath. I think that Musk has way more important things to do as it is. As far as consuming anything related or connected to Disney, I too have more important things to do as it is.
Rant over…for now.