2023 was a great year for Hollywood. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie earned over $1.4 billion globally, in addition to being Warner Bros’ greatest hit in their 100-year history. Whereas, giving tough competition was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which grossed $50 million shy of a billion, per Box Office Mojo. Yet, the buzz was real. Movie fanatics were perplexed with two blockbusters barging in on the 21st of July. The success of the movies sparked a lot of discussion on the way movies are made today.
A recent social media post highlighted how filmmakers currently focus more on virtue-signaling than entertainment. This fact was brought up by Disney CEO Bob Iger claiming that officials at the esteemed organization are clueless about their job description probably, spinning their movies around wokeness rather than fun and cheer. Barbie and Oppenheimer stand as ideals on how messages and entertainment can be perfectly blended in together.
Disney’s wokeness went downhill
Former CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek was replaced by the current head Bob Iger last year, per New York Post. However, the former’s name is associated with the heavy virtue-signaling in Disney movies. He allowed the wokeness to be incorporated into the films meant for pure entertainment. From diversity nuances to addressing climate issues, Disney has done it all under the reign of Chapek. Partly, this was also one of the reasons why he was easily replaced.
Merging politics with business is quite risky. As per the New York Post, Disney shares went down by 50% last year. Speaking of wokeness, Iger pointed out in a recent podcast, Disney’s Wildest Ride with CNBC’s Alex Sherman that while positive messages are a great idea, they should not be treated as the primary aspect of their job. A Twitter post by Discussing Film shared the news stating,
“Bob Iger says creators at Disney have lost sight of what their jobs should be, entertain first, not messages. He adds that stories infused with “positive messages for the world” can be great but that it shouldn’t be the primary job.”
This urged netizens to ponder over the matter and chip in their piece of mind. A user re-shared the post mocking Bob Iger’s revelation. They justified it by referencing Barbie and Oppenheimer which were massive hits but with positive messages in it. The post read,
“Hard to fault the logic when the most successful films of the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer, clearly had no message at all behind them….”
https://twitter.com/JordanMaison/status/1730264198414819458
The Margot Robbie-starrer was actually about challenging societal norms, reversing the biases of the real world in a parallel Barbie-themed world. It certainly counts on wokeness but with a fun plotline and appealing characters. Likewise, Oppenheimer portrayed the abuse of power and how politics can seep into the most crucial spheres of life.
Fans react to Bob Iger’s comment on messaging
While one fan clearly expressed their standpoint on the CEO’s statement, it ignited another round of discussion in the comments. A myriad of insights poured in under the post, lauding or canceling Iger’s revelation. Here are some of the reactions:
The crazier part is that Disney’s most successful film this decade was Avatar 2, which of course famously had no messages about environmentalism or occupation of indigenous land
— Keelan (@I_am_da_BOM) December 1, 2023
Different messages get different responses & the execution of that messaging in ways that are "on brand" for a film is what leads to the desired audience embracing or rejecting it
A Barbie movie being girly, pink, all about girl power & fighting the patriarchy is pretty on brand
— Create Greatness (@CreateGreatnes1) December 1, 2023
1. Iger shouldn’t have returned to Disney
2. I’m all for diverse stories & stories w/ good messaging behind them. But Disney needs to hire better writers
— Jeff Rothman 🌻🏒⚾️ (@amazingjr87) November 30, 2023
This is obviously sarcasm guys
— NUNÉ (@NUN1799454) December 1, 2023
If Oppenheimer did not have a message, God knows what did! For God's sake, the entife film was about how lapses in choices and love for power can lead to complete destruction.
— Chandreyi (@Chandreyi_02) December 1, 2023
They also had characters and plots. Those are key to films!
— Benjamin Fartnpeepoo (@SadDad91838462) December 1, 2023
Bob Iger served Disney for years after he was appointed as President in 2000. He stepped down in 2020 after his contract with the organization expired. Yet, jumping back to action, Iger replaced Chapek last year. For now, the CEO may patrol Disney movies for any speck of virtue-signaling done over storytelling. Hope it works for the better, if not worse.
