Following the election of President Trump, many big-name corporations are changing how they address their DEI programs, and Disney is just another name on the list. However, it's also changing our favorite flicks in the process.
This isn't the first time Disney content has been changed during a massive cultural shift, but some subscribers might want to be aware of how these new policies are changing how they access their entertainment. Here's how Disney+ is changing with the new administration.
Disney changes content warnings after DEI shift
Since 2019, Disney has been keeping a sharp eye on its projects in the wake of cancel culture and how volatile a critical audience can be. In response, the studio began issuing content warnings on some of its older properties with a content disclaimer.
In a recent report from What's On Disney Plus , Roger Palmer shared an update on Disney's content warnings for some of its films, citing examples like Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Peter Pan. With the examples of content warnings, he also provides the following statement.
"Disney+ is currently updating its policy once again and will be removing the disclaimer message that autoplays at the start of some older movies. However, it will still have a disclaimer message in the Details tab within the movie on Disney+, but with the original wording from 2019. It’s also not clear if these classic films will return to the Disney Kids profiles since these movies have 0+ parental ratings, meaning they are suitable for everyone."
Palmer later goes on to ad his own personal analysis of this change when he states,
"When Disney introduced the disclaimer messages on the classic films, there was a lot of negative reaction from fans, and there have regularly been social media posts with people asking why those warnings were popping up. With the political change sweeping across the US and also in other countries, Disney, like many major corporations, is moving its policies back to the middle to stop alienating customers on either side. No doubt this change is going to see some negative reactions from those that agree with the disclaimers and also see many celebrate that the disclaimers are gone. Either way, Disney will get some backlash, which is exactly why any company tries to stay out of these political situations."
In this writer's opinion, going back and forth about the need for content warnings is a played-out issue. However, I'm also not going to sit here and say that the depictions of Native Americans in Neverland or Dumbo's crow friends are A-OK. In short, a content warning acknowledging what was wrong is significantly better than ignorantly pretending it never happened.
Do you think Disney should watch what they post on their streaming service?