Wokeness Doesn’t Work — a Lesson From Disney

God ordered the world to work a certain way. He created us male and female (Genesis 1:27). He told us that marriage is between a man and a woman (Mark 10:6-7). People are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are to take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28),and worship the Creator over the creature (Romans 1:25). Operating the way God created the world to work results in a happy, healthy fruitful society.

Trying to redefine any of these things or force the world to work a different way results in brokenness, hurt, shame and guilt, and often makes those watching it feel gross, because, well, it’s unnatural. Trying to work under philosophies God didn’t design doesn’t work. The term ‘woke’ is often used to encapsulate that philosophy, and wokeness doesn’t work.

A great example of this is Disney. This entertainment giant started with family-friendly movies and videos. Walt Disney wanted a place the whole family could enjoy and experience together. It was genius. Disney became huge, and turned into multiple theme parks, hundreds of movies and T.V. shows, and billions of dollars worth of merchandise.  They catered to families, often families of young children, and people loved them. Almost every home in America has something Disney related, and the question, “Have you been to Disney?” is a frequent one.

But many Americans got a bit of shock this year, when they woke up to the realization that Disney has gone woke, and probably has been for a while (which is true, though there are debates on how long Disney has been on this path).  The alarm was sounded by Disney’s controversy over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Law (which does a myriad of things, among them protecting children in the youngest grades from being taught sexual material). Disney kowtowed to pressure and fought pretty hard against it (which I talked about and you can watch here). Moreover, leaked videos from a company staff meeting showed that employees were actively working to push LGBTQIA+ material in as much of their entertainment as possible (one employee even bragging about how welcoming the company was to her “not so secret gay agenda”).

Parents were infuriated and showed Disney they didn’t want their children indoctrinated by canceling Disney plus and choosing to vacation somewhere else. But Disney didn’t listen. They included a lesbian kiss in their latest Toy Story movie (which didn’t do well), and a gay romance in their newest animated family movie (which has absolutely bombed at the box office, and has them on track to lose over $100 million).

Disney’s hard and fast left push has hurt them. Parents who have no desire for their children to be indoctrinated and people who just don’t want to watch that have boycotted Disney. Disney’s stock has fallen about 40 percent in the last year. More recently they company instituted job cuts, a hiring freeze, and in a startling move,  fired Bob Chapeck and rehired Bob Iger as CEO. Time will tell if he chooses to continue pushing the agenda (either openly or by moving it underground) or heeding the signs.

Wokeness doesn’t work. Deviating from God’s design for the world is costly in the most significant way – spreading sin. I’m going to close this article by quoting Romans 1 (verses 18 – 19, 20b, 22 – 27 and 32, though it’s beneficial to read the whole thing), because it  has a lot to say about this:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.… So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error….

…Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”