Part 9/10:
The Consequences for Disney and Its Audience
The overarching message is that the company's focus on identity politics and virtue signaling can backfire. Instead of creating compelling stories, Disney appears to be prioritizing social messaging, which risks alienating traditional audiences and undermining their storytelling credibility.
The backlash against The Little Mermaid underscores how cultural and political overreach can harm a product’s commercial and critical reception. As the film struggles financially and faces mounting criticism, the lessons are clear: audience support is fragile, and authentic storytelling cannot be replaced by virtue signaling and ideological agendas.