Disney is trying to appeal to everyone, but that's completely impossible. Many would actually prefer that disney not change at all. The company made a lot of changes, but it's still pretty cautious about what it will do and what it won't do. And now we're hing disney walk this tight rope of reckoning with problematic content over nearly a hundred years,. Trying not to be accused of being too woke.
Happy New Year! Our first episode of 2022 is dedicated to one of the world’s most powerful cultural forces: Disney. What happens when a company with that much influence just keeps growing? We visit Disneyland for a rare interview with CEO Bob Chapek, with FT reporters Chris Grimes and Anna Nicolaou. We explore where Disney Plus fits into the digital streaming wars. And Lilah speaks with a Disney expert, Sabrina Mittermeier, about how the company is reckoning with its prejudices 100 years into its history.
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Want to say hi? We love hearing from you. Email us at ftweekendpodcast@ft.com. We’re on Twitter @ftweekendpod, and Lilah is on Instagram and Twitter @lilahrap.
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Links and mentions from the episode:
– Chris and Anna’s profile of Bob Chapek, Disney CEO: https://www.ft.com/content/69e1cc1e-9c64-4000-b47f-a7e448107a5b
– And their follow-up on the streaming wars: https://www.ft.com/content/ae756fda-4c27-4732-89af-cb6903f2ab40
– Dr. Sabrina Mittermeier’s book, A Culture History of the Disneyland Theme Parks: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/C/bo70345519.html
–Follow Anna Nicolaou on Twitter @annaknicolaou
–Follow Chris Grimes on Twitter @grimes_ce
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Original music by Metaphor Music. Mixing and sound design is by Breen Turner.
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