Introduction: Ethical Perspectives
Though being labeled as the organization producing a generally family-friendly content, Walt Disney Company has already faced accusations for a range of ethically challenging decisions. The infamous shallowness of some of the values that the organization promotes has made it the prime example of a corporate sellout. However, when it comes to considering the company as a global enterprise, the conflicts with the religious members of the Disney audience deserve to be mentioned first. Moreover, the company has been blamed for promoting the support of the LGBT movement by creating the movies that incorporate supposedly homosexual innuendoes. Despite the fact that the organization should not eliminate the associations with the aforementioned cultures, it still needs to locate the methods for resolving the conflict in question.
Cultures Involved: Analysis
While the controversy that the coexistence of the Miramax Studios and the Disney Studios creates can be defined as the main source of the conflict, it is the clash of the Christian culture and the so-called unconventional culture of the Miramax production that draws a wide response among the parties concerned. Indeed, according to the existing evidence, the elements that the underground subculture of Miramax incorporates into its movies, are on the opposite side of the spectrum from the traditional Christian values.
For instance, the elements of violence, which inevitably work their way into any specimen of the Miramax production, lie in direct opposition to the Christian principles of love and kindness: “Some religious groups believe that the subsidiaries should confine themselves to child and family themes and not cover controversial topics, like sexual orientation, tensions within religious denominations, and other mature topics” (Boycott of Walt Disney, 2000).
In addition, the fact that the company nearly openly supports the gay culture makes it very vulnerable to a range of religious organizations, who claim that the company’s production is “’very evil’ and denounced Disney as ‘one of the most pro-homosexual organisations in the country’” (Disney’s Frozen is ‘very evil’ gay propaganda, says Christian pastor, 2014). While the collaboration with the Miramax Studio has definitely left a mark on the otherwise spotless reputation of the organization, the recent tendency for the Disney Company to show the support for the LGBT movement is clearly a source of major conflict. Thus, the LGBT culture can be considered another addition to the overall conflict between Disney and its target population (Frozen lambasted as pro-gay propaganda by Christian pastor, 2014).
Conclusion: Tolerance as the Key Solution
While the Miramax Company does not technically violate the cultural norm and is technically no longer connected to the Disney Company, it still makes the latter walk a very thin ice when it comes to acknowledging that the former is a part of the corporation. Hence the necessity to design a strategy for quelling the religious opponents lies. At present, Disney may approach the issue by emphasizing that there is a very thick line to be drawn between the Disney Productions and the Miramax Company.
As far as the homosexual agenda is concerned, Disney should put a stronger emphasis on the significance of cultural tolerance. It is essential to bear in mind that, by denying its connection with the LGBT community, Disney will lose a lot of customers and, therefore, an impressive amount of revenues. With the emergence of movies like Frozen, the company has become especially appealing to the specified target audience, and losing it will most likely affect the organization’s financial success.
Reference List
Boycott of Walt Disney. (2000). Religious Tolerance. Web.
Disney’s Frozen is ‘very evil’ gay propaganda, says Christian pastor. (2014).The Independent. Web.
Frozen lambasted as pro-gay propaganda by Christian pastor. (2014). The Guardian. Web.