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Column on ‘Wokeness’ Ruining Disney World Expertise Attracts Backlash

Column on ‘Wokeness’ Ruining Disney World Experience Draws Backlash

A column complaining that Disney World’s “vigilance” is ruining the fun “because Disney cares more about politics than happy guests,” sparked a sharp backlash online this week.

The guest column, “I love Disney World, but wakefulness ruins the experience,” was written by Jonathan VanBoskerck and appeared online on the Orlando Sentinel on Friday.

In the column, Mr. VanBoskerck of north Las Vegas wrote that he had “seriously reconsidered” his commitment to the amusement park and the city of Orlando, Florida, home of Disney World.

“The more Disney moves away from the values ​​and visions of Walt Disney, the less Disney World means to me,” wrote VanBoskerck. “Disney forgets that guest immersion is at the core of its business model.”

Disney has made changes to its parks in recent years to make them more “inclusive” and to provide an experience that “all of our guests can connect and be inspired by,” it wrote in a blog post.

Among the changes, Disney announced a “rethink” of Splash Mountain last year, previously based on the 1946 Disney film “Song of the South,” in which a former slave tells African folk tales.

Changes have expanded beyond Disney’s parks, including the decision not to stream “Song of the South” on Disney +.

Disney World reopened its Pirates of the Caribbean ride in 2018, replacing a scene where pirates were selling women at auction. The scene now shows the sale of “city dwellers’ most valuable possessions and goods,” according to a blog post on the Disney Parks website.

Recognition…via Twitter

Among other things, the company announced that it is building “on the story” of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland and Disney World to “take on new adventures that stay true to the experience we know and love – more humor, wildlife and skipper hearts – and also reflect and appreciate the diversity of the world around us. “

The Jungle Cruise ride includes one Indigenous character named Trader Sam who sells shrunken heads. The character was recently removed from the ride.

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Updated

April 23, 2021 at 1:31 p.m. ET

“We’re addressing negative portrayals of locals at the attraction,” Disney told Attractions Magazine.

In his column, Mr VanBoskerck said Disney brought “a woken scalpel” to the jungle cruise.

“Every adult in the room realizes that Trader Sam is not a representation of reality and is intended to be a funny and silly cartoon,” wrote VanBoskerck. “It’s no more racist-based than any Disney caricature of a touchless white American father.”

Mr. VanBoskerck, who referred to himself as a “Christian and Conservative Republican,” said he and his family have been Disney customers for decades and that in addition to annual visits to Disney World, the family goes on a Disney cruise or two every year. “

The Las Vegas Review journal and court documents identified Mr. VanBoskerck as an assistant district attorney for Clark County. The prosecutor and Mr VanBoskerck did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday.

“The parks are less fun because the immersion and thus the joy of politics takes a back seat,” wrote VanBoskerck. “Immersion shouldn’t be sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and appeasing the Twitter mob.”

Then came a Twitter mob for Mr VanBoskerck, whose comments online generated a strong response, including from some politicians.

Val Demings, who represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District, where Disney World is located, said on Twitter that she supports Disney’s work to be more inclusive.

“I take pride in representing a community that is welcoming, tolerant, and constantly evolving to deliver the best experience possible,” said Ms. Demings.

Florida State Legislator Anna V. Eskamani took a different approach on Twitter.

“So this grown-up Las Vegas man is crazy about Disney removing racist characters and animatronic rapists from their rides?” Ms. Eskamani said. “Have I understood that correctly?”

Mr. VanBoskerck criticized other changes Disney made, such as one announced this month to allow Disney employees “greater flexibility” with “forms of personal expression” such as nail and hairstyles and visible tattoos.

“The problem is, I don’t travel around the country paying thousands of dollars to see someone I don’t know express themselves,” he wrote. “I’m there for the immersion and the imagination, not the reality of a stranger’s self-expression. I do not allow these people their individuality and wish them all the best for their personal life, but I cannot express my individuality at my place of business. “

In a blog post by Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Disney announced that the change would allow cast members to “express their cultures and individualities at work,” and that the company “remains relevant today remains a job. “

Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The decision among many is that the park “put a stronger focus on inclusivity and belonging for our cast,” after listening to cast members about their ideas for change, D’Amaro wrote.

Mr VanBoskerck wrote that the next time he goes on the Jungle Cruise or visits Splash Mountain, he will be thinking about Disney’s political agenda.

“This is a mood killer,” he wrote.

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China’s Pressured-Labor Backlash Threatens to Put N.B.A. in Undesirable Highlight

China’s Forced-Labor Backlash Threatens to Put N.B.A. in Unwanted Spotlight

The tensions between the US and China, human rights and the economy meet again uncomfortably on the basketball court.

In China, local brands are benefiting from a consumer backlash against Nike, H&M and other overseas brands for refusing to use Chinese cotton made from forced labor. Chinese brands have publicly accepted the cotton from the Xinjiang region, resulting in large sales to patriotic buyers and praise from the Beijing-controlled media.

In the United States, two of these Chinese brands, Li-Ning and Anta, adorn the feet of NBA players – and those players are amply rewarded for doing so. Two players signed advertising deals with Anta in February. Another signed this week. The Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson had previously signed a shoe deal with Anta that was widely reported to be worth up to $ 80 million.

Dwyane Wade, the three-time NBA champion and retired Miami Heat player, has a clothing line with Li-Ning that is so successful that he has recruited young players for the brand.

Like the overseas brands in China, the league and its players could soon feel squeezed between Washington and Beijing. Western companies are being pressured by American officials and lawmakers to respond to allegations of genocide in Xinjiang. But they are facing a consumer-centric backlash in China with celebrities severing ties with brands like Burberry and patriotic citizens burning their Nike shoes on social media.

The NBA and its athletes are familiar with the challenges of holding their own against China and maintaining access to their nearly 1.4 billion consumers. Just two years ago, China banned the NBA from state media outlets after the Houston Rockets general manager supported pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

The league has avoided the final round of controversy so far. It can’t take long.

“It’s hard to imagine that celebrities and brand ambassadors would be able to draw that line between these negative views of China in their home countries and the increasingly clear demands in China to publicly demonstrate the use of products made in Xinjiang,” said Natasha Hassam , Director of the Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program at the Lowy Institute in Australia.

Chinese companies are unlikely to take a significant blow themselves. The United States banned imports of Xinjiang cotton products in January, but neither Li-Ning nor Anta sell a large number of shoes there. (They are available online, however.) Still, your full support for Xinjiang could have reputational consequences for American athletes.

“It is easier for a Chinese celebrity to say that I will end my relationship with X European and that I will likely be rewarded domestically,” said Ms. Hassam. “Americans who want to benefit from the Chinese market are in a much more difficult place.”

After Li-Ning and Anta released positive statements about Xinjiang cotton last week, investors in China rocketed both companies’ shares. Chinese state media have quickly fueled the show of patriotism. At one point, a pair of Li-Ning shoes was trading under Mr. Wade’s Way of Wade line for nearly $ 7,500.

However, the statements could lead to government scrutiny of future US business operations, said Brian J. Fleming, a sanctions attorney at Miller & Chevalier Chartered.

“With their word, Anta and Li Ning are simultaneously supporting the Chinese government and reaching for US restrictions, which is a combination that is unlikely to be welcomed by the US authorities,” said Fleming.

Anta and Li-Ning did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Thompson, one of the NBA’s biggest stars, is known to his Chinese fans as “China Klay” and once said he wanted to be Anta’s Michael Jordan. His teammate James Wiseman and Alex Caruso from the Los Angeles Lakers signed with Anta earlier this year, according to the sportswear brand’s social media account. The Precious Achiuwa of the Heat announced this week that he would be joining Anta.

Comments from Mr. Thompson and other NBA players also went unanswered.

Outside of China, Xinjiang has become synonymous with oppression. Up to a million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim ethnic minorities have reportedly been held in detention centers. In March, Foreign Minister Antony J. Blinken accused China of continuing to commit “genocide and crimes against humanity” in the far northwest.

The NBA has strong reasons to remain silent about China. When Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Rockets, expressed his support for the Hong Kong protests on Twitter in 2019, Li-Ning and the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank’s credit card center broke their partnerships with the team. The Chinese basketball federation, of which former Rockets player Yao Ming is president, has also stopped working with the Rockets.

Mr. Morey deleted the message.

Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, later said the Chinese government had asked the league to fire Mr Morey, a claim the Chinese Foreign Ministry was quick to deny. However, the incident scarred the NBA’s reputation for promoting free speech and severely restricted its access to the Chinese market.

China Central Television, the state television broadcaster, has stopped broadcasting NBA games following Mr. Morey’s news on Twitter. At the end of last year, coverage for Games 5 and 6 of the NBA Finals resumed for a short period of time. A week later, Mr. Morey resigned as general manager.

In a radio interview earlier this week, Mr Silver said that CCTV has stopped broadcasting NBA games, but fans can stream them through Tencent, the Chinese internet conglomerate. He said the NBA’s partnership with China is “complicated”, but that “doesn’t mean we don’t talk about what we see, you know, things in China that are inconsistent with our values.”

A league spokesman declined to comment on the article.

Money and a large Chinese fan base are at stake for players like Mr. Thompson and dozens of other American athletes, who have been heavily sponsored by Anta and Li-Ning. Mr. Thompson has partnered with Anta since 2014, which has brought him a popular shoe line and sponsored tours in China.

Newer deals between the companies and NBA players could face issues in the coming weeks as tensions between the US and China escalate. Jimmy Butler, a five-time all-star playing for the heat, and Toronto Raptors security guard Fred VanVleet signed up with Li-Ning in November. Mr. Wade, the retired Heat player, helped CJ McCollum and D’Angelo Russell, two Star Guards, close deals with Li-Ning through his line of sportswear.

“My decision to sign with Li-Ning 7 years ago was to show the next generation that this is not just a way of doing things,” Wade wrote on Twitter when he signed Mr. Russell’s contract in November 2019 announced Chance to build a global platform that provides future athletes with a canvas to create and be expressive on. “

Sopan Deb contributed to coverage from New York and Cao Li from Hong Kong.

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San Diego Comedian-Con faces backlash over Thanksgiving weekend dates

San Diego Comic-Con faces backlash over Thanksgiving weekend dates

A sign photographed from outside the annual San Diego Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday July 15, 2012 in San Diego, California.

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The coronavirus pandemic has paralyzed the live events business, especially the lucrative comic convention industry. In order to raise much-needed funds, San Diego Comic-Con postponed its show to fall in July 2021.

However, the decision to hold the personal international meeting on Thanksgiving weekend, an announcement made late Saturday night, has been heavily criticized by fans, talent and the press.

“So they planned #SDCC for the same weekend as the first chance most families can (hopefully) celebrate Thanksgiving in two years. See you in 2022!” wrote Charles Soule, author of the comics “Light of the Jedi” and Daredevil, after the announcement on Twitter.

As with Soule, the majority of the votes against asked why the organization would host this event during a major US holiday. Especially one that many people couldn’t celebrate with their families over the past year due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

These voices range from fans who travel a lot to attend the show to talent who perform on panels or at signings. Not to mention journalists and other industry professionals hired to cover the event.

While past conventions coincided with holidays – WonderCon was held on the Easter weekend and Anime Expo usually takes place on July 4th – hosting San Diego Comic-Con raised eyebrows during this special Thanksgiving holiday.

“My family missed Thanksgiving last year because of the pandemic,” wrote Dan Slott, an Eisner award-winning comic book writer, on Twitter. “This year we will all be vaccinated. There is no way I would go to an event instead of spending that time with them. Even if everything were magically back to normal. I can’t imagine anyone else feeling any different.”

It appears that much of the organization’s decision to hold a face-to-face meeting in 2021 was due to the cancellation of previous events, which resulted in significant financial success.

“While we have been able to move from face-to-face meetings to limited online events, like many small businesses, the loss of revenue has had an acute impact on the company, including shorter hours and lower wages for employees.” other issues, “said David Glanzer, spokesman for the nonprofit, in a statement on Saturday.” Hopefully this event will sustain our financial reserves and mark a slow return to larger face-to-face gatherings in 2022. “

San Diego Comic-Con officials did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

San Diego Comic-Con has become a huge event for the entertainment industry. It’s a place where the studios add excitement for upcoming blockbuster projects and serve as a platform for disseminating new details to the most passionate fans.

It is also a major sales driver, not only for the organization that operates it, but also for the local economy. The San Diego Tourism Group estimates that $ 88 million will be spent directly by attendees during the convention and $ 149 million will go to the region’s economy.

Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world come to this event every year, and that does not apply to the on-site staff, security guards and supervisory staff who walk through the halls over the four-day weekend.

The November conference only lasts three days and takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The number of participants is likely to be limited due to local guidelines. The organization plans to offer more information on ticket prices, capacity constraints and other details closer to the show date.

“Of course, I can see the #SDCC telling thousands of fans to skip the first post-pandemic Thanksgiving Day in order to stand in line in Hall H, but they are also asking great Hollywood actors and directors to do the same to do.” “Rus McLaughlin, Senior Content Strategist at Oculus, wrote on Twitter.” I suspect there might be a pushback there. “

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Silver Rises With Hype It’s the Subsequent GameStop, however a Backlash Mutes Positive factors

Silver Rises With Hype It’s the Next GameStop, but a Backlash Mutes Gains

After the frenzied price swings of companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment caught the financial world last week, everyone wondered what the internet investor army would be targeting next.

The answer seemed to be silver, at least for a moment.

Over the weekend, the precious metal saw a surge in interest and a surge in online chatter about the chances of generating a price surge that caught the world’s attention last week.

On Monday, the price of silver rose as much as 11.5 percent in early trading – to its highest level in eight years – but gravity soon prevailed and pulled it back as efforts attracted the users of the influential Wall Street Bets forum Collecting from Reddit just failed.

By mid-morning silver had given up some of its early gains, and by 3 p.m. it was trading at $ 29.418 an ounce, up 9 percent. That was still the highest level since the beginning of 2013.

At Wall Street Bets, where users have largely endorsed GameStop and put pressure on hedge funds, some users turned down the nascent online silver crusade to rob the GameStop rally of its momentum.

Some posters referred to it as a trap set by hedge funds losing money with the rise of GameStop, and urged their fellow traders to turn their attention to companies that had trimmed shares in the video game retailer.

GameStop versus Wall Street

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    • Stocks of GameStop, the video game retailer, have risen because amateur investors starting at Reddit have bet heavily on the company’s stock.
    • The wave gained momentum when large hedge funds short-sold GameStop stock – essentially betting against the company’s success.
    • Sudden demand pushed the stock price from less than $ 20 in December to around $ 300 on Monday. At least on paper.
    • It’s not just GameStop. Amateur investors have supported other companies that many large investors have shunned, such as AMC and BlackBerry.
    • This bubble around GameStop forced large investors to raise funds to cover their losses or to shed shares in other companies.

A private investor, Randi Mailloux of Westfield, Massachusetts, said she believed Wall Street firms were behind the silver push. As a self-described Wall Street Bets lurker, she said that large hedge funds are “trying to get people to lose interest in GameStop, sell their stocks and move on to something else.”

Just as regulators have been closely monitoring activity in GameStop and other stocks, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it was keeping an eye on silver. Acting chairman Rostin Behnam said the commission is coordinating with other regulators and the commodity exchanges to “address potential threats to the integrity of the silver derivatives markets and continue to monitor those markets for fraud and manipulation”.

The surge in trading of some stocks – including GameStop, AMC, and BlackBerry – over the past week has rocked Wall Street, forcing popular trading platforms like Robinhood to curb trading. Rising prices hit hedge fund short sellers and generally unsettled the markets, putting the S&P 500 in the red for January.

Skepticism about the recent online silver hype isn’t the only reason GameStop’s remarkable run may be unlikely to repeat, however.

The silver market is different from that for beleaguered companies that have caught the attention of day traders who have been buoyed by memes on Reddit. These stocks have been targeted by hedge funds that are betting on falling prices. By pushing them higher instead, traders “pushed” the short companies, forcing them to buy the stocks.

The price of silver, on the other hand, had risen before the latest interest. It rose nearly 50 percent last year, and some institutional investors expected silver to outperform gold this year.

Silver is a much larger market, so it is more difficult for a relatively small group of traders to influence. And then there is a logistical hurdle in commodity trading: private investors who want to drive the silver price up would have to pick up the metal instead of buying shares in online accounts or buying options contracts.

The silver market has had restrictions on excessively speculative behavior since the early 1980s after Nelson and William Hunt – brothers who were heirs to an oil fortune – failed to corner it. They amassed roughly half of the world’s tradable silver supply before the move imploded on March 27, 1980 after market regulators intervened and restricted further purchases. The metal fell from a recent high of $ 50.35 to $ 10.80 an ounce, costing the Hunts an estimated $ 1 billion in losses.

But the online skepticism that greeted the rally on Monday didn’t help.

“It’s sketchy,” said Ms. Mailloux. “Somebody wrote a story about silver when the Wall Street Bets guys wanted to do this short push.”

However, the increased online interest had a noticeable effect. The shares in companies that mine silver rose. Fresnillo closed 9 percent but also well below its highest point of the day and Polymetal International rose 5 percent. Both were among the UK’s biggest winners on the FTSE 100 index. On the New York Stock Exchange, Silvercorp Metals rose 15 percent and Fortuna Silver Mines rose 12 percent.

Retail websites for buying silver coins and bars said they were seeing high demand and there would be delays in shipping orders.

The iShares Silver Trust, a large BlackRock publicly traded product that tracks the metal, reported a record net inflow of $ 944 million on Friday, requiring the purchase of 34 million ounces of silver.

Retail purchases increased prices more than analysts expected.

“The frenzy of retail buying has pushed silver prices up again for the time being,” JPMorgan Chase analysts wrote on Monday.

Some traders said it was difficult to keep up with demand.

Moneymetals.com announced that it was not taking new orders for most of its silver products on Monday, and it was also restricting some gold purchases. Another trader, APMEX, said it saw a surge in new customers over the weekend.

“We have made strategic decisions to source additional metal and block any metal we find in the market,” said Ken Lewis, CEO of APMEX, in a statement posted on the company’s website. “We anticipate that premiums will go up and up quickly as we see a significant increase in our costs if we can even locate the metal.”

Gillian Friedman contributed to the coverage.