Tagarchief: Disney

An Open Letter to Bob Iger (and Other CEO’s)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Before Donald Trump was elected president, it was predicted that he would go full dictator the second time around. In his first term, he tested the waters and experienced the barriers of executive power. In the four years out of office, he figured out how he could change the game should he get in office again – helped by the Heritage Foundation, who drafted the diabolical Project 2025, an elaborate scheme to turn America into a conservative, Christian white nationalist hellhole.

So what the Trump regime is doing now is no surprise: he is implementing the authoritarian playbook step by step.

A little more surprising to me last year was how many business leaders in the US supported Trump. I thought: really? A convicted felon, con artist, and rapist with no morals whatsoever? I guess I was still pretty naive and did not realize yet that out-of-control capitalism in the United States is really in the terminal, self-destructive phase in which unlimited greed will bring down the entire system. I was naive because I thought that at least some leaders could also be a force for good and bring positive societal change.

These leaders – if they even existed – have now completely vanished. They supported Trump because they thought he would be good for business (boy, were they wrong). The level of greed is beyond appalling.

Just as appalling is the lack of push-back since Trump started his grand demolition of the former Land of the Free. I cannot name a single CEO who took a stance against Trump from a moral or even a business standpoint. Most CEOs, like Tim Cook of Apple, have sucked up to him and capitulated in advance. The disgusting tech billionaires have declared themselves morally bankrupt and decided to join the autocracy from Day 1.

The latest example of this cowardice and reprehensible behavior is Bob Iger’s (CEO of Disney) capitulation to Trump. And this is one of the most damaging instances for the nation yet. ABC, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, canceled the show of comedian Jimmy Kimmel. They did this after Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Trump sycophant, threatened to pull ABC’s license after Kimmel made remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killer’s political leanings (“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” ) and cracked a joke about Donald Trump’s ultra short grieving process.

The canceling of a comedian on orders of the regime is really the final nail in the coffin of America’s democracy. And one man is responsible for this atrocity. I am talking about you, Bob Iger.

Iger had a good reputation, but now – with one fell swoop – he has torched it. He will go down in history as a gigantic coward who gave up to the fascists and didn’t even try to stand up to them.

And he didn’t even have to comply. The FCC doesn’t even have the power to revoke ABC’s license over their content. And besides, Kimmel hadn’t even said anything that was over the line. Compare his remarks to Fox Media Host Brian Kilmeade, who in the same week said that homeless people in the United States should get a lethal injection. A remark that has probably led to the shooting at a homeless shelter soon after. But this guy works for Fox News, which is already in Trump’s pocket, so he can get away with anything.

Bob Iger presumably did it because he wants to make deals (mergers and acquisitions), and he needs the FCC’s approval for that. So it was a cold and calculated business decision, as though morals, rules, and common decency don’t count anymore.

The irony is that Disney is the company that delivers America’s democracy this deathblow. Disney, with its classic movies about good versus evil. Disney, which was a stern advocate for inclusion and diversity. Now we know what these values really mean to them: jack shit.

Earlier this year, Disney released the second and final season of the Star Wars show Andor, the ultimate series about how to stand up to tyranny. The answer is that it takes thousands of actions by thousands of different heroes to defeat an authoritarian regime. Did you even watch that show, Bob? Then you might have picked up lines like: “The Empire cannot win. You will never be right unless you’re doing what you can to stop them.”

I think Iger, and these other gutless business leaders, made the wrong decision. For several reasons. First of all, you should never ever capitulate to a fascist leader unless perhaps your family is at risk. Otherwise, it is even better to be thrown in jail than to capitulate. Because when you do that, you’re corrupting your soul and enabling evil by which you make life more difficult for millions of people.

Secondly, if your bottom line is all you care about, this will suffer as well. Not only is Disney getting boycotted, but also Trump is wrecking the US economy. You might think authoritarianism is good for business, but only look at Vladimir Putin’s Russia to see that this is not the case. All right, the oligarchs might do okay for a while, but when things go south, they tend to start flying out of windows fast.

Thirdly, you may think that Trump is for sale, and sometimes he is, but as soon as you meet the demands of a bully he will always come back for more. With Trump, we have seen this countless times. Eventually, he will take you for everything you’ve got.

In other words, you fucked it up, Iger. Why don’t you grow a pair and go on television and tell Brendan Carr to go fuck himself and that Disney supports freedom and will resist authoritarianism in every type, shape, or form? The people will love you for it, and your bottom line will grow. Yes, you will probably lose your job, but at least you will be remembered as somebody who used his prominent position to stand up to the fascists.

Same goes for all the other CEOs out there… Shame on you for remaining silent in this time of crisis.

To conclude, I’d like to share this hilarious video my countryman Lubach made about Disney’s pathetic capitulation:

Andor Season 2: The Most Political Star Wars Show Arrives at Exactly the Right Moment

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Andor (2022–2025 – 24 episodes)
Creator: Tony Gilroy
Starring: Diego Luna, Denise Gough, Stellan Skarsgård, Adria Arjona & Kyle Soller

The second season of Andor leads directly into the events of Rogue One, which itself sets the stage for A New Hope. It’s a story of rebellion, defiance, and resistance – values the world desperately needs right now but seems to be running short on. The timing of Andor is striking, coinciding with an authoritarian shift currently underway in the United States.

The series opens with a thrilling scene in which the main hero, Cassian Andor, steals a TIE fighter. He struggles to fly it, leading to a daring and spectacular escape. Before taking off, he tells a resistance ally: “The Empire cannot win. You will never be right unless you’re doing what you can to stop them.” It’s a line that feels less like fiction and more like prophecy.

In the original Star Wars films, the Empire was portrayed as an all-powerful, faceless regime with little internal resistance. Andor pulls back the curtain, revealing the machinery of authoritarianism – and the cracks within it. We see how such regimes function, and we meet those who make them work. These Imperial functionaries are a million times more competent than the members of Trump’s regime, but they still run into their share of challenges.

Among these enablers of evil, Dedra and Syril – introduced in Season 1 – are the most fascinating. Now involved in a love affair, their current mission is to work on an energy programme on the planet Ghorman. The Empire wishes to extract a valuable mineral called Kalkite. Sound familiar? Dedra gets the top job, and Denise Gough shines in the role – utterly convincing as a sycophantic bureaucrat championing a fascist program to “Make the Empire Great Again.”

Andor is a refreshingly original take on the Star Wars universe, offering a chilling portrayal of life under autocracy. Ironically, it’s produced by Disney which like so many other free institutions is currently under attack by the Trump government for its commitment to diversity and inclusion. But Andor responds in kind: with fierce resistance. Its rebels – Cassian, his partner Bix, Luthen, and Mon Mothma – are flawed, human, and fiercely dedicated. They’re all willing to risk everything for the cause.

The story unfolds slowly but deliberately, structured into four arcs of three episodes each, moving steadily toward the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star. We follow Cassian as he escapes with resistance fighters in the stolen TIE fighter; Mon Mothma as she balances a strategic marriage for her daughter with her political double life; and Bix, suffering from PTSD, hiding during an immigrant crackdown on a farming planet; a clear parallel to current global events.

Meanwhile, Dedra and Syril navigate their lives on Coruscant. Dedra handles her overbearing mother-in-law while being invited to join a secret imperial operation on Ghorman.

The pacing can be slow at times, but the show remains compelling throughout. In episode 8, the tone turns especially grim when a massacre takes place on Ghorman – evoking contemporary parallels to the genocide in Gaza. The killer droids deployed during the assault give us a harrowing preview of what future wars might look like. The rebels – and the audience – finally discover that Orson Krennic (a scene stealing Ben Mendelsohn) has spent ten years developing the Death Star. The Ghorman minerals were essential to his work, regardless of the cost to the planet.

From that point on, the narrative builds steadily toward the beginning of Rogue One. With its second and final season, Andor now stands as the best Star Wars series Disney has produced. The visuals are stunning – hard to imagine 20 years ago that a series could look like this in 2025 – and the story offers a bold, original angle within the Star Wars mythology. The cast is uniformly excellent. While many deserve praise, Diego Luna (whose name feels fitting for the galaxy far, far away) anchors the series with a nuanced, committed performance.

The political parallels are unmistakable. A stormtrooper arresting a senator in the Senate, Mon Mothma’s colleagues afraid to vote against Palpatine, state propaganda distorting the truth: these are no longer just fantasy. They’re reflections of what’s happening in the real world.

Andor also reminds us what revolution really is. It’s not one dramatic act, but a thousand small ones by people willing to make sacrifices. In the end, everyone is drawn in. Everyone must choose: become an enabler of tyranny or a rebel prepared to risk everything. For the characters in Andor, the choice is stark. There are no grey areas anymore.

The heart of the show – and perhaps our current moment – is best captured in Mon Mothma’s impassioned Senate speech: “When truth leaves us. When we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.”

It’s Official: The Acolyte is Disney’s First Real Star Wars Failure

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

In recent years, Disney has released one Star Wars series after the other. Most were pretty good with especially The Mandalorian and Andor getting rave reviews. The latest is The Acolyte, of which the first two episodes were released on June 5 on Disney Plus.

If you ask the critics, the series is a successful addition to the SW universe. If you ask the fans you get quite a different view. At IMDb, the show is currently rated with a painful 3,4 and most of the 1.5 K user reviews are extremely negative. A sample of the comments: ‘Jar Jar Binks was a museum masterpiece next to this’, ‘this is laughably bad writing & direction’ and ‘the worst Star Wars project since the Holiday Special.’ Autch.

I am aware of the fact that Star Wars fans are notoriously difficult to please. Many of the prequels and sequels were also harshly criticized when they first came out, although since the Disney takeover of Lucas Film, the prequel films by George Lucas’ have risen somewhat in popularity again .

After viewing the first five episodes of The Acolyte, I have to say I am with the fans on this one though. Judging the series on the basis of plot, characters, acting, action and atmosphere, I find it to be a pretty terrible show. Yes, the fifth episode indeed contains some excellent lightsabre action, but because the writing is so weak, the showdowns lose almost all of their potential impact.

The Acolyte is the first series to venture outside of the Skywalker era. It takes place about a hundred years before the rise of the Empire in the peaceful High Republic era. The story revolves around a female force user who is killing off Jedi’s. Her twin sister is accused of the crime, but after her innocence is proven, she joins the Jedi in order to track down her sister and we learn of their family tragedy that caused her sister to crave for revenge. We also learn that she is guided by a dark master, whose appearance is very Sith-like.

The main point thematically, seems to be that the Jedi themselves can be an oppressive force, which in this case has resulted in the rise of evil. The problem is that the characters and their motivations are not one bit convincing. It is also problematic that this feels like another rise of the Sith story for which we have no need. Lucas has done this already in the prequels, and in my opinion he did a fine job, although certainly not flawless.

The show really gets embarrassing in episode 3 when the Witches are introduced: a new group of force users. The dialogues make George Lucas seem like a William Shakespeare. Things don’t improve in the following episodes. Were there no question marks with the producers when they read the scripts? What is it that convinced them to invest 180 million dollars (!) in this show? It’s mind boggling.

I am not gonna finish it after watching episode 5. It is now revealed who the bad guy is and frankly, I thought this was a terrible choice as well. I am not curious to find out what Sol is hiding nor do I care to find out how the relationship between the twin sisters is gonna develop. I am still interested in new Star Wars series by Disney, but The Acolyte is pretty much a disaster as far as I’m concerned. I can only hope that Disney will learn from this costly mistake.

Tijdloze klassiekers

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Rosa is nu op een leeftijd gekomen (tien, bijna elf) dat ze ‘volwassen’ films met me kan kijken. Alhoewel volwassen? Veel mensen zouden Star Wars omschrijven als kinderfilm. Ik zal nog even moeten wachten tot ik mijn gewelddadige favorieten zoals GoodFellas en The Godfather met haar kan bekijken, maar de lichtere klassiekers, zoals de originele Star Wars trilogie dus, zorgen al voor veel (darth)vader- en dochter-kijkplezier.

Ik ben expres begonnen met Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, en niet met de prequel trilogie, omdat ik wilde dat ze de verrassing van episode V (“I am your father”) zou beleven als de oorspronkelijke bioscoopbezoekers in 1980. Ze vond het vreemd om te beginnen met de vierde aflevering van een serie, maar ik heb haar uitgelegd dat de beste verhalen vaak een ongeziene voorgeschiedenis hebben en dat die soms ongezien blijft, maar in het geval van Star Wars later alsnog verfilmd is (een understatement, aangezien Disney bezig is ieder personage en tijdperk een eigen film of serie te geven) .

Het was ook een test om te zien of deze films van 46 tot 40 jaar oud ook een nieuwe generatie zouden aanspreken en dat deden ze. Rosa is een nieuwsgierig kind en ze stelde me allemaal vragen over de personages en de mythologie van het Star Wars universum. Ook wisten de personages haar duidelijk in te pakken; van de komische C3PO en R2D2 en de mysterieuze Obi-Wan Kenobi tot de vurige Leia, koppige Han en dappere Luke. En natuurlijk vond ze de slechteriken fascinerend.

Het was geweldig om haar reactie te zien op legendarische scènes, zoals de ontsnapping uit de Death Star en natuurlijk de ultra-spannende finale. De special effects blijven geniaal. Af en toe doorzag ze de trucjes van het pre-digitale tijdperk, zoals de met stop motion geanimeerde tauntauns in The Empire Strikes Back. In deze fenomenale film leerde ze het personage Darth Vader pas echt kennen. Ze vond het hilarisch om te zien hoe hij zijn incompetente ondergeschikte straft door hem op afstand te force chocken terwijl hij via een monitor de collega naast hem promotie geeft. Dat geeft zelfvertrouwen.

Toen kwam natuurlijk dat moment waarop Vader aan Luke vertelt dat hij zijn vader is. De uitdrukking op haar gezicht was fantastisch en toen in Return of the Jedi volgde er nog een verrassing als Yoda Luke op zijn sterfbed meedeelt: “there is another Skywalker.” De films hebben de toets des tijds glansrijk doorstaan. Goed nieuws voor mij, want ik kan de lijst met films die we gaan kijken flink uitbreiden.

We zijn nu bezig met de prequel trilogie. Visueel staan deze films nog altijd als een huis en de visie erachter ook, maar de uitvoering kent de nodige gebreken. Rosa wist goed uit te leggen waarom ze de originele films beter vond (‘it’s the characters, stupid!’). Ik denk dat er wel een filmrecensent in haar schuilt en sowieso een filmfreak, zoals haar vader.