6/3/25-Entertain vs Preach

For someone with a blog that is littered with posts proclaiming his faith in God this post might seem a little hypocritical.  But here I go anyway.

In 2008 I saw Ironman.  My kids and I spent the next 10 years looking for the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe story.  We were even able to get Cindy invested in 2012 when she saw the Avengers.  We would go as a family to the theater see each movie.  We weren't the only ones who did this.  Based on the billions the movies made millions of people wanted to see what was going to happen next.  Not all the movies were great, but it seemed like the MCU could do no wrong.

Something happened shortly after the climax on Avengers: Endgame in 2019.  The MCU lost its way.  While the movies were making billions then, Disney celebrates a $300 million box office now.  They have projects coming out soon in Ironheart (Disney+) and The Fantastic Four in the movies.  And largely no one cares.  What happened?

I know the pandemic came at an unfortunate time but its been years since then and the MCU can't get back the momentum it once had.  I submit that the MCU forgot what made it successful-good, entertaining stories.  They, like a lot of the entertainment industry, have turned to virtue signaling and preaching.

It's not just Marvel.  Star Wars, which once was an unstoppable force (pun intended) is nothing compared to what it once was and is hit and miss at best.  I used to look forward to watching Doctor Who every Saturday night and it got ratings in the 10 million range.  Now it gets 10% of that and is facing cancelation.  Star Trek tried to introduce in the modern values only to be lambasted by forcing Discovery on the fans.

Sports faces the same issues.  ESPN is a shell of what it once was.  The NBA has lost a lot of the growth that Magic Johnson and Michal Jordan led it to.  The WNBA has never made money.  Even though it finally has a star it can build around in Catlin Clark still has its stars fighting her choosing to focus on her race instead of embracing her and allowing her popularity to make them all money.

People turn to entertainment industries like TV, movies and sports to be distracted from the stresses of the world.  A movie was a couple hours where you could leave the negativity behind you at the door and just concentrate on the having a good time.  Watching sports was a time to celebrate the athletic ability of exceptional people doing things we normal people could never do.  

Why do these entertainment giants not to listen to their fans and concentrate on entertaining?  In their hubris, they feel like they are superior to us and they should push their political or social opinions on us.  What they do not realize is that just because you are Disney or LeBron James you are not superior.  You might have a entertainment empire or great basketball skills, but that does not make your opinions special.  Until they get that message and go back to listening to their fandoms and go back to being entertainers we will continue to look elsewhere with our views and our money.