{"id":27064,"date":"2025-04-09T17:01:14","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T21:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=27064"},"modified":"2025-04-09T17:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T21:01:14","slug":"snow-white-and-the-costs-of-woke-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/04\/snow-white-and-the-costs-of-woke-entertainment","title":{"rendered":"‘Snow White’ and the Costs of Woke Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Disney<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMirror, mirror on the wall, what\u2019s the most expensive Disney flop of all?\u201d<\/p>\n

By now, it is well known that Disney\u2019s recent \u201cSnow White\u201d reboot will go down as one of Hollywood\u2019s biggest money losers ever. With a budget rumored to be about $350-400 million, and with the most optimistic revenue projections expected to clock in at no more than $295 million, Disney\u2019s financial loss will be huge.\u00a0 Forget rewriting classic fairy tales \u2014 what most needs a revamp is the philosophy driving such projects.<\/p>\n

If (like myself) you\u2019re old enough to remember the launch of video discs, Beta tapes, and then VCRs, you may also remember that these were accompanied by predictions of the film industry\u2019s demise. It is true that movie theater attendance has been gradually tapering off since the birth of video rental stores more than four decades ago. Already tepid theater attendance never fully rebounded since COVID quarantines darkened screens throughout 2020 and into 2021. The proliferation of streaming services that bring the public unlimited viewing choices is a big part of why the marketing<\/em> budget for films often equals or surpasses the production costs.<\/p>\n

In the months, then weeks, leading up to \u201cSnow White\u2019s\u201d release, coverage regarding the film was dominated by news of so much negative \u201cbuzz.\u201d Way back in June 2021, there was something of a cultural \u201cgroan\u201d when it was announced that \u201cSnow White\u201d (\u201cthe fairest of them all\u201d) would be played by feisty Latina actress, Rachel Zegler. Public sentiment was that her casting in this live-action remake of a Disney classic was just one more example of woke\/DEI punch lists driving production plans.<\/p>\n

Zegler, in the lead role, is certainly not the only reason this film is a box office bomb. But her public \u201cbrand image\u201d has in no way helped the film succeed. Zegler self-describes as a \u201cnarcissist,\u201d and is on record coolly saying that if people don\u2019t like her, then they shouldn\u2019t watch her films, because \u201cshe doesn\u2019t need them (the public) anyway.\u201d Well . . . alrighty, then.<\/p>\n

Adding to the public bias against the film was that Zegler used her social media platform to speak critically of conservatives \u2014 the people most likely to have both children (the primary customer base for this film) and the discretionary cash needed for today\u2019s not-inexpensive trip to the theater. So, what did Zegler do pre-release, now enjoying the largest media platform of her career, thus far? She trashed President Trump, literally pronounced a curse on Trump\u2019s supporters, and threw in a few F bombs for good measure. She later apologized, but as we all know, the internet never forgets.Zegler even trashed the \u201cSnow White\u201d story itself, calling the prince a \u201cstalker,\u201d and criticized Disney\u2019s beloved 1937 animated version as \u201csexist,\u201d faulting it for being short on \u201cfemale empowerment.\u201d In a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, Zegler said that this would be \u201c\u2026 the PC \u2018Snow White\u2019\u201d and that there \u201cneeded to be\u201d deviations from the original story.\u00a0 Though possessing an admittedly fine singing voice, Zegler publicly made it clear that she would not <\/em>perform the original film\u2019s signature song, \u201cSomeday My Prince Will Come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zegler generated additional controversy in fiercely criticizing her co-star, Israeli-born Gal Gadot (cast as the wicked stepmother). Unsurprisingly, Gadot voiced support for her native Israel in the aftermath of the October 2023 terrorist attacks on the country. Also not surprising: As a very woke Gen-Z\u2019er, Rachel Zegler is a political Leftist, she has voiced support for Hamas and condemnation for co-star Gadot. Not great for building cast camaraderie.<\/p>\n

Then there was the unpopular choice to jettison seven dwarves <\/em>for \u201cmagical creatures.\u201d And this \u201clive action\u201d \u201cSnow White\u201d would have Doc, Grumpy and the others as not-live-action figures onscreen. The \u201cseven magical creatures\u201d would be CGI (and fairly odd CGI renderings, at that).<\/p>\n

So, where in this remake did Disney find room for onscreen inclusion of little people? Actor George Appleby (born with dwarfism) plays a bandit<\/em>, Quigg. In the quest to not offend anyone, casting and storyline decisions led to \u201clittle people feeling erased.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0By the time of \u201cSnow White\u2019s\u201d opening date of March 21, Wall Street Journal film critic Kyle Smith opined that public sentiment might likely be summarized as follows: \u201cThe remake was going to be an act of cultural vandalism on a par with tossing a bucket of paint on the Mona Lisa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo woke, go broke\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Will losses of $100 million dollars plus teach Hollywood to steer from <\/em>and not toward <\/em>wokeness of storylines and stars? I\u2019m not holding my breath.<\/p>\n

Over 20 years ago, I had the honor of working for James Dobson\u2019s Focus on the Family. My duties included contributing to the ministry\u2019s entertainment\/media review magazine \u201cPlugged In.\u201d We often reported on how \u201cfamily friendly\u201d fare consistently did well at the box office: Wholesome stories, well done and without nudity or profanity, make money.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pre-release, no one can be absolutely certain what film will be a hit or a miss. But something we noted two decades ago, and which still holds true today, is that the more woke\/progressive\/ideologically \u201cpreachy\u201d a film is, the more likely it is to do poorly.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSnow White\u201d screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson worked for years on the script, and said that she wanted to do something fresh and new with the venerated story. Why not amplify the deeply Christian worldview of \u201cSnow White\u2019s\u201d original authors, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm? How about cast members and collateral trailers communicating that the Grimm\u2019s original story conveyed thoroughly Biblical themes: \u201cSnow White\u201d depicted Eve, the evil, self-absorbed, murderous queen depicts Satan, and Eden\u2019s the forbidden fruit, is the poisoned apple.<\/p>\n

The original dwarves were like Snow White\u2019s guardian angels (note that \u201cseven\u201d is the number of divine perfection), and that the long-awaited Prince Charming is a messianic figure. Disney and other studios could be really <\/em>gutsy and innovative in the following way: Focus less on each project meeting all the line items of a DEI punch list, and focus on creating art with a moral worldview.<\/p>\n

Instead of assuming there are massive numbers of people hungering for woke entertainment, realize that more than 60% of Americans identify as Christians<\/a> \u2014 and this number is growing. Consumers do not make entertainment expenditure choices based on how \u201cprogressively enlightened\u201d something is. If consideration of \u201cwoke\u201d backstory or content plays any part at all in public reception, if anything, such moves consumers not <\/em>to attend.<\/p>\n

\u201cSnow White\u201d has lost big on multiple levels. As a reviewer on RogerEbert.com <\/em>said<\/a>, instead of being the fairest in the land, this \u201cSnow White\u201d is just, well, \u201cfair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Alex McFarland<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is a youth, religion and culture expert, a national talk show host and speaker, educator, and author of 20 books. McFarland directs Biblical Worldview and apologetics for Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, CO. Via the American Family Radio Network, Alex is heard live on Exploring the Word, airing daily on nearly 200 radio stations across the U.S. \u201c<\/em>The Alex McFarland Show<\/em><\/a>\u201d\u00a0airs weekly on NRBTV, providing Biblically faithful TV and discussion on current events affecting our nation.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cMirror, mirror on the wall, what\u2019s the most expensive Disney flop of all?\u201d By now, it is well known that Disney\u2019s recent \u201cSnow White\u201d reboot will go down as one of Hollywood\u2019s biggest money losers ever. With a budget rumored to be about $350-400 million, and with the most optimistic revenue projections expected to clock…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":630,"featured_media":27067,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n'Snow White' and the Costs of Woke Entertainment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/04\/snow-white-and-the-costs-of-woke-entertainment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Snow White' and the Costs of Woke Entertainment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cMirror, mirror on the wall, what\u2019s the most expensive Disney flop of all?\u201d By now, it is well known that Disney\u2019s recent \u201cSnow White\u201d reboot will go down as one of Hollywood\u2019s biggest money losers ever. 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