After initiating a boycott against the Walt Disney Company in 1996, American Family Association has decided to end the campaign, citing new challenges in the culture wars and some positive signs at Disney, including the resignation of CEO Michael Eisner, effective this September.
Tim Wildmon said that, from the very beginning, the Disney boycott was about raising issues that were of concern to AFA — especially the promotion of homosexuality in the culture and in the media. One of the positive things to come out of the boycott, Wildmon insisted, was that Disney seemed to become more cognizant of how it had hurt its family-friendly image among many Christians.
The news that Disney was co-producing a film based on the Christian literary classic, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, has brought cautious approval from some evangelicals. The film, co-produced with Walden Media, will be released in theaters December 9.
According to an article by the Orlando Sentinel’s Mark Pinsky, Disney has mounted a 10-month marketing campaign to reach the Christian community with news of the film. Toward that end, Disney has hired two Christian marketing companies, Motive Marketing and Grace Hill Media.
While there are still troublesome stains on the Mouse House — the annual "Gay Days," for example — Wildmon said AFA was broadening its focus beyond Disney. Still, that does not guarantee that AFA will never again call for a Disney boycott, should the company do something particularly egregious. "If, for example, Disney removed the clear Christian symbolism from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe film, then all bets would be off," he said. "So I guess one could say that, as far as we’re concerned, Disney is on probation."
Full Story
No comments:
Post a Comment