For years now there have been a few things going on behind the scenes at Disney that I have been keeping track of and which I will be releasing a series of articles about over the coming weeks. These are, in my opinion, insidious and secretive efforts at Disney, brought about in the later years of the Bob Iger era, which are intended to alter the nature of the company and the American culture which it effects. They are tied deeply with a particular political and sociocultural agenda. One of the most profound efforts that I believe is taking place within The Walt Disney Company is not only to steer it away from the values Walt Disney himself held dear, but also to work towards eradicating Mr. Disney as a role model and icon for the company and for his fans.
One of the places where much of this work is taking place is within the department Mrs. Ton Newton runs. Her Reimagine Tomorrow program seems to be a service that has grown tremendously in power and impact within the company and which uses group identity to create a hierarchy of importance for Disney’s efforts. According to Republican lawmakers angry at Disney, her department grew at a time when most other areas of Disney were declining:
“Disney has said it wants this law repealed even though it has broad support among Florida residents, especially parents. A senior Disney employee was recently caught on camera saying she wants ‘many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories.’ And according to a Disney employee, Disney’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion department, ‘expanded by an astonishing 633 percent in 2019–21, at the same time that nearly every other department was contracting by 25–75 percent.” — Yahoo! News
This DEI Department at The Walt Disney Company has revolutionized the corporation in a short amount of time. Started in 2019, the Reimagine Tomorrow program is more or less a political activism enclave inside the company, going so far as to just flat out feature President Barack Obama on its official material. I’m not against former president Barack Obama, but there’s not a single person from the other side of the aisle on any of the Reimagine Tomorrow material. And yes, I seem to have quite a bit of the material, especially in relation to documents from 2021 (I do not believe those have been changed). The Reimagine Tomorrow program is doctrinally in direct opposition to the beliefs that Walt Disney held and used to direct his company. For example, whereas Walt Disney was a patriotic person who believed in the goodness of America, the Reimagine Tomorrow program presents that America was founded in systemic racism.
Perhaps nowhere is Reimagine Tomorrow quite so aggressive, however, as in its efforts to ensure the company moves away from anything Christian. This article isn’t to advocate in favor of Christianity, but merely to report on what is happening within The Walt Disney Company. Before looking into the evidence I was clued into by a source, let’s take a look at how important prayer and spiritualism were said to be according to Walt Disney himself:
“I have a strong personal belief and reliance on the power of prayer for divine inspiration.
Every person has his own ideas of the act of praying for God’s guidance, tolerance and mercy to fulfill his duties and responsibilities. My own concept of prayer is not as a plea for special favors or as a quick palliation for wrongs knowingly committed. A prayer, it seems to me, implies a promise as well as a request.
All prayer, by the humble or the highly placed has one thing in common, as I see it: a supplication for strength and inspiration to carry on the best human impulses which should bind us all together for a better world. Without such inspirations, we would rapidly deteriorated and finally perish.” — Walt Disney
“Whatever success I have had in bringing clean, informative entertainment to people of all ages, I attribute in great part to my Congregational upbringing and my lifelong habit of prayer. To me, today, at age sixty-one, all prayer, by the humble or highly placed, has one thing in common: supplication for strength and inspiration to carry on the best human impulses which should bind us together for a better world.” — Walt Disney
Source: Mickey News
So what evidence do I have from my source that Ton Newton’s Reimagine Tomorrow program is excluding Christians and Christianity from Disney to the greatest extent possible? Look no further than their material search system which is linked below.
Using this service, employees and fans who happen upon the site can search for material from Disney based on diversity, equity and inclusivity terms. And yes, if you search for anything related to Christianity, it is recognized by the service and directed to “Religious Diversity” where it is one of the groups included. However, much like anything to do with men of any type, Reimagine Tomorrow and The Walt Disney Company aren’t recognizing anything even remotely associated with Christianity. You’ll find that “Religious Diversity” includes many religions, but any form of Christianity (though it’s supposed to be included) is completely lacking. Let’s compare that with other terms:
For Black Representation, Disney has 87 total pieces of content. For Asian and Pacific Islander Representation, Disnes has 59 total pieces of content. Within Gender Diversity, Disney’s Reimagine Tomorrow identifies 18 different items. Under “Female Empowerment” they have, again, 87 pieces of content. If you are male, however, you’re out of luck. Reimagine Tomorrow won’t even allow you to search the term. For LGBTQIA+ there are 37 different items. I can keep going, but you’re free to search the service yourself.
Perhaps the funniest thing about Reimagine Tomorrow is that they want to present themselves as offering “Religious Diversity” within The Walt Disney Company. The only problem: they have a total of 14 items about anything religious and not one of those is related to Christianity whatsoever. That’s right, Christians at Disney, the company has media on Hinduism, lesbianism in Islam and Egyptian spiritualism, but if your idea of “Religious Diversity” includes any form of Christianity (Catholicism, Protestantism or Orthodoxy) you are completely out of luck. Disney and its Reimagine Tomorrow organization have nothing for you. You can even belong to a small Christian sect that is underrepresented and scorned… it doesn’t matter, you’re not invited. Apparently, reimagining tomorrow means a tomorrow void of churches, Easter and Christmas.
Here’s a rundown of everything Disney’s Reimagine Tomorrow has to offer for Religious Diversity:
Religious Diversity Page for Reimagine Tomorrow
- All Ages Content
- Puppy Dog Pals: Get the Hanukkah Light (Judiasm)
- Puppy for Hanukkah (Judaism)
- Elena of Alavor: “Flower of Light” (Mesoamerican Religion)
- Andi Mack: Cyrus’ Bash-Mitzvah (Judaism)
- Mira, Royal Detective: “We’re on the Case: Diwali” (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism)
- Stuck in the Middle: “Stuck in the Quinceañera” (No specific religion — Hispanic cultural tradition)
- “Use Your Voice” – Artivism (No specific religion — merger of art and activism for social change)
- General Content
- Disney’s LAUNCHPAD (No specific religion — Underrepresented Backgrounds)
- Ramy Season 2 Trailer (Egyptian Spiritualism)
- The Bold Type: A Strong Muslim Woman (Lesbianism in Islam)
- News and Documentaries:
- Reimagining Representation: New Pillars Muslim Artist Database (Islam)
- LAUNCHPAD Brings a New Generation of Storytellers to Disney+ (No specific religion — Underrepresented Backgrounds)
- Disney Releases 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Report (No specific religion — Underrepresented Backgrounds)
- MCU Introduces First Muslim Superhero in “Ms. Marvel” on Disney+ (Islam)
It’s important to remember that Reimagine Tomorrow has immense power over Disney-produced content. For example, under its own “Content Intentions” blurb:
We believe that forging meaningful connections with our consumers contributes to the growth and viability of the Company, so we purposefully champion a multitude of voices and perspectives.
Apparently the tomorrow they reimagine doesn’t include Christianity at all in the “multitude of voices and perspectives.” Again, not advocating for or against Christianity in this article, simply pointing out the hypocrisy of Reimagine Tomorrow and what they’re really up to. Question: if Christians globally only account for about 31% of the human population, isn’t that a minority viewpoint? And if so, exactly how is it that they have a grand total of zero representation via Disney’s diversity program?
Oh, that’s right… remember, the whole point is to create a hierarchy for identity groups and those of the Christian faith don’t even register. Got it.
For all the latest on Disney and its internal issues, keep checking out That Park Place. This is the first in a series of information I am about to release on Reimagine Tomorrow, including plenty of stuff you’ve probably never seen before. So stick around. If you’d like to leave a polite comment, feel free to do so in the section below.
