CEO Bob Chapek Defines Disney’s Role in an “Imperfect but Extraordinary” America

During the recent elections, we were reminded once again about many issues that divide America. Choose any political subject, and you’ll likely find strong opinions about it that range from one extreme to another. Is it possible that Disney can help heal the national divide?

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has pointed to the polarized state of the country on a few different occasions, and he’s also spoken about how he believes Disney can play a part in creating “a brighter, more optimistic, more inclusive national story.”

We’re first going to look at Chapek’s recent comments that provide insight into how he views the social climate in America. Then we’ll see how Disney might be able to fix the problems he identified. Finally, we’ll analyze what Disney is doing now and has committed to do in the future to actively work towards greater inclusivity and connection.

An “Imperfect but Extraordinary” America

Chapek recently gave the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2022 at Indiana University (the Disney CEO’s alma mater). In his speech, encouraged the class to not be discouraged by the current social climate in America. He said, “Cultivate patience, and no matter what the odds, be optimistic. As I look towards your futures, I hope you too are optimistic, and I know that can be hard, especially given the state of our world and national discourse.”

Chapek went on to say, “Division is now the defining feature in our imperfect but extraordinary country.”

This isn’t the only time that the Disney CEO has mentioned divisiveness as a defining feature in America. During the Wall Street Journal Live Tech conference, he said, “We live in a world now where everything seems to be polarized.”

Who’s To Blame?

In the IU commencement speech, Chapek noted that social media may be partially to blame for the current state of the country. He said, “Social media gives everyone an outlet for expression, but somehow adding voices hasn’t expanded understanding. Rather, the national conversation has been twisted to further divide people, to send them to their separate corners, and to prevent us from finding common ground.”

Another issue he mentioned was a lack of optimism: “Cynicism is driving disengagement and most tragically suppressing the most critical of human traits: empathy.” 

With a rather bleak outlook on the current national climate, how does Chapek propose to fix the problem of division in America?

How Can Individuals Fix the Problem?

He acknowledged that a single major event likely won’t be the solution: “We can’t wait for some catalyst to shake us out of our national malaise, and after all, if a global pandemic didn’t do it, I’m not sure what else will.”

Instead, Chapek said that the solution will come when individuals find connections with the people in their lives. He said, “We — you — must will us out of it by finding common ground with each other, your neighbors, co-workers, and peers on social media and in the real world. Treat them with respect, and if they don’t reciprocate, smother them with kindness and empathy.”

He said that the connections that individuals build can “be built upon […] until finally once again we are a whole society.” In his closing remarks, Chapek said, “There’s still more that unites us than divides us. So go out and find those connection points and bring this world together. […] Grab hold of that connective thread and start pulling this country back to a healthy civic climate. We need a brighter, more optimistic, more inclusive national story. ”

However, these individual connections weren’t the only solution that Chapek proposed. He also suggested that Disney could be a strong unifying factor to bring Americans closer together.

Disney’s Role In the Solution

In the commencement speech, Chapek noted that Disney can often be a connection point to bring people closer together. He said, “We believe in acceptance, and we believe in a welcoming spirit. And when guests walk through our gates, the points of division just seem to evaporate away.”

Chapek said that the reason people feel connected to and through Disney is “because of the stories” that Disney tells. Those stories “connect on a deep, emotional level.” He went on to say, “The fact that we can tell stories that resonate across political, geographic, economic, and seemingly every other division out there gives me hope about our dilemma.”

Later, during the WSJ Live Tech conference, Chapek was asked about accusations that Disney is “too woke.” In response, he said, “I think the more complex something is, the more you have to really drill down into the basics, and we want our content to reflect the rich, diverse world that we live in.”

Chapek said that creators at Disney see the situation in the same way — they want Disney to be a unifying force, and they believe that this can be accomplished through the stories that Disney tells: “We want Disney to stand for bringing people together and I think we’ll do that by diverse stories and diverse characters.”

How Disney Is Working To Become More Inclusive

Disney has been actively working towards inclusion as a foundational value for a few years now. In 2020, the company added the fifth key of inclusion to its set of core values. During the announcement of this addition, Josh D’Amaro spoke on behalf of the company and said, “We believe that a truly inclusive environment is critical to fostering ideas from all people to help us grow, innovate, and create the best stories possible. Inclusion would not only serve as its own key, but it will be incorporated into all the other four keys.”

Disney also promised to deepen its commitment to historically black colleges to open up more opportunities to diverse Cast Members in its parks and experiences, as well as businesses and finances.

We’ve seen examples of inclusivity inside the Creations Shop in EPCOT, which has mannequins in wheelchairs and with cochlear implants (devices worn by some deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals to aid with sound).

Although Disney was criticized for not responding quickly to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law (commonly called the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics), the company did speak out against it once it was signed into law. Their statement read, “Florida’s HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law.” They further stated that Disney’s goal as a company was “for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts,” and they would “remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to achieve that.”

In Pixar’s recent film Lightyear, a scene involving a kiss between a same-sex couple was reportedly going to be cut from the film but was later reinstated. The film’s producer said, “We’re not going to cut out anything, especially something as important as the loving and inspirational relationship that shows Buzz what he’s missing by the choices that he’s making, so that’s not getting cut,” according to Yahoo! News.

This scene caused the film to be banned in some countries, and it wasn’t the first Disey movie to be banned due to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ representation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was banned in many Gulf countries, as was Marvel’s Eternals and West Side Story, among others.

The upcoming film Strange World will feature Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first openly gay teen character, Ethan Clade. According to Variety, “The animated feature introduces viewers to Ethan Clade, a biracial, openly gay teenager who gets completely tongue-tied when he’s near his crush, Diazo.”

Jaboukie Young-White, who voices Ethan, said, “I thought that it was pretty cool, just in the fact that Don and Qui, the creators, really have a commitment to just reflecting what our world looks like and what reality looks like, in a way that isn’t heavy-handed or forced. It’s kind of just the way it is.”

Disney has been working towards greater inclusion, and it sounds like this progress is expected to continue in the future. Chapek said, “When someone walks down Main Street and you look at the Castle, you’re not thinking, you know, I’m on one side of the political spectrum or the other, you have a shared belief in all the wonderful aspects of what Disney is.” While it may not solve all the problems with the social climate in America, Disney can at least be a safe place where a diverse group of people can be unified through a love of stories that represent a variety of voices and experiences.

Want to learn more about what Disney CEO Bob Chapek has said recently? Check out these posts:

• Disney CEO Bob Chapek Says, “We Probably Ought To Listen to Our Audience.”
• Disney CEO Bob Chapek Says He’s “Not Sure It’s Possible” to Make Everyone Happy
• How CEO Bob Chapek Plans To Turn Disney Into the Ultimate Experiential Lifestyle Brand
• CEO Bob Chapek Was Asked if Disney Is “Too Woke.” Here’s What He Said.
• Why CEO Bob Chapek Wants Disney To Avoid “the M-Word.”
• Disney CEO Bob Chapek Will “Start Balancing” Who Is Let Into the Theme Parks
• CEO Bob Chapek Reveals Who’s REALLY In Control of Disney

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How do you think Disney can help heal division in America? Let us know in the comments.