Movies and television shows nowadays seem to be lacking the gravitas that they used to. Even in recent history, you watched as Disney took the Marvel franchise from an unstoppable cinematic powerhouse worth billions to an unfunny joke I couldn’t be paid to sit down to watch.

I’m not alone in that, according to the numbers Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania limped to the barn with.

A lot of this is thanks to the absolutely horrendous writing that’s been foisted upon the public by major corporations like Disney, Amazon, and Netflix. Shows such as the Cowboy Beebop live-action remake, the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power disaster, and pretty much anything new on Disney+ (except Bluey) are all indicators that the ability to write shows that are impactful and interesting have taken a back seat to political virtue signaling and social commentary.

The franchises and characters you grew up loving are now just delivery systems for self-important showrunners who not only think they’re somehow superior enough to you to preach their lifestyles at you but also proved to absolutely despise you as well.

Then there’s the creative bankruptcy that goes along with it.

Original Disney movies are a rarity now and when they do come out, they’re largely ignored thanks to the aforementioned politics. Now the strategy is to “remake” and “reboot” old Disney classics with live-action (or intense CGI) remakes that don’t nearly live up to the charm and magic of the original.

A video from YouTuber Yellow Flash pointed this out recently. He’s been covering the reaction to the remake of The Little Mermaid, where more changes have occurred other than Ariel’s race swap. Now, Prince Eric is apparently a bystander in Ariel’s story and no longer responsible for ramming his ship into the villain, Ursula. Needless to say, the reaction to the trailer alone has been disastrous for Disney.

But this is a consistent pattern now. None of these reboots are doing any favors. They’re just praying on nostalgia, inserting personal politics, garnering what cash they can, and then moving on to the next property to molest and corrupt.

How does this keep happening?

Not that long ago, even Hollywood had a meritocracy. It’s pretty clear that this isn’t the case any longer. While we will get the absolute banger of a movie or show from time to time, these are few and far between. For every Top Gun: Maverick we’re going to get at least five or six Quantumania equivalents. For every Terminal List, we’re going to get a handful of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law caliber shows.

The simple reason this is happening is that in today’s entertainment space, talent and proven ability no longer matter. What matters is if you’re accepted.

If tomorrow, someone came to Disney with a plan that would turn the burning franchise around with dynamic storytelling, fascinating characters, and truly powerful plotlines, Kathleen Kennedy and Disney would shrug it off. While it might have value to the brand, it has no value to the agenda and the agenda is really all that matters.

The value of the prospective showrunner isn’t “Are you good at your job,” it’s “Do you agree with the socio-political agenda we’re trying to push?” If yes, then you don’t really have to have any real credit under your name, you’re given the reigns of a major property.

It’s like handing a 10-year-old the keys to a Bugatti. They have no idea how to drive it, and they don’t care how valuable it is. What matters is that they look cool to their friends and they can rub it in the faces of people they don’t like. By the time they’re done with it, it’s going to be totaled.

In fact, if you listen to people like Jessica Gao, the head writer for Disney/Marvel’s disastrous She-Hulk: Attorney at Law speak, the show was written with the people they hate well in mind. The show was effectively a reaction to a response that hadn’t even occurred yet. Nerdrotic had an excellent breakdown of this in the video below.

This isn’t creating entertainment on the basis of creating art, it’s done on the basis of message-first writing mixed with a massive dose of spite. No talented artist worth their salt, who truly has something in their spirit that drives them to create something grand and awe-inspiring, would create something based on shallow principles and political goals.

But do you know who would take the job? Angry, bitter people who are far more interested in self-inserts, normalization of their radical politics, and spiteful destruction of beloved properties to get back at those whom they consider their enemies. These aren’t artists, they’re activists.

This isn’t art, it’s obvious propaganda with a fat budget, but all you have to do to get the job is to agree with it.