With the purchase of Warner Bros by Paramount, controversies surrounding how much each major company owns and what they can do with those acquisitions have been at the forefront of the merger. Currently, five major companies—Comcast, Disney, Paramount, Skydance, Sony, and Amazon—hold the most power and influence within the world of media. These companies own both political and entertainment-based brands, creating what is essentially a monopoly on all types of media. Disney owns National Geographic, Hulu, Pixar, ESPN, etc. — wildly popular services that generate an enormous amount of revenue that enables them to then be able to buy more companies and continue to grow their streaming empire.
In the ideal version of capitalism, companies would be in competition with one another; a constant race to one-up their competitor with the newest innovation in cinema or the next big news anchor. When other companies turn to buying out the competition, the spark is lost. Instead of the corporations fighting for our time and viewership, we’re left trying to fight for ourselves. The viewer is left with the best idea one company has come up with when it distributes that ‘plan’ to all its umbrella companies, leaving the consumer with a bunch of vaguely similar products. Monopolies may seem like someone is simply ‘winning’ at capitalism; they control the means of production, therefore controlling the competition. However, we historically see a decrease in wages, prices rise, and the 1% thrives, leaving the laborers and working classes to scramble for their livelihood.
This may not seem like a big deal in the grand scheme of things; why worry about who is creating the newest hit children’s animated movie or the newest Star Wars? Disney has increasingly shown that it is bad at reviving the magic of these nostalgic films, instead making them feel more like brands than actual interests. But more broadly, the monopolization of the media can quickly snowball into a dictatorship of ideas. If every new Disney movie were to push for traditional family values, as they very often do, those values would become more implemented into our culture, and the less other values would be acknowledged. Without exposure to other means of living, those less familiar to us become weird and odd. Think of the Buzz Lightyear movie, when there was one hint at an openly gay character – who was not a part of the main cast – there was immediate backlash from viewers claiming Disney was corrupting children with inappropriate content. And when other cultures and lifestyles are portrayed, they are often chock full of stereotypes that reduce complex people to perceived views of what they should be or how they should act. Through this limited worldview, we begin to associate these archetypes with actual people, strengthening the walls of bias and difference between each other, even if only on a subconscious level.
The media has always been used both as a reflection of our culture and as a means of moving forward. When Star Trek cast Nichelle Nicholas as Lt. Uhura, she became one of the first black women to be in a leading role on TV. Her performances enamored her fans and were even applauded by Martin Luther King Jr. for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. She opened the gates for other black actors to rise to fame, signifying a new era of inclusivity and hope for the future. A direct reflection of the Civil Rights Movement of the time, pushing for more integration and inclusion. This is seen even today throughout our entertainment industry: Taylor Swift’s eras have changed from mirroring specific values of rebellion in the early 2000s to ideas of subservience now, and Stranger Things is a yearning for simpler times. Consumers see these and feel affirmed in their values, or, on the other hand, challenged and begin to either reject it. More commonly, they’ll adjust to what the new standard is.
Pop culture is not only an integral part of our society, but it can be used by governments to influence the common man. During WWII, Superman was shown in comics beating up Nazis and selling war bonds along with other popular heroes such as Batman and Robin, increasing the purchase rate of war bonds and the prevalence of pro-capitalism ideology, all of which were commissioned by the US government. Situations like these happen often: governments want to influence their population, and so they have the popular figures of the time to push their propaganda, good and bad. The iconic ‘We Want You’ posters of Uncle Sam being used to recruit soldiers for WWI have transformed into threats to news stations from the government and biased channels.
When authoritarian governments take power, one of the first things they aim to control is the press and media; once the latter is controlled, ideologies and propaganda can spread throughout everyday life. This happened in WWII Germany, although to a much higher degree, with specific departments for propaganda and press control. Hitler attempted to control the press rather than just get rid of it. His journalists had to sign an agreement of compliance with guidelines on what could and could not be covered, effectively restricting media coverage and the spread of progressive ideas.
This is much easier to do when the same people own all the popular characters and channels. Instead of having to coerce a bunch of corporations into compliance, a government only needs to convince one. Easy enough, just threaten to sue them. The BBC is currently facing a $10 million lawsuit over the defamation of President Trump’s character. And he’s done this before. When he won the election in 2024 ABC (owned by Disney) promised to donate $15 million to his presidential library if he dropped the defamation lawsuit. Which he accepted, and ABC — and Disney — were promptly scared into disobeying their journalistic integrity. CBS and The Des Moines Register have also been victims to this cycle of litigation.
Monopolies are not a new thing, and unless stricter laws and regulations are put in place, they will continue to be prevalent in the world of capitalism. But we, as viewers, don’t need to sit back and watch as our information is censored and the value of entertainment decreases; we can boycott specific companies that have been coerced into silence through lawsuits, or urge our congressmen and senators to regulate the amount of power singular corporations can have.
