Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,
I was recently watching a video by some of my favorite movie commentators in which they were lamenting the apparent death of the movie theater business. They cited a long list of recent blockbuster bombs with some confusion as to why so many films were failing. In particular, they had predicted the film ‘Furiosa’ (a feminist bait and switch movie designed to replace the more popular male Mad Max character) would do relatively well.
Yet, the movie bit the dust in epic fashion. They were bewildered as to why this occurred.
They posited numerous social and economic theories trying to explain why so many big budget bonanzas were losing money. They of course suggested that the covid event might have pushed people to adjust to streaming services as the better option. They noted that theaters can be more frustrating because of loud customers. They tried to apply some economic theories to the situation (these theories were overly simplistic and painful, but these guys aren’t economists so I gave them a pass).
However, when the concept of the culture war was briefly broached, they dismissed it immediately.
They acted as if it wasn’t a part of the equation at all; a mere fringe element of “click baiters” trying to make something out of nothing. The idea that people are boycotting Hollywood on principle was too much for these film critics to handle. And, I have to say, the level of delusion required to ignore the effects of the culture war is mind boggling to me. If you don’t understand the culture war, then you don’t understand a thing that’s happening in America (and many parts of Europe) today.
People Oblivious To The Importance Of The Culture War
I realize that there are people out there that refuse to engage in anything political. Some of them don’t like to involve themselves in conflict of any kind. Others see themselves as “above it all” and superior to anyone that spends time on politics, social issues or “conspiracy theories.” This seems more like a coping mechanism for those that don’t grasp the complicated nature of civil division.
Yes, it’s easier to turn a blind eye to what’s happening and pretend like the chaos is random, but the fact is that our civilization is changing and breaking apart rapidly and this is by design. EVERYONE will be affected by these conditions and consequences whether they believe in the culture war or not.
The world of film might be seen as frivolous to a lot of conservatives out there, but it has always fascinated me because it’s a perfect window into cultural conflicts. Film is supposed to be an expression of modern day mythology, but it can also be a look into ideological influences behind the curtain. It’s often used as a vehicle for establishment propaganda.
The utter failure of Disney’s efforts to force woke cultism into Star Wars is a good example. Their latest series, The Acolyte, is perhaps the worst performing Star Wars production of all time. The show has been described as “morally relative lesbian witches in space” and a DEI propaganda disaster.
The response from Disney and the media? Blame the audience, the consumers, instead of admitting they created a bad product that no one wants. They say you should want to watch it. If you don’t, then there’s something wrong with YOU.
The Communistic Erasure Of Consumer Choice
It’s not only about movies. Nearly every major corporation has engaged in woke warfare since around 2016 and they have been relentless in their mission to make far-left extremism the dominant ideology in the western world. Even to the point that they are willing to lose a massive portion of their customer base in the process (Bud Light is a great example of this).
The corporate insurgency against consumers is never more obvious than it is in June, unilaterally declared “Pride Month” by an army of international companies and non-profit organizations. Make no mistake, “Pride” is not a grassroots endeavor or a redress of grievances. The LGBT community has no legitimate grievances and they have the same exact rights under the law as everyone else. Pride month is not about equality, it’s about power and cultural control.
DEI is the same; a corporate effort to inject woke politics into daily life for workers as well as consumers until the rhetoric is so ingrained into everyone’s existence that they no longer question its legitimacy.
Almost no one asked for pride month. Almost no one asked for DEI. Most people just don’t care. Yet, every year for the past several years corporations and elements of government have foisted these ideas on the population and told us this is something we will have to embrace if we want to be considered “good people.”
It is this argument which I want to focus on – The idea that corporations are now dictating morality to the public as if they are the arbiters of our social norms.
Corporations Treating Consumers As Indentured Servants
At some point along the way (it’s hard to determine exactly when) corporations took on a new mantra, a new way of looking at business. These companies have always sought to influence people to buy products, often through dishonest and manipulative marketing. That’s not what I’m talking about.
In our new era corporations have decided that products no longer have to appeal to the buyers. They’re no longer beholden to the customer, the customer is beholden to them. In other words, if they put out a product with woke intent then the customer must buy that product and love it unconditionally or that customer is labeled an enemy.
This is a grotesque juxtaposition of the traditional business/consumer relationship. I have long argued that corporations are not free market entities but socialist constructs chartered and protected by governments. However, they used to at least care about making consumers happy so that they could make a profit and continue to function. This is no longer the case.
Today, corporations treat consumers as slaves on a plantation. They are to be told what to eat, what to drink, what to love, what to hate and what to think. Just look at what happens when consumers have push back against woke ideology or DEI in corporate marketing; in almost every case that company along with the establishment media ATTACK their customers as racists, bigots, misogynists or fascists.
They’ll argue that if a group of customers doesn’t like a product because of the political messaging, then they don’t want those people as customers. They proudly point those people to the door. Then, when their products fail and their sales implode, they once again blame the “bigots and racists.”
The Real Reason Why Corporations Don’t Care Anymore?
Of course, everyone’s first instinct would be to point out that these companies are self destructing. You can’t treat the majority of your buyers like contagious lepers and expect to continue bringing in profits. Eventually, these corporations will die. That said, I would like to suggest three alternative theories…
Theory #1: I have talked a lot in the past about ESG and how it failed as a tool for consolidating power. Globalists, through groups like the Council For Inclusive Capitalism, thought they could unify corporations under the ESG lending umbrella and then use them as an influence-monopoly to pressure the public to submit to woke ideals. This public resisted this program and exposed the agenda.
But, what if ESG was just a beta test? What if the real goal is to go full communist – Making governments and central banks the primary source of ESG funding.
In other words, what if these corporations know something we don’t and they expect governments to eventually step in and save them with a perpetual woke bailout? Any company that toes the line when it comes to progressive politics gets saved. Any company that doesn’t is allowed to collapse.
Theory #2: What if major corporations are acting like they don’t need to satisfy consumers because corporate leaders have been told that the system is going to break down in the near term? What if they’ve abandoned their mandate to pursue profits and have become propaganda peddlers because they know profits don’t matter anymore?
If the economy is about to suffer a Great Depression-like destabilization (or something worse), then this might explain why corporate CEOs have allowed their products and public relationships to derail.
Theory #3: Then there is the possibility that the concept of the customer as an indentured servant to the corporation is a median step towards an Orwellian future – The idea of the “Sharing Economy” promoted by the World Economic Forum. What if the habit of trying to shame consumers into accepting whatever product they get is meant to acclimate the populace to a culture in which free market choice completely disappears?
In the Sharing Economy (built around a cashless society) government provides everything while you own nothing. The principle of private property evaporates. In this kind of environment the public would have to settle for whatever food they are given, whatever housing they are given, whatever tools they are given, whatever job they are given, whatever entertainment they are given, etc.
The End Game
When people are “given” something the expectation is that they are supposed to be grateful for it no matter what it is. That is to say, the Sharing Economy would breed a slave mentality in which everyone must be happy with what little they have. If they complain, well, they’re ungrateful little monsters that need to be dealt with, right?
This is how the corporate world is treating the public RIGHT NOW. Imagine what things will be like in the next decade if we allow this trend to continue? Corporations can’t force us to buy their DEI garbage today, but what if tomorrow governments give them that power? What if they become the only suppliers?
This is what the culture war is really all about. There are people who want to embrace the dystopian system (mostly leftists) and people who see this system for the evil it truly is. There are people who want to perpetuate the woke cult, and people who are boycotting it. The skeptics who remain ignorant of this war don’t matter; they are flotsam bobbing aimlessly on the tides of history. They don’t care about it now, but they will care in the near future when their freedom of choice disappears completely.
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