The Kenblog: Gina Carano’s Exit From “The Mandalorian” Is More About The Money Then Anything Else!

Now I’m not here to agree or disagree with Carano’s posts. In point of fact her ideology and mine don’t mix at all. That isn’t the point. The interesting thing here is the reaction by both her employers and fans alike, with those supporting Carano going as far as to cancel their memberships to Disney+ in protest to what they believe is a prime example of “cancel culture.” Her employers seem to believe that her statements were so egregious that they warranted her immediate firing.

So who’s right?

Unfortunately both parties’ actions in this day and age are both understandable and completely out of touch with reality at the same time. My friend Pat Walsh and I are often at odds when it comes to are political beliefs (he leans right and I’m more left of center) but I can disagree with him without blocking him as a Facebook friend or trying to get him fired whenever he says something on the air with which I do not agree. The actions around Carano and others in the entertainment industry, in my humble opinion, have little to do with actual social change and more with the money these companies stand to lose from either subscribers, advertisers, and investors if they don’t appear to be “inclusive” or “sensitive” enough. It’s all about the money, folks!

Companies like Disney and others have been promoting diversity more than ever in recent months, but it all comes down to the all mighty dollar. It’s good business to engage in what is historically relevant public relations as good perception helps build a brand. It’s been this way for decades with smart companies. Whether or not Disney and others actually believe the hype is irrelevant: the appearance of being a socially conscious company is the most important aspect here.

Now Carano has released a defiant statement saying that she’s proud of standing up to the establishment and that she feels free of the “totalitarian mob” among other things, leading one to believe she had an idea of the possible consequences of her actions. Reports is that she’s teaming on a film project with conservative web host Ben Shapiro. If that’s what she was going for all along then good for her.

However, if any of this came as a surprise to Miss Carano then how stupid can you get? Carano had a chance to become not just an actress but an icon. Her role as Cara Dune on the Mandalorian was popular enough to warrant a possible spinoff series. All of that torpedoed for a series of Instagram videos. In this climate I think it’s shortsighted not to anticipate a reaction, especially for one of the most image-concious entertainment companies in the world. (Come on, this is the company that, due to a few complaints, stopped their tour guides from shooting at animatronic hippos on the Jungle Cruise!)

That said it seems that Disney, were they serious about social change, might have de-escalated the situation by taking her aside and discussing her opinions and possible outlets for said opinions not involving social media rather than dropping her like a bad habit. The fact that they cut bait with her so quickly indicates that Disney was more interested in protecting their asses rather than actually being agents of change.

Which gets me to my final point. What the hell happened to polite and civil discourse? Everyone is stepping all over each other to get their opinions out into the social media blogosphere without think about whether or not their opinions matter. Just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should say something. Disagreeing without trying to ruin the individual with whom you’re disagreeing has becoming something of a lost art. With all the communication tools we have we seem to have lost the feel for, you know. . . communicating! In this culture of vindictiveness for the sake of advancement there has to be a change in tone. “Cancel culture” seems to be a popular sport on both sides of the political aisle and practitioners of this occupation seem to think that everyone should come out of the womb fully formed and perfect in every way. The trouble is that everyone makes mistakes. . .it’s the way we learn as a species. Failure is the only way to find out what you need to do to improve. If we condemn everyone for past mistakes then we risk not having anyone take any risks at all for fear of being excommunicated by those who think they know better. Think about the people first instead of the money and I think we’ll get along a whole lot better! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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