By Nick Marx
As fanfare blares, female sprinters at the starting line suspiciously eye a man in a wig. A hulking, goateed wrestler slams a woman half his size to the mat. An ominous voice-over intones that women’s sports are being “trans-formed.”
No, this isn’t the beginning of a classic cross-dressing comedy. It’s the trailer for “Lady Ballers,” a new right-wing movie that farcically depicts cisgendered men claiming to be women in order to dominate women’s sports.
At first glance, it’s easy to dismiss the movie as yet another example of the meme that conservatives only have one joke, repeated ad nauseam, mocking liberal views on gender identity.
But my own research has explored the vast network of conservative comedy that bolsters right-wing political efforts.
Now, in addition to comedy, U.S. conservatives are using action films, dramas and even kids’ cartoons to build their own alternative entertainment industry, one shielded from the alleged liberal biases of Hollywood.
The most prominent recent efforts are two streaming entertainment platforms from right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro and “Lady Ballers” star Jeremy Boreing.
DailyWire+ offers documentaries, Westerns and faith-based fantasy series. Its companion streaming platform, Bentkey, which launched in October 2023, specializes in children’s programming.
To be sure, these streamers have miles to go before challenging Netflix and Disney+. But by strategically targeting their politically engaged audiences, the platforms have been successful – and could have more staying power than prior attempts at making music and movies for conservatives.
Swings, misses – and a few hits
U.S. conservatives have successfully launched and steered a number of news outlets. They have a spottier record when it comes to entertainment, whether it’s feature films, pop songs or kids’ shows.
In 2013, former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum became the CEO of EchoLight Studios, which produced several faith-based films in the 2010s. Similarly, the pundit and documentary filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza has had a few modest box office hits centered on right-wing conspiracy theories. These efforts saw limited success because their niche political appeal was mismatched with theatrical movies’ wide distribution.
Other forms of conservative entertainment have briefly gone viral, before all but disappearing – perhaps because they’re too closely aligned with current events to have staying power. Kid Rock’s “We the People” bemoaned COVID-19 restrictions and “Bidenomics,” while Jason Aldean’s “Try That In a Small Town” tried to harness conservative resentment toward Black Lives Matter protests a few years too late.
One notable conservative entertainment hit is the 2023 thriller “The Sound of Freedom.” The movie’s surprise success had as much to do with its subject matter – child trafficking, which is catnip for right-wing conspiracists – as it did with its unique financing. The film’s producer, Angel Studios, used an equity crowdfunding model that gave 100,000 individual investors a say in creative and marketing decisions.
Then “The Sound of Freedom” used a “pay it forward” marketing scheme that encouraged the film’s fans to buy tickets for like-minded friends and family. Although Angel Studios won’t disclose how much revenue “pay it forward” generated, the movie has an overall gross of nearly US$250 million against a $14.5 million budget.
“The Sound of Freedom” allowed audiences literally to buy into the film’s success, which its marketing campaign equated with actively rejecting Hollywood’s liberal agenda. A similar dynamic informed the launch – and will likely determine the future – of DailyWire+ and Bentkey.
Packaging conservatism for kids
Shapiro is among the most vocal backers of Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis. Both are deeply hostile to LGBTQ+ rights. They’ve also routinely claimed that supporters of “woke gender ideology” like Disney are “grooming” children.
In late 2022, DailyWire+ surpassed 1 million subscribers by releasing programming that stoked these culture war concerns. Among the platform’s hits were right-wing commentator Matt Walsh’s anti-trans documentary “What Is A Woman?” and PragerU’s video shorts that advocate for conservative pet issues through sober, educational-sounding explainers. Then, of course, there are comedies like “Lady Ballers.”
Boreing has explicitly highlighted the disconnect between viewers’ politics and their entertainment options.
“[Americans are] tired of giving their money to woke media companies who want to indoctrinate their children with radical race and gender theory,” he told The Washington Post ahead of Bentkey’s recent launch.
Bentkey strives to directly counterprogram Disney with its own conservative family programming. “Chip Chilla,” for instance, is a fairly transparent rip-off of the Disney+-distributed hit “Bluey,” a cartoon about the hijinks of a family of Australian dogs.
The creators of “Chip Chilla” include “Saturday Night Live” alumnus-turned-anti-vaxxer Rob Schneider and Ethan Nicolle, the former creative director of the right-wing satire website The Babylon Bee.
The platform also aims to challenge Disney’s dominance in the princess realm. Bentkey’s forthcoming fantasy film “Snow White and The Evil Queen” stars the popular conservative YouTuber Brett Cooper and purports to emphasize the fairy tale’s traditional social values.
If politics is downstream from culture …
As media grapple with declining advertising revenue, DailyWire+ and Bentkey are betting that loyal, politically engaged subscribers will drive their growth.
Shapiro’s strategy aligns with that of X, which is backing into a subscription model as chairman Elon Musk’s impulsive tweets alienate advertisers.
In a move away from the ad-supported YouTube, Shapiro struck a deal with Musk for X to host The Daily Wire’s podcasts. Like Shapiro, Musk is a supporter of DeSantis, with X – then known as Twitter – infamously hosting the candidate’s disastrous campaign launch in May 2023.
Backed by this confluence of powerful right-wing voices, conservative entertainment can engage the Republican electorate in new ways. Liberals would do well not to dismiss its potentially galvanizing effects before the 2024 election.
The late right-wing muckraker Andrew Breitbart – a mentor of Shapiro – famously asserted that politics is downstream from culture.
If this is, in fact, the case, slapstick comedy and children’s animation just might buoy the next wave of conservative activism.
Nick Marx is Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies at Colorado State University.
The Conversation arose out of deep-seated concerns for the fading quality of our public discourse and recognition of the vital role that academic experts could play in the public arena. Information has always been essential to democracy. It’s a societal good, like clean water. But many now find it difficult to put their trust in the media and experts who have spent years researching a topic. Instead, they listen to those who have the loudest voices. Those uninformed views are amplified by social media networks that reward those who spark outrage instead of insight or thoughtful discussion. The Conversation seeks to be part of the solution to this problem, to raise up the voices of true experts and to make their knowledge available to everyone. The Conversation publishes nightly at 9 p.m. on FlaglerLive.
Marc Crane says
Great article showing albeit in knowingly alerting all that there is an alternative the left wing counter culture.
Disney has lost millions and as with Budweiser finally admitted their mistake of promoting this nonsensical messaging.
The left tried to change meanings and words like woke but the real world isn’t buying it.
Laurel says
1.) Go ahead, define “woke.”
2.) Please give us an actual, factual, financial report of both Disney and Budweiser.
These people are not “Conservatives,” not even close.
The movie name “Lady Ballers” is highly offensive, and I think their chances of such actions are slim.
Ed says
NY Post August 3 2023
“Anhueser -Bush profits in U.S. sinks nearly 30% after Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney fiasco”
CNN October 31 2023- Bud Light contributed to 29% decline in adjusted US earnings
Woke Disney tanks, loses nearly 1 billion so far this year- just google and multiple sources report
As for woke, what say you. You’ve asked several individuals over the past year.
Ps The word woke has been bastardized from the original meaning and expanded/adapted to insult. It has been high jacked and is used in the the wrong context more often than not.
Laurel says
Any stock, as you know, fluctuates. Do not think, for one moment, that DeSantis will be Disney’s demise, that would be delusional. My bet is that will be the other way around.
I did Google as you suggested:
All over, Walt Disney Co (The) currently is at a 179.91% uptick.
All over, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV – ADR, is currently at a 34.94% uptick.
Americans are not as enamored with hatred of the LBGTQ community as the far right would like to believe.
As for the definition of “woke”:
woke /wōk/
noun
Preterit and past participle of wake. A Middle English form of week.
imperative, past participle
Wake.
Similar: wake
The Century Dictionary • More at Wordnik
Ed says
Laurel you are confused. Disney annual revenues 2023 from 2022 are down over 25 percent. Buds revenues are also down.
You also failed to give your definition of woke or your understanding of the term.
I stand by my previous post
FlaglerLive says
Disney revenue was $67.4 billion in 2021, it rose 22.7 percent in 2022, to $82.7 billion, and rose 7.5 percent this year, to $88.9 billion.
Anheuser-Busch revenue was $46.9 billion in 2020, it rose 15.8 percent in 2021, to $54.3 billion, and rose 6.4 percent in 2022, to $57.8 billion. Revenue for the 12 months ending last September was $59.6 billion, a 3.9 percent increase.
Do not use this site to spread disinformation. Thanks.–FL
Ed says
May I point out that my original post referenced US not world wide. The discussion is the United States.
So it is not disinformation.
But I am not surprised by your willingness to spin it in a “woke”
Fashion. Shall we agree to disagree?
Laurel says
Ed: I do not have a personal definition of the word “woke.”
As you well know, African Americans have been pulled over, and sometimes shot, by law enforcement, unjustly. They came up with the word “woke” to mean to stay awake to this possibility; for them to be careful.
When approached by a seeker, and asked of Buddha, “Who are you? The Buddha responded “Tell them I am the one who woke up.”
It is the far right, and Bill Maher, who have used the word “woke” to mean anything liberal, anything far left, and anything that is convenient to make the left seem foolish. Their definition can mean anything they want at the time.
Ray W. says
While I am pleasantly surprised to see that Ed has begun to take a little more time to review a variety of materials prior to commenting, and while I do not disagree with Ed’s observation that Bud Light’s miniscule advertising foray into LBGTQ+ themes turned into a political mess for the parent company, I wondered how Ed could, with such certainty, link “woke” to Disney’s recent financial downturn. So I took Ed’s advice and decided to do a deeper dive into the issue.
Disney as a parent company, owns 24 different companies, including ESPN, Marvel and ABC, plus a relatively new streaming service. On March 12, 2021, the Disney conglomerate stock hit a five-year high of $$197.16. Today, it stands at $93.46. Given that the stock’s peak value occurred long before the “woke” issue was stolen by Republicans, I began checking on why it began dropping consistently 2 1/2 years ago.
Various reasons are given, depending on the source.
Marvel movies have bombed in recent years, with explanations hinging on the lack of original themes for that franchise. After all, there are only so many bankable themes for any movie franchise.
But the main reason given over and over again is that ABC’s streaming video effort, hailed in the beginning, has failed to reach subscriber goals. Disney hopes the effort will turn a profit in 2024, but that outcome is uncertain.
As for Disney World, yes, traffic is down 15% this year. Since Disney dramatically raised prices across the board last year for park services, it is expected that the loss in foot traffic will actually yield greater revenue, as the prices were raised more than 15% on average. One author wrote that during the pandemic, Disney took the opportunity to review every aspect of its theme park business. It was decided that Disney should pursue those patrons willing to spend greater amounts of money than try to keep foot traffic high. For example, while annual passes now cost much more, Disney no longer sells annual passes to new buyers; it allows only prior pass owners to renew the passes. Eventually, the annual passes will fade to zero. Disney determined that annual pass owners take up space but don’t spend much money; they just hang out with friends. Last week, Disney raised prices across the board once again. The goal is to have fewer visitors who are spending more money per person. This way, wait times for rides will drop and the overall visitor experience will be more positive.
Intrigued by the assertion that the main reason for the drop was the failure of ABC’s streaming effort to reach its goals, I looked to the two other major network television enterprises.
Paramount Global owns CBS; it too has a streaming service. On March 19, 2021, just one week after Disney’s stock hit its high, Paramount Global’s stock hit its five-year high of $97.35. Now, it stands at $16.27. Again, various sources report that the streaming service failed to reach expected goals and the stock has been on a slide ever since.
Comcast Corporation owns NBC, which debuted its own streaming service prior to the pandemic. On September 3, 2021, Comcast stock hit its five-year peak of $61.72. Today? $$44.48. Again, various articles reveal that the stock began to drop after Comcast reported that it had failed to hit its streaming service target numbers.
If each of the streaming services debuted by the three major network television companies have failed to reach viewership goals, and if each of the three company’s stocks dropped rapidly on the news, then is it possible to argue that the actual reason for Disney’s monetary losses is due to something other than “woke” posturing by Republican political leaders? If Disney really did decide to revamp its overall park experience by charging more in hopes of drawing fewer visitors, thereby improving the park experience for those who are willing to spend more money per person, then is it possible to argue that the actual reason for Disney’s anticipated gain in income from its parks due to fewer visitors is due to something other than “woke” political posturing by Republican leaders?
In a good/better/best, bad/worse/worst world, a good explanation must give way to a better explanation. There is a better, widely accepted, long-term explanation for Disney’s stock downturn that does not include “woke” in its calculus. Ed did offer an explanation that cannot be characterized as bad, and I am thankful for this turn of events. After all, his is right to point out that political grandstanding can affect a company’s bottom line. Just see Bud Light, for example. But that calculus doesn’t appear to apply to Disney. Ed’s is a good explanation, but it is not the best explanation, or even a better explanation. Ed can stand by his answer all he wants. It is less good than it could be, so if that is his goal, oh, well!
The goal should always be to follow reason to whatever end it take you. It should never be to contort reason to fit a predetermined outcome.
As I have repeatedly commented, I long for responsible, well-thought-out conservative views on this site. I repeatedly argue that the better the quality of comment by true conservative voices, the better the discussion. I decry the pestilential partisan member of faction who contorts reason to fit whatever partisan point they hope to make. It devalues the site and lessens the experience for everyone who reads the poorly thought-out views. I hope Ed can join that short list of conservative commenters who follow reason to whatever end it takes them. Ed is making an effort to improve the quality of his previously poorly thought-out comments. Keep it up. Get better. Work harder.
Sherry says
@marc. . . and, “you’ speak for the “real world”? Really? If you think that, you are an arrogant, completely deluded, “FOX/trump cult” member , because you don’t speak for the majority of the “still thinking” American people, and you sure as hell don’t think for me! Pathetic!