What do Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, The X-men, and Toy Story all have in common? They’re all owned by the same company.
Although not yet official, it has been reported that Disney will Buy Marvel for the amount of 4 billion dollars, and is expected to be a done deal by the end of the year – marking yet another major company now owned by Disney. And the big question on everyone’s mind is why? When one major company buys another it’s pretty obvious that they see nothing but dollar signs. In Disney’s case, the 4 billion dollars is a small price to pay to have a company like Marvel, which will pay for itself in the long run.
What many students on campus seem to think is that Disney is making a power move to further their own corporate revenue, a move that some students referred to as “feeding the soulless monster”.
This alone has already given many people a negative outlook on the whole situation. Some are fearful that this will just create unwanted change, and others just feel like the two cannot co-exist because of the simple fact that they seem to be polar opposites.
Sharing this opinion are many others who believe that Disney sees this as just another business transaction and nothing more. From Disney’s point of view, it’s pretty obvious that their main focus is reaching out to new audiences. What the Disney Company is trying to do is appeal to the male demographic that it continues to lack, to further expand their influence in media. This is nothing new to Disney and is something that I find not at all surprising.
Having nailed down that family based, wholesome entertainment persona over the years, stepping over to a new genre was only a matter a time. It wasn’t too long ago that Disney introduced a new idea of introducing a Disney-based Role Playing video game which would come to be known as the Kingdom Hearts series. Definitely a new concept that Disney had to work with, but nonetheless it turned out to be a relatively successful venture. Disney’s strategy of buying Marvel for the male demographic is one that is not uncommon. Just last year something was done very similar to this in the 2008 presidential election, where Republican Nominee John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate to get support from the disenfranchised Hillary voters.
And if that taught us anything, it’s that in the end it all boils down to how this appeals to the public eye. From here on out, the Disney Marvel buy out can go either way depending on how they maintain their image. Admittedly there IS a small chance that Disney will only use Marvel as the proverbial ‘bait on a hook’ to lure a larger demographic over to their side. But at the same time it seems very unlikely that Disney would shell out 4 billion dollars for a mega company, only to not force their own influence upon it. Taking in consideration all the facts, one must wonder why would Disney risk something that might not even work? The obvious answer is they have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The wide majority of students interviewed, almost every single one, agreed that in the long run the only one who is going to benefit from this “business transaction” is Disney, and everyone else will fall by the waste side.
The ones who believe that this deal between Disney and Marvel will end up being a one-sided victory are generally also the ones who believe that the ‘imagery’ of this alone will ultimately spell disaster for Marvel; they believe that Marvel selling themselves to Disney shows weakness on their part and shows how Disney has the upper hand.
Even hard-core Marvel fans like students Daniel Marasigan and Adrian Rivera, who strongly believe that this whole ordeal is an abomination to human society, believe that if any good comes of this – however unlikely – will most likely go in favor of Disney, who will squeeze Marvel for all their worth. There are still some, however, who remain optimistic and believe this mega deal between these two companies will end up strengthening both of their fan bases. These steel willed individuals have faith that both Disney and Marvel will conduct themselves properly, and are smart enough that they wouldn’t make changes too dramatic – to the point where even the most devoted of fans are turned away from either company.
Then there are students like David Carcamo of Puente who believes that Marvel wouldn’t sell itself if it wasn’t sure they would be in good hands, both financially and image wise, adding that “this change is a new chapter in the life of both companies and although this is good for Disney (the new fan base) it is also good for Marvel, who could very well get a new demographic as well. In a perfect world, both Disney and Marvel will end up working together as partners for the sole benefit of staying true to what made them who they are in the first place. They will take steps to make sure that both companies combine their resources for the sake of the billions of fans who made them who they are today – but seeing as this ISN’T a Disney movie, the typical happy ending doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.
