Murder, She Wrote

Murder, She Wrote!

November 17, 2020

If you didn't watch Season 2, Episode 2 of The Mandalorian, and haven't seen the literal uproar that it caused, we'll sit here and wait while you do. Done? WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Disney's popular Star Wars show caused a huge backlash on social media the likes of which we haven't seen since, well, the last Star Wars movie. Ok, admittedly that's not that long ago. However, this raises some serious questions about the nature of content Disney is willing to produce, and whether the family-friendly streamer is going to keep pushing into controversy with Disney+ content.

Streamer's Spotlight: Will Disney+ Keep Diving into Controversy?

It's safe to say that Disney took a huge risk by turning the much-beloved Baby Yoda (officially known as The Child) into a murderer. As Wired writer Emma Gray Ellis wrote last week, "

All Baby Yoda Does is Coo and Destroy Things

." Her article's subhead goes on to state, "It's time to face it: The Child has taken a dark turn."

This raises some questions about Disney+, in general, and its parent company's plans for the service. Disney+ was launched as a family-friendly service. Morally ambiguous

pseudo-genocide for laughs

is certainly anything but family-friendly. Will Disney continue on this route?

The Mandalorian's Age Rating Is Appropriate for the Content

So what is a parent to do when Disney+ starts having a beloved character like Baby Yoda engage in acts that raise huge moral red flags? One Lucasfilm executive claims that The Child's egg consumption was

intentionally disturbing

. But it also took many people by surprise. Millions were likely watching the episode with kids well under the show's age rating. And it probably left some kids more than a bit disturbed by what they saw.

Here's a bit of a defense of what Disney did with Baby Yoda. The age rating for The Mandalorian is TV-14. The show's rating is mostly due to the violence (lacking blood, as is common with

Star Wars

). And Baby Yoda's actions certainly aren't more excessive than a TV-14 rating.

But it does offer a reminder. Regardless of what content Disney shows, parents need to be aware of age ratings on content. Disney was certainly within its right to show content that fits within a TV-14 age rating. And that's what it did. And it will likely keep doing that with The Mandalorian and other shows it has in the pipeline. Although, given the reaction, the company may think twice about turning Baby Yoda into even more of a questionable villain.

Disney Is Mulling R-Rated Content for Disney+

The original premise of Disney+ was a place to bring your whole family, without worries about adult-oriented content. However, the Disney authority side Inside The Magic reported in August of this year that the company was mulling

adding R-rated content

to the service, alongside adult filters for content.

Such a move would completely change the dynamic of the service and stand in contradiction to the direction it's emphasized in its ad campaigns. We should note, however, and this is important:

Disney has never claimed that Disney+ would always be family-friendly.

Nor has its ad language for the service ever said anything about "for kids" or explicitly stated that it is for kids and families. But the content direction and imagery certainly suggest that.

Disney hasn't made any moves as of yet to add R-rated content. People's reactions to Baby Yoda may be self-contained to show, and not their feelings about Disney+ as a whole. But Disney has so far proven that it doesn't need R-rated content on Disney+ to bring in subscribers. Pushing in that direction, both with existing shows and future content may only alienate some of its subscribers.

It'll certainly be interesting to see what Disney plans to do on that end. Until then, let's hope the company redeems Baby Yoda's good name.