For Real Life?
We All Live in the MAGA Cinematic Universe. Or else.
When I saw the news that ABC had taken Jimmy Kimmel off the air, my first thought wasn’t about censorship or fascism. It was directly tied to my family’s self-interest: Oh crap, what are we going to do about Bluey?
Bluey, an Australian cartoon, is the most-watched TV show on any streaming platform in the US – even though new episodes haven’t come out in over a year. More than a TV show, Bluey is a juggernaut, beloved by both children and their parents. Currently, the easiest way to stream Bluey in the US is via Disney+.
Disney also owns ABC and, on Wednesday, caved to the Trump Regime, suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel indefinitely. Ostensibly, the reason was Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk, but the truth is that Trump has been calling for Kimmel’s removal for years. Trump has been open about his desire to see every broadcast network host of a late-night show fired, and took an immediate victory lap after the Kimmel news, promising that NBC’s Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon would be next on the chopping block.
Since Disney has opted to join the growing list of media conglomerates capitulating to the Trump regime, my family has opted to cancel our subscriptions to Disney+ and its sister platform Hulu. We’re not the only ones. When I posted on Bluesky about Bluey this morning, other parents chimed in about doing the same thing. Finding alternatives for streaming Bluey and other movies and programs their kids watch has also been a central topic of discussion in a couple of my group chats with other parents. (Pro tip: If you have any used DVDs of Disney movies you’ve been meaning to sell or give away, now would probably be a good time to get rid of them.)
Canceling subscriptions may feel like a small action to take, but it’s something we can control in a sea of things we can’t. I was more than happy to add Disney to the list of capitulating media companies I’ve opted to unsubscribe from.
We know the stakes. Trump supporters choose to live in an alternate reality: The MAGA Cinematic Universe. They’re now demanding the rest of us exist in their reality too. And they’re willing to force us by any means necessary. They don’t want freedom to live their lives as they see fit, but the ability to compel the rest of us to live our lives as they see fit. They want the right to say and do whatever they please without consequence, and they also want the ability to punish us for speaking or even thinking differently.
Trumpism is a devotion to power and enshrining it for the few. In Trump’s second term, we’re getting a raw, unvarnished view of just how much power he and his cronies want over our lives, down to what version of the American story is told in our schools and museums, what’s broadcast over our airwaves, and what the social media algorithms show us. That’s in addition to the rights and freedoms being taken away, and what little social safety net Americans had in the first place being dismantled piece by piece.
And yet, as we know, plenty of influential people and institutions who should know better are bending the knee to Trump, some because they fear him or believe they can ride it out unscathed. Others, because they agree with him, or because they see the value in upholding a system where they maintain their status. These are the people who see Zohran Mamdani and progressive groups as a bigger threat than Trump and his fascism. They're afraid of losing their power and influence more than their rights and freedoms. It’s a calculation that assumes they won’t actually lose those rights and freedoms. Not a correct or safe assumption, but still the choice they’ve made.
Meanwhile, those of us who don’t subscribe to this worldview aren’t always comfortable with power and how to wield it. I know from years of leading political and advocacy trainings, especially from my time at the now-defunct New Organizing Institute, how uncomfortable the idea of power can be. I think this is why some organizing strategies like non-cooperation and mass direct action have been slower to take hold as ways to defy Trump. And why we’re still not comfortable with stating the obvious: Trump must be removed from office.
Canceling your Disney+ subscription alone obviously won’t be enough to make that happen. It might not even be enough to return Jimmy Kimmel to the airwaves. Consider it a building block, a gateway, a first step on moving someone who is concerned about the Trump regime but isn’t yet politically active up the ladder of engagement. It’s also a way to talk to your kids and other people in your life about why you’re making these choices and sacrifices.
Building collective power and wielding it is a daunting task, especially when you consider that we’re up against the Trump regime, its enablers, the capitulators, and a Democratic minority in Congress who still aren’t meeting the moment. But if we want to defy Trump, if we have any hope of creating a better America down the road, it’s a necessity.
I’ve compiled a few of my favorite resources on organizing and power that I always find helpful:
Protect Democracy’s website has a myriad of guides and resources.
Two of my favorites are How You Can Protect Democracy and Authoritarianism Explained.
Anything from Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa.
Her most recent interview with Jon Stewart from just this week explains how America got here and how to fight back.
Anything from Marshall Ganz and his organizing curriculum.
Read Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals or at least an online refresher of them.
Indivisible had a series of three training calls on how to “build a force bigger than fear.” The first call was a helpful explainer on what we know works from other nations, as well as tips on how to start making connections and organizing in your own community.
My Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal, runs The Resistance Lab, an ongoing series of trainings on how to fight authoritarianism.
The cost of defying Trump goes up every week. But what should be clear to all is that the cost of doing nothing is that we will eventually lose everything.
ICYMI
After Kirk's Death, Allies Choose Conspiracies, Opportunism, and Hate (Uncharted Blue) This piece from Hunter Lazarro has lived rent-free in my head all week. It’s hands down the best thing I’ve read to describe the danger of this moment and how the Right has exploited Charlie Kirk’s death so callously.
How Charlie Kirk's Death Became the Ultimate Conspiracy Theory (MSNBC) From veteran reporter Brandy Zadrozny. Another good one for understanding this moment and the culture that helped create it.
Making America Worse, Again (Grave Injustice) My COURIER colleague Lisa Graves has an important read on SCOTUS.
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How can I take action against Nextatar? They are still squelching Kimmel in my town. I have complained on their local station Facebook page but want to do more!