Animation ruination

The greed never ceases.

Recently, it was announced that 4 new episodes of 'The Simpsons' this season will not be seen on broadcast TV and will instead be shown only on Disney+ - a subscription streaming service nobody has.

Granted, 'The Simpsons' ain't what it used to be. I was enamored of it for its first 25 years. But I stopped watching it when it got agonizingly dumb. That was around the time of the episode about Maggie whistling and the appearances of the guy who always shook his face and said, "You're fiiiiiiiiiirrrrred!" But can't a guy catch a fresh Simps without having to pay for what used to be free?

Much of what's going on here is that entertainment is afflicted by the same problem that afflicts other industries. It's become a giant corporate empire. Disney+ is part of Disney Streaming, which is part of Disney Entertainment, which is part of the Walt Disney Company. 'The Simpsons' is under 4 levels of corporate bureaucracy. Disney also now owns Pixar, Marvel, the 'Star Wars' franchise, Hulu, and more.

At minimum - the absolute very minimum - you'd think Disney+ being co-owned with Hulu would violate antitrust regulations. For a single company to own so many other brands and franchises would also seem to be an antitrust violation. But everyone knows that antitrust enforcement is a four-letter word these days. The federal government has an antitrust division - but hardly ever uses it. The government will throw people in jail for not practicing social distancing on a beach, but it won't enforce even minimal antitrust rules.

Corporations - in any industry, not just entertainment - have no constitutional right to exist at all. But they are treated as if they have more rights than people do.

One of the basic charges of the FCC is to make sure broadcasters act in the "public interest, convenience, and necessity." I think it's time for the FCC to step in and make sure TV and radio remain as free as ever. Not like I expect much from the FCC either, because it spends more time raiding pirate stations that don't hurt anyone than breaking up the monopolies that already afflict broadcasting. The FCC rubber-stamps companies buying too many stations, which would have violated old ownership caps. It even allows companies to own more than one TV network, which itself violates antitrust rules.

One of the priorities of our leaders should be to break up big corporations in every industry. What's happening to 'The Simpsons' is just a tiny piece of the corporate tyranny that has enveloped society.