[UA] Darkening Children's Tales

[Stuart Anderson]

Tim Toner wrote:

>  Disney is faced with a dilemma of what to do
> about villains when the hero can't kill.

    What I find most disturbing is that Disney is faced with no dilemmas. Disney
is completely market-driven. That's why they're such an effective Evil Empire.
They developed and perfected their own market. No matter what vile thing they
do, they stick with the rules that have worked for the last ninety years.
Entertain the children. Make sure the folks keep buying the tickets. I thought
sure--I really did--that they'd blown it on the Lion King. A film they did
consciously to address their own racism, but in which all the good lions were
golden blond and the darker creatures were evil. Surely, I thought--no black
parent will ever buy a Disney ticket again. Well--the black parents didn't
really mind. They don't go to the movies for that kind of thing. The Baptist
parents may rail against homosexuality in church, but they don't go to the
movies for that kind of thing, so if Disney wants to give benefits to life
partners, it's not really worth a boycott. Even the most easily offended and
outragable folks prefer Disney's mellow marketability to their own personal
values.
   Disney sells it, but why do we buy it? I don't know. Take your kids to O
Brother Where Art Thou. Talk about the Odyssey, the Depression, the KKK, Dapper
Dan. Nothing in it will scar your kids. And it's definitely one of the most UA
movies I've ever seen. And it was just damn good.

_________________________________________________
--Stu
"He belonged to that particular race of men who
were their adversaries' greatest champions." Eco
http://www.users.qwest.net/~stuartanderson



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