Disney
I like Disney. I think they've done a lot of good stuff. But that doesn't mean they're beyond reproach and haven't done some crappy stuff too. These are just some articles on one or the other side of that issue.
Examples
Disney : 5 items
Beauty and the Beast (2017) - My wife’s birthday, and she wanted to see Beauty and the Beast, though I wanted to go too: the live action version of an animated classic was sort of on the must see list. It did not disappoint. It got a 71% by reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes but 85% viewer scores, and the reason both were that low is likely that the snowflakes were melting over traditional gender roles, and others got bent over some gay references. Puhlease.
Gina Carano - Ahhh, Disney has gotten woke, and it's impacting their bottom line and how rational people perceive them. Disney employs Jack Morrissey who in the wake of various violence and even murders of Trump supporters joked that "#MAGAKids should go head first into the wood-chipper" (along with a cartoon gleefully illustrating it). Disney re-hired James Gunn, who tweeted about sexually and physically abusing kids, and his membership in NAMBLA. They also defend their decision to work with China, including filming a movie near Muslim Uighurs real concentration camps. But Gina pointed out the historical reality that the problem with the Nazi's wasn't just the top down abuse of the Jews, it was that the government was reflecting the will of the people (or they fed off each other) -- and it was the people that did much of the persecution directly. Basically, that we should think on that before we look the other way on political venom that is being bandied about. Fired! You might think it was the Nazi references that was a bridge too far (they claimed anti-semitism, when the statement wasn't the slightest bit anti-Jewish), and trending on Twitter at the same time are a bunch of Democrats comparing Josh Hawley to Nazi's, and the star of Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) compared Nazi Concentration camps to temporary immigration detention centers, or Nazi's to Trump supporters. No firing for that far more offensive comparison. The problem is her comparison hit WAY too close to home to be tolerated by the left... she was fired from the Disney show Mandalorian, because demanding the left stop their hate (or consider the consequences), is a bridge too far for Disney -- but pedophilia and mass murder or comparing conservatives to Nazi's are more acceptable.
Jungle Book (2016) - I wasn't that interested in seeing the new live-action Disney Jungle Book: the original books being creepy and dark, with singing. But it was all the rage in India,so I checked Rotten Tomatoes and it was a high 95/92% approval, and I figured, I might as well see it, for social value. It was over-rated, but not bad.
Ricky Gervais - At the 2020 Golden Globes, Ricky Gervais did a monologue that finally told the self-important Hollywood elites how the rest of the country (and world) see them and their sanctimonious speeches at masturbatory award shows. It was the best award monologue ever. He trashed Apple, Amazon, Disney (perhaps unfairly), and the Hollywood elites sanctimony (completely deserved). It took a while to get to the punchline, but the whole thing had its moments, especially watching the Hollywood elites being uncomfortable with finally seeing themselves in the mirror. It almost made me regret not watching the rest of the show.
Star Wars - Star Wars... it's not just a series of movies, it's a cultural phenomena. I'm not a huge fan, but I've seen all of them to be up on pop-culture. And I don't mind them. 4 and 5 were good. 6 diverged as Lucas replaced Kurtz as Producer, took more control, and converted the series from serious adult story into merchandising for kids. Then Lucas ruined 1, 2, 3, and his re-edits of 4 let us know he was trite, shallow, and not good at listening to anyone with better instincts than his own. When Disney took over 7, 8, 9, Lucas criticized them for doing what he'd already done. And while none of them were great, they were better than any Lucas was most involved in (6, 1, 2, 3, or the re-edits of 4). And both Solo and Rogue 1 were the best (most adult) of the Series to me.
H. J. Whitley had already started over 100 towns across the western United States, he was on his honeymoon in 1886 at the top of the hill looking out over the valley. Along came a Chinese man in a wagon carrying wood. The man got out of the wagon and bowed. The Chinese man was asked what he was doing and replied, "I holly-wood," meaning 'hauling wood.' H. J. Whitley decided to name his new town Hollywood: "Holly" would represent England and "wood" would represent his Scottish heritage. H. J. Whitley's company (Los Angeles Pacific Boulevard and Development Company), bought the 480 acres E.C. Hurd ranch, and created the map of his plans. But it was Daeida Wilcox, a prominent investor and friend of Whitley's, who recommended the same name to her husband, who had purchased 120 acres on February 1, 1887, and they used that name and filed it with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office on a deed and parcel map of the property. |
Written 2020.01.06