Interesting article.....No question biased, but it brings up some interesting points, that one has to look at and consider.
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 4:11 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]> wrote: > *Subverting the Disney Legacy* > > *How Michael Eisner Has Transformed the 'Magic Kingdom'* > > *By Mark Weber* > > For more than 40 years, the company founded and built by Walt Disney > offered popular, well-crafted entertainment that upheld American values and > traditions. Its films and television programming -- even if sometimes > sugary -- epitomized, to use the much-mocked phrase, wholesome family > entertainment. > > It was the work largely of one man, Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966), a > gifted illustrator, brilliant filmmaker and genial entrepreneur who left a > lasting mark on American popular culture. His cartoon characters, animated > films, and amusement parks, are recognized around the world. > > In 1928 he launched the beloved Mickey Mouse character in an animated > film, "Steamboat Willie," that became an immediate hit. In the decades that > followed, Disney dominated animation art with such innovative and hugely > popular films as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), "Pinocchio" > (1940), "Fantasia" (1940), and "Bambi" (1942). He also oversaw the > production of such enduring feature films as "Treasure Island" (1950), > "Robin Hood" (1952), "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954), "The Swiss > Family Robinson" (1960), "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1960), and "Mary > Poppins" (1964). > > Politically conservative and ardently anti-Communist, the hard-working > Disney was habitually involved in every stage of production and management. > He and his work were honored with 39 Academy Awards, and hundreds of other > awards and tributes. > > *Under New Management* > > A period of stagnation that followed the founder's death came to an end in > September 1984 when Michael Eisner became the Disney company's Chairman and > Chief Executive Officer. Eisner moved quickly to install fellow Jews in top > positions throughout the Disney operation, and soon Hollywood's last > gentile-run studio passed into Jewish hands. > > As media critic Michael Medved has pointed out, "The famous Disney > organization, which was founded by Walt Disney, a gentile Midwesterner who > allegedly harbored anti-Semitic attitudes, now features Jewish personnel in > nearly all its most powerful positions." ("Jews Run Hollywood. So What?," > Moment magazine, August 1996.) Under the new management, > Disney company sales and profits soared, and the revitalized company > reclaimed a leading place in the entertainment world. > > *A Mighty Media Empire* > > With its acquisition in 1995 of Capital Cities/ABC, Disney became the > world's largest entertainment company. The Walt Disney Company today is a > sprawling and highly profitable international business empire. (Revenue for > fiscal year 1998 was $23 billion, and net income $1.9 billion.) With major > holdings in film, television, radio and publishing, the company has > a tremendous impact on the mindset and behavior of hundreds of millions > around the globe. > > Through Walt Disney Pictures (headed by Joe Roth), Touchstone Pictures, > Hollywood Pictures, Miramax (run by the Weinstein brothers), and Caravan > Pictures, it is one of the world's largest film producers and distributors. > > Through the 1995 merger, Disney acquired the ABC Television network, which > owns ten television stations outright. It also has 225 affiliated TV > stations in the United States, and is part owner of several European > television companies. Among its other TV holdings are Walt Disney > Television, Touchstone Television, and Buena Vista Television. Disney also > controls > three major cable television networks with more than 100 million > subscribers: ESPN (headed by Steven Bornstein), Lifetime Television, and > Arts & Entertainment (A&E and the History Channel). > > Through its 1995 ABC acquisition, Disney owns 26 AM and FM radio stations, > and has more than 3,300 ABC radio affiliates. The company also owns daily > newspapers and glossy consumer magazines (including Discover), and Hyperion > Press book publishers. > > In addition to Disneyland -- the "Magic Kingdom" amusement park in > southern California opened by Walt Disney in 1955 -- the company today owns > Disney World (Florida), Epcot Center, Tokyo Disneyland, and Euro Disney > (France), as well as the "Mighty Ducks" hockey team and the "Anaheim > Angels" baseball team. Each year Disney also sells well over a billion > dollars worth of consumer products -- toys, books and clothing -- through > more than 500 Disney stores. > > *Wealthy and Machiavellian* > > Michael D. Eisner, born in 1942 into a well-to-do Jewish family, was > raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side and educated in private schools. His > father was a Harvard lawyer who served as a high-ranking official in > President Eisenhower's administration. > > As Disney chairman, Eisner has been fabulously -- some might say obscenely > -- compensated. His annual base salary of $750,000 is only a small portion > of his Disney income, which is mostly from stock option profits. In 1993, > for example, Eisner's total compensation was a staggering $203 million, > while in 1997 he exercised options on 21.9 million shares for a profit of > $550 million. > > Since 1984, chairman Eisner has received nearly $1 billion from Disney, > including base salary, bonuses, and stock options (Los Angeles Times, Dec. > 4, 1997). In January 1997 he signed a ten-year extension contract with the > company valued at some $200 million. > > Eisner has cultivated a public image of himself as friendly, trustworthy, > and even boyish. But those who know him well regard him as treacherous and > Machiavellian. David Geffen, a fellow Hollywood mogul who has known Eisner > well for years, said of him in a 1995 interview: "Michael is a liar. And > anyone who has dealt with him, genuinely dealt with him, knows he's > a liar." > > *Cultural Revolution* > > Since 1984, Michael Eisner and his colleagues have refashioned Hollywood's > most culturally conservative and family-oriented studio into one of its > most culturally seditious and anti-traditional. In doing so, they betrayed > the founder's legacy, degraded his values, and demeaned the company's > defining spirit. > > Under Eisner's direction, the Disney company has turned out motion > pictures packed with graphic violence and killing (such as "Pulp Fiction"), > as well as rock music albums loaded with gross obscenities (such as "Insane > Clown Posse" by "The Great Malenko" "hip hop" band). > > Even Commentary, the magazine of the American Jewish Committee (March > 1998), was moved to lament: "If the old Disney tells us something > inspiriting about who we were not so very long ago, the new and even more > hugely lucrative Disney is just another signpost marking our long, steep > cultural descent." > > *'Pink Triangle' Disney* > > While support for homosexuals has been widespread in Hollywood for years, > under Eisner the Disney company -- in the words of the American Family > Association -- has become "one of the leading promoters of the homosexual > lifestyle, as well as the homosexual political and social agenda in America > today." Eisner himself is a board member of "Hollywood Supporters," an > influential and aggressive homosexual advocacy organization. The Disney > company advertises in homosexual publications such as Out magazine, and has > given financial support to at least one benefit for the "National Gay and > Lesbian Task Force." > > In 1996, actress Ellen DeGeneres "came out" as openly homosexual, both > personally and as the lead character on the "Ellen" sitcom series, > broadcast on the Eisner-controlled ABC television network. Eisner > introduced insurance benefits for same-gender partners of Disney's > homosexual employees. For some years now, he has sanctioned "Gay Day" at > Disney World, an event that each year draws throngs of boisterous "in your > face" homosexuals. > > "In the interest of full disclosure," quipped Boston Herald columnist Don > Feder, "Disney should change its corporate logo to show a pink triangle > flying over Cinderella's castle." He went on to refer to Disneyland as "The > Magic Kink-dom." > > *Assault Against Christianity* > > Under Eisner, the Disney company has waged a "cultural war" against > Christianity, scorning the religious sensibilities of the vast majority of > Americans. > > In a 1995 statement, the American Catholic Lawyers Association indignantly > declared > > We all remember the Disney Company from the days when it produced films > your children could actually watch without losing their innocence -- films > which showed a decent respect for Christianity and Christian values. But > that was before Mr. Michael Eisner took the helm of the Disney > conglomerate. Now the Disney Company has joined the rest of Hollywood in > obsessively attacking the Catholic Church and pumping R-rated filth into > our culture -- under cover of its subsidiary, Miramax Films, whose > co-chairmen are Bob and Harvey Weinstein. > > A particularly offensive example of the Eisner/Disney assault is "Priest," > a 1995 motion picture released by the company's Miramax subsidiary. It > tells the story of four Roman Catholic clergymen: one is homosexual, > another is alcoholic, a third has a mistress, and the fourth is insane. > > One of the strongest voices protesting this movie, and Disney's > anti-Christian productions generally, has been that of the Catholic League > for Religious and Civil Rights, a New York-based civil rights organization. > "Priest," said League president William Donahue, "displays the most > profound hostility to the Catholic Church that I have seen in the last 15 > years of > reviewing movies." Eisner, Donahue added, would never approve a film that > similarly portrays depraved Jewish rabbis or morally bankrupt homosexuals, > or which contains cruel caricatures of African-Americans. > > *Anti-Arab* > > Reflecting the Zionist sentiments of its top management, the Eisner-run > Disney company has produced a number of anti-Arab motion pictures in recent > years. In a 1994 movie, "The Return of Jafar," for example, hook-nosed > Arabs are referred to as "desert skunks." "The Father of the Bride, Part > II" (1995), includes a loathsome Arab-American character named Habib > (played, ironically, by Eugene Levy). "Kazaam" (1996), produced by Disney's > Touchstone pictures, includes an assortment of villainous Arab characters, > including a black marketer named Malik. Other recent anti-Arab Disney films > include "In the Army Now" and "GI Jane." > > In August 1996 the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee organized a > demonstration outside the Disney studios to protest the company's pattern > of anti-Arab productions. > > *White America Under Fire* > > For some years now, Hollywood and American television have churned out > numerous films and television productions that distort European-American > history and disparage white America's racial-cultural heritage. Under > Eisner, Disney has moved to the forefront of this "politically correct" > assault. > > Among the recent Disney films that misrepresent and malign America's > European heritage has been "Pocahontas," a 1995 animated film that portrays > Indians ("native Americans") as liberated, nature-loving, wise and noble, > while depicting Europeans as narrow-minded, ignorant, bigoted and greedy. > > Under the "Hollywood Records" label, Eisner/Disney has issued CD albums > with anti-white lyrics, including one by black "rap" singer "Prince Akeem," > who blames black poverty on a "white conspiracy." In April 1996 Eisner > fired New York City's most popular radio talk show host, Bob Grant, from > his job at Disney-owned WABC for allegedly white racist rhetoric. > > *'Economic War'* > > Some of the millions of Americans whom Eisner and his colleagues have > affronted are fighting back. Most notably, the nation's two largest > Christian groups -- the Roman Catholics and the Southern Baptists -- have > declared "economic war" against Eisner/Disney. > > In 1996 the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights announced a > "nationwide charge against Disney, making use of every legal means > available -- from boycotts to stockholder revolts," to pressure the company > into ending its hostility to Christianity and Catholicism. Roman Catholic > dioceses across the country and the Catholic fraternal association Knights > of Columbus sold off millions of dollars in Disney stock. > > The Southern Baptists -- with 16 million members, the largest Protestant > denomination in the United States -- voted overwhelmingly in 1996 and again > in 1997 to boycott Disney films and products. The group cited the company's > trashing of traditional and family values, and in particular its support > for homosexuality. > > The Assemblies of God church -- an evangelical Christian denomination with > 2.5 million members -- launched its own anti-Disney boycott campaign in > 1996. It criticized the company for "abandoning the commitment to strong > moral values." > > Such boycott efforts seem to have had little lasting impact, however, > because Disney company products and services are so widely available, often > under non-Disney labels, because pre-Eisner Disney images are still so > beloved, and, more generally, because of public apathy. > > *Seductive and Dangerous* > > Because Eisner and the others who run the motion picture and television > industries are able to shape the public's barely conscious basic > assumptions about life and society, thereby profoundly influencing the > thinking and actions of millions, they wield greater power than even our > elected lawmakers. > > A lust for profits does not adequately explain the social-cultural agenda > of Eisner and the others who control the American media. Rather, they seem > driven by priorities that are fundamentally hostile to this nation's most > vital traditions and basic values. > > Precisely because the Eisners of Hollywood and New York beguilingly pose > as friends, they are more insidious, and ultimately more dangerous, than > even a military threat from a foreign power. > > Eisner's transformation of Disney parallels, and contributes to, the > cultural, social and political transformation of the United States as a > whole. Like America's political leaders, Eisner and his Disney colleagues > reassuringly display familiar symbols and trademarks from an earlier era, > exploiting reputations and good-will painstakingly built up over decades. > Those who patronize Disney are reassured that such beloved symbols as > Mickey Mouse and Snow White are still in place, just as millions of > credulous Americans are reassured about the future of the United States > because such icons as the American flag and the US Constitution are still > in place. But in each case, the spirit that gave life to these venerable > symbols has been driven out by a very different one -- a spirit that has > not yet dared to show its real face, or speak its real name. > ------------------------------ > > From *The Journal of Historical Review*, Sept. - Oct. 1998 (Vol. 17, No. > 5), pages 10-13. > > > On Sunday, June 1, 2014 2:16:59 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: >> >> >> >> >> http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicaprobus/super-hard- >> disney-quiz?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BuzzFeed+531&utm_ >> content=BuzzFeed+531+CID_0f226c5b6714543f15e4bbeead658d >> 34&utm_source=Campaign%20Monitor&utm_term=This%20is% >> 20some%20of%20the%20toughest%20Disney%20trivia%20of%20all%20time >> >> I got 9 of 25. >> Added by me: What is Donald duck's middle name? >> > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
