I would agree that there may be a sinister side to Disney, but alas I fear this thread is waaaay of in the wrong direction. Disney is what it is today
beacuse it markets itself to kids. Kids nag parents and parents shell out cold hard cash. Look around you today at most adverts on all mediums and you
will see the advertisers have cottoned onto this.
If you cant convince an adult, convince their kids, no one has as much influence on adults as their children even if it is just to shut them up.
I have no proof, indeed I am only speculating here (Judging by some of the wild claims on this thread, speculation is fine.)
But if I were absolutley dedicated to proving that there is somethin unethical with Disney I would start by investigating their merchandising scope,
the intentional dumbing down of your kids by the flagrant distortions of their stories from there true and original forms, and the monopolistic way
they "acquire" many companies who manage to squeeze into there market.
And to the posters who are terrified by any sort of sexual innuendo particularly with reference to the little mermaid maybe you should try reading a
copy of Hans Christian Andersons original
The little mermaid , yes the story is A LOT
darker, much scarier and is to cut all the acedemia out, entirely about sex. I think has a much stronger message than Disneys version could ever have
too.
I would bet that if someone tried to Make a movie today along the original plot and dialogue they would be blocked at every turn by people like YOU
under the pretext that it warps your childrens views about something as seemly inocuas as disneys version.
Educating yourself means reading more than just the sensational rhetoric of armchair revolutionaries.
Here is a quick breakdown of the original plot: (paraphrased from rottens library) The mermaid falls in love with a prince. She gets a spell to grant
her legs from the witch, but the price is incredible pain in her legs when walking on land. The witch who gave her the spell also cuts out her tongue
saying "Cleanliness is good.",
The mermaid is a densely layered collection of sexual metaphors and complexes. She's naked and continually wet, with long hair and bare breasts, but
she lacks the vagina that (perhaps) dominates the dreams of the sex-starved sailors who encounter her. In The Little Mermaid, she trades her tongue
for a vagina, but is forced to endure terrible stabbing pains when she walks, bleeding from her feet, which adds a menstrual motif to an already
overcrowded set of symbols. In the end she has the option of of murdering her rival for the pirince but instead commits suicide.
Now which version would you rather your child learned the story of. Personally I would encourage both.
And please dont knock the analysis just because it came from Rotten. If you look for an anylisis of H.C.A's version online it you will come up with
the same observations. I just like the way the guy from Rotten writes.
Rottens take on mermaids.
P.S. Nearly all of Disneys biggest hits were bastardised versions of stories and legends from all over the planet, that were made child friendly by
dumbing down the central themes morals and messages from the existing forms. Personaly I find the subversive way of appropriating another cultures
fables and stripping it of it's true value to the culture from which it was taken to be far more sinister than allusions to sex in some of there
movies. I mean do you think your kids wont ever grow up or worse do think they are stupid.
Peace
[edit on 3-4-2010 by da_ruse]