JMS Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 So the otherday Meryl Streep gave an introduction to her friend Emma Thompson at the NBR awards cerimony which is kind of a pre golden globes award cerimoney... which is kind of a pre oscar cerimoney... Anyway in her speach she noted that Disney, who's studio both she and Emma Thompson have recently made movies for, was a sexist, racist, and anti semite... Which came as news to me... Anyway here is a good article which seems to go into some of the critism... Oh and if you haven't seen the movie "Saving Mr. Banks" with Thompson and Tom Hanks.. It's a great movie... loved it.. perhaps not for kids, as it's a bit ceribral.. but it was a great story about a persnikity very personally involved untrusting artist; and the incredible steps Disney took over 20 years to both convince her to work with him, and finally to make sure she was happy with what his studio produced.. Incredible. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/was-meryl-streep-correct-calling-669589 Was Meryl Streep Correct in Calling Walt Disney a 'Bigot'? The actress accused the mogul of being sexist, racist and anti-Semitic, but experts who have dug in to the icon's controversial legacy say the truth is more complicated.Meryl Streep caused eyebrows to raise throughout Hollywood with her appearance Jan. 7 at the National Board of Review awards ceremony at which she attacked Walt Disney as a man who “had some racist proclivities” and “supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group and [was] a gender bigot.” Streep, who is starring in the Disney Studios big-screen adaptation of the musical Into the Woods, which will be released next Christmas, was on hand to present a best actress trophy to Emma Thompson, who plays Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers opposite Tom Hanks’ Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Boy, this will sure improve things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I'd think it'd be pretty difficult to get anywhere in Hollywood at any point being an anti-semite, Mel Gibson excepting. Film studios from their very beginning grew out from Nickelodeons, which were almost exclusively owned by Ashkenazi immigrants. As for him being a sexist, well, that would've simply made him a man of his times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 being an anti-semite would also easily be defined as "a man of his times" Americans of his day (he rose to significance pre WWII) were MUCH more anti semite, and much more open about it, even if they did work with Jews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Yeah of course, BUT, he was working in THEIR industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 He definitely seemed to have some Anti-Semitic beliefs. But that was pretty normal at the time. I saw this yesterday on National Review and found it interesting: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/367910/dudleys-folly-fred-schwarz When I was an undergraduate at Columbia in the early 1980s, people still talked about the famous class of ’64. What made them famous was that they were the only class chosen by admissions director David A. Dudley, who reasoned that Columbia was looking for smart people and the best indicators of smartness were grades and test scores. (His previous job was at MIT.) So he chose the class based almost entirely on those two criteria, and the results were what you’d expect: A class that was very Jewish and very New York, even by Columbia standards (I’ve heard estimates of 80 percent for each category). Here Philip Lopate, a member of the Class of 1964, recalls what Columbia was like for Jews in those days. You’ll notice that I said 1964 was the only class Dudley chose. That’s because as soon as people noticed what had happened, there was a great uproar, and he had to resign. The class immediately became known as Dudley’s Folly. As the student newspaper summed up candidly in the spring of 1961, “Former Director of Undergraduate Admissions David A. Dudley’s policies were unpopular with College alumni, and it is no secret that many have expressed dissatisfaction with the geographical and religious content of the Class of 1964.” Critics complained of Dudley’s “disregard for non-academic factors in considering applicants.” And this is going to be a dangerous road to go down, but bear with me. Anti-Semitism in America has always existed and - at times - has been a serious problem. But I feel like it almost needs a different name, because it is such a different animal than Anti-Semitism in Europe or the Middle East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 So sick of the moral absolutism nowadays. No matter what great thing you have done with your life, there's someone there to point out your flaws. For instance... Martin Luther King Jr did amazing things for African Americans and the USA... but let's not forget, he cheated on his wife. Nelson Mandela freed his nation from white oppression and apartheid... but let's not forget he ordered bombings that ultimately killed innocent people (and ignore that the whites were killing innocent blacks daily during that time). I don't care what negative things Streep says about Disney. She has no class talking about the dead like that and if she dislikes him so much, she should refuse income from the film. In fact, she should have never done the film if she feels so strongly about Disney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0crates Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Have you seen Song of the South? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'd think it'd be pretty difficult to get anywhere in Hollywood at any point being an anti-semite, Mel Gibson excepting. Film studios from their very beginning grew out from Nickelodeons, which were almost exclusively owned by Ashkenazi immigrants. As for him being a sexist, well, that would've simply made him a man of his times. Hmmm... Joe Kennedy, Our ambassidor to Britain who was pro Nazi and thought Hittler knew how to handle the jews..... He was a successful Hollywood producer.. D. W. Griffith... birth of a nation. Thomas Edison I think it's difficult to judge historic figures on modern morals. I think pretty much the entire country of the US was anti semetic to some extent prior to the end of WWII. We weren't as bad as Germany surely, but the classic antisemitism of Jews controlling the press, this industry or that, or even the world was voiced by many influential Americans without repercussions... It was popular belief... We didn't get our modern sensibilities about antisemitism until after we saw what Hitler got up too. We have a rich history of antisemitism in this country..... I remember a story about Truman, one of my favorite Presidents and a guy with a track record of being very friendly to jewish causes... He had a Jewish partner prior to politics. He over ruled his secretary of state ( General Marshal ) and recognized Israel the day they declared a nation. He gave a lot of aid to Israel immediately... etc etc... Anyway after Truman left office he was meeting with David Susskind for a series or a biography or some such thing... Anyway Susskind noticed that whenever he went to Truman's house Truman never invited him in. Truman said, Your Jewish... Susskind said yeah but you hosted jews at the white house, you had a Jewish business partner, you were so favorable to Jewish causes.... Truman says... The white house was the people of America's house.... This is my mother in laws house and my mother in law has said no Jew shall pass her threshold while she's still living. I don't care what negative things Streep says about Disney. She has no class talking about the dead like that and if she dislikes him so much, she should refuse income from the film. In fact, she should have never done the film if she feels so strongly about Disney. I think the Article cited does a pretty good job of defending Disney actually. At least I thought so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Have you seen Song of the South? *DING* The first thing that came to mind for me was the Crows in Dumbo and King Louie from the Jungle Book though Uncle Remus and the Zip Coon, 'er Zippity Do Dah song was definitely up there. Then there was the fact that he wouldn't employ Blacks, referred to the dwarves in Snow White as a "n***er pile" and his getting all chummy with a Nazi filmmaker. Aside from that last, I have a hard time blaming him too much. As has been said often, he was a product of his times. What's most amazing to me is that even until relatively recently, Disney studios continued to use overtly stereotypical characters of various races in their films. Unlike Walt Disney, I don't think the people running things at Disney later on were a product of the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 N/M, point already made... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfitzo53 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 So sick of the moral absolutism nowadays. No matter what great thing you have done with your life, there's someone there to point out your flaws. For instance... Martin Luther King Jr did amazing things for African Americans and the USA... but let's not forget, he cheated on his wife. Nelson Mandela freed his nation from white oppression and apartheid... but let's not forget he ordered bombings that ultimately killed innocent people (and ignore that the whites were killing innocent blacks daily during that time). I don't care what negative things Streep says about Disney. She has no class talking about the dead like that and if she dislikes him so much, she should refuse income from the film. In fact, she should have never done the film if she feels so strongly about Disney. I don't think being dead frees someone from criticism, but I agree with you that it's irrelevant information at an awards ceremony. Just make the event a celebration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah, I think the most glaring example of the absurdity of the "let's try to hold up iconic historical figures against today's yardstick, so we can show how bad they are", is the whole "well, yeah, Lincoln freed the slaves, but he didn't immediately impose an affirmative action program to mandate that they get federal jobs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah, I think the most glaring example of the absurdity of the "let's try to hold up iconic historical figures against today's yardstick, so we can show how bad they are", is the whole "well, yeah, Lincoln freed the slaves, but he didn't immediately impose an affirmative action program to mandate that they get federal jobs" Right, In his time Disney did some things which could be interpreted as anti semitic through a modern perspective, absolutely... in 1938, a month after Kristallnacht, Disney personally welcomed Nazi director Leni Rienfenstahl to his studios. Ms. Rienfenstahl was a young(35) former dancer and now critically acclaimed director who had made a propaganda film called "Triumph of the Wills" for the Nazi's. This film brought here quite a bit of international fame. Hittler subsequently let her film the Berlin Olympics for her movie Olympia. It was on the press tour for this film where Disney gave her a 3 hour personal tour of his studios... Then again Louis B. Mayer also received her on this trip. From what I can tell that pretty much seems to be the entire case against Disney for antisemitism. He received and hosted a young hot, and blatantly pro Nazi international film director while she was on a PR junket for one of her films to Hollywood on the eve of the beginning of the erruption of anti semetic activities by the Nazi's. Disney had Jewish folks who worked for him, including high ranking important positions. No complaints from those folks.. The antisemitism accusations seem to stem less from Disney's personal behavior and more from Disney's association with the anti-Semitic Motion Picture Alliance, which the CEO founded after his bitter labor dispute in 1941. Even though Disney wasn't personally anti-Semitic, the charge is Disney embraced anti-Semites as a means for dealing with his labor problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 In short, WHO CARES? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 But, to me, it's even worse that the selective application of an ever-moving yardstick. Walt Disney is an icon. An image. He's Samta Claus. What great societal purpose is served, if some actor makes a movie about Santa Claus, receives an award for his portrayal, and then uses that stage and that microphone to announce that, well, the real Santa Claus had four illegitimate children, and never paid a dime of child support? Even it it's true, what good have you done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMS Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 But, to me, it's even worse that the selective application of an ever-moving yardstick. Walt Disney is an icon. An image. He's Samta Claus. What great societal purpose is served, if some actor makes a movie about Santa Claus, receives an award for his portrayal, and then uses that stage and that microphone to announce that, well, the real Santa Claus had four illegitimate children, and never paid a dime of child support? Even it it's true, what good have you done? I think the only thing which can defeat evil is when good people are motivated to actively oppose it. If the Film Industry were giving an award to Gerbels, that's one thing. Maybe Henry Ford might merit such an outburst coarse even with all the prejudice and backwards thinking in his background his overall contribution to society eclipses his negative proclivities. I just don't see the evidence against Disney amounting to more than a few events in a well documented life time of activities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Who the hell is Gerbels? But, to me, it's even worse that the selective application of an ever-moving yardstick. Walt Disney is an icon. An image. He's Samta Claus. Well, I would argue that Walt Disney is not Santa Claus. He's a real man who died in 1966. And I tend to hate mythological portrayals for real humans. In this instance, I think the evidence is scant that Disney was a virulent racist or anti-Semite. I think his views were probably aligned with his time to some degree - maybe a little more anti-Semitic than the average person. But knowing the truth about him is not a bad thing. I adore the Peanuts comics. Finding out that Charles Schultz was not a great husband or father didn't ruin that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Yeah, I think the most glaring example of the absurdity of the "let's try to hold up iconic historical figures against today's yardstick, so we can show how bad they are", is the whole "well, yeah, Lincoln freed the slaves, but he didn't immediately impose an affirmative action program to mandate that they get federal jobs" Pretty ironic given your outspoken absolutism stance in the civil war Guess it is a bit different for one of your heroes. Who, it turns out, was a racist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Guess it is a bit different for one of your heroes. Apparently, you have either forgotten, or haven't read, my opinions on Lincoln. (Or on reconstruction). But this is getting seriously OT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grego Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Makes sense. Because Walt Disney WAS Adolph Hitler! http://xdisciple.blogspot.com/2012/03/walt-disney-and-adolf-hitler-were-same.html?m=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Pressure Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 *DING* The first thing that came to mind for me was the Crows in Dumbo and King Louie from the Jungle Book though Uncle Remus and the Zip Coon, 'er Zippity Do Dah song was definitely up there. Then there was the fact that he wouldn't employ Blacks, referred to the dwarves in Snow White as a "n***er pile" and his getting all chummy with a Nazi filmmaker. Aside from that last, I have a hard time blaming him too much. As has been said often, he was a product of his times. What's most amazing to me is that even until relatively recently, Disney studios continued to use overtly stereotypical characters of various races in their films. Unlike Walt Disney, I don't think the people running things at Disney later on were a product of the times. The crows are terrible and so is Song of the South, but King Louie was voiced by an Italian-American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0crates Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Who the hell is Gerbels? I assume he meant Goebbels, nazi propagandist. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s0crates Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 The crows are terrible and so is Song of the South, but King Louie was voiced by an Italian-American.I can see why people would take offense to King Louie.You be the judge: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeWolf990 Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Um, yeah. You guys didnt know this? Go back and watch some old Disney cartoons and you will some of the most over the top racist crap ever. And I thought it was quite known he was anti-semetic. I would have said I dont know why Streep brought it up but the fact that many people in this thread had no idea shows that maybe she was 100% right in sharing this stuff lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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