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View Full Version : Disneys Dark Side...



Kristi Kay
04-04-2007, 03:16 PM
I was randomly reading several blogs today about how people loved disney, but they are very away that Walt and the Disney Co. had a dark side...Does anyone know what they are talking about?

Scar
04-04-2007, 03:32 PM
There were rumors that he was anti-semitic, but these have been proven to be untrue.

magicman
04-04-2007, 05:00 PM
There was a book printed 10+ years ago called "Walt Disney: Hollywood's Dark Prince". It accuses Mr Disney of anti-semitism, right wing radicalism, anti-labor type activities. It is a "conspiracy theory" kind of book that I'm surprised doesn't accuse Mr. Disney of being "the second gunman on the grassy knoll during the Kennedy motorcade".

Marker
04-04-2007, 05:21 PM
Does it matter?

He's been dead for over 40 years. Why does it matter now. Everyone has plusses and minuses, I'm sure he did too. And you know how some people are, they are intent on tearing down anything or anyone that is good, or successful, and don't really care what is fact and what is fiction. And even if some of the speculation is true, at this point who cares. That was then, it was another time. Sensitivities and attituded were different.

On the other hand, what we do know is that he was an innovator in animation, film, theme park development, and entertainment in general.

But that's just my opinion.

Kristi Kay
04-04-2007, 05:51 PM
I wouldn’t say it necessarily “matters”. As a designer and an artist myself, I admire Walt and the Disney Company and plan to work there in a professional manor in the near future. However, I see no harm in being knowledgeable on these situations. I’m interested in knowing the unglamorous aspects of, not just Disney, but high profile companies.

Speedy1998
04-04-2007, 06:45 PM
Usually this type of talk comes from either the extreme left or the extreme right of the political spectrum. They majority of us that are somewhere in the middle can see that Walt was for the most part a typical American, he loved his family and he worked real hard. And with a little luck (actually with Walt I think it may have been alot of luck, till the 50s the Disney company was always one flop away from bankruptcy) he became a very sucessful man.

Ian
04-04-2007, 07:32 PM
You want the unvarnished truth about Walt Disney?

Read Neal Gabler's biography, "Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination." It touches on all aspects of Walt's life, good and bad.

I can tell you, however, that there's not much bad. There've been some vague accusations and claims made about Walt, all of them largely unfounded. The truth is that Walt was an average man of his times. He held some ideals that would be considered outdated by some today, he smoked, he drank on occasion, and that's about it.

About the only item that might stick is that it's true he drifted pretty far right later in his life. He was actually pretty far left early on (his ideals for his studio in the beginning were straight out of a communist manifesto), but after he got burned by his staff when they unionized and struck his studio he started swinging in the other direction.

He did testify in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities as a friendly witness, which I guess some would consider kind of dark.

Now ... if they were talking about the dark side of The Walt Disney Company today? That's a whole other story ... Disney today is as dark as any other huge, faceless American corporation is these days and that's pretty darn dark.

BrowncatP
04-04-2007, 08:01 PM
Does anyone have any info about the Sierra Club lawsuit in 1969 against Disney's Mineral King project?

JPL
04-04-2007, 08:44 PM
Here is some info for you :thumbsup: Sierra Club (http://www.vlex.us/caselaw/U-S-Supreme-Court/Sierra-Club-v-Morton-405-U-S-727-1972/2100-19987566%2C01.html)

Jumpin'JiminyCricket
04-04-2007, 11:01 PM
I think the dark side that I hear most often watching or reading articles and documentaries on Walt was his temper. Apparently he was known to come down hard of those that worked with him, more so than your average boss. I always found that to be a great ying and yang, he seemed like America's grandfather when I was growing up.

While I think you can't chose to just look at a person through Disney color glasses, I don't think a "dark" side would ever deter the fond way in which most people remember him.:pixie:

Jasper
04-04-2007, 11:10 PM
One of the other things that none of you have mentioned yet is that Disney is a company that is in business to make money and always has been. That means that Walt and Roy Disney as well as those who have run the company since then have obviously stepped on a few toes in order to reach the level of success that this company has.

When a company is that successful and pushes the envelope the way the Disney company has, there will be people who will be upset with the company and the people who run it. In some cases it is just sour grapes and in other cases the complainers probably have some kernal of truth in their complaints. The difficult thing for those of us not involved with the company is trying to understand which ones have legitimate beefs and which ones need to take their sour grapes and go make some wine. From there we have to each make up our own mind about whether or not we want to continue supporting the company.

DizneyRox
04-04-2007, 11:59 PM
Check out Married to the Mouse for a good inside look at the beginnings of WDW. It's quite eye opening and shows the business side of the dealings of the Walt Disney Company.

Kristi Kay
04-08-2007, 11:29 PM
I actually just added that book to my wish list on amazon...

mmouse566
04-09-2007, 03:03 PM
You also might want to check out the book DisneyWars regarding the "dark side" of corporate Disney. It is focused on the Eisner years. The salaries of these people is enough to make you want to vomit :sick: (can I say that ?) Seriously though, I had an unDisney moment which lasted like 5 seconds and now I am back to my normal routine of every other weekend visits at WDW:mickey: .

DizNee143
04-09-2007, 04:35 PM
Does it matter?

He's been dead for over 40 years. Why does it matter now. Everyone has plusses and minuses, I'm sure he did too. And you know how some people are, they are intent on tearing down anything or anyone that is good, or successful, and don't really care what is fact and what is fiction. And even if some of the speculation is true, at this point who cares. That was then, it was another time. Sensitivities and attituded were different.


no one asked if it mattered or not...they were just wondering if any of us knew what the other people were talking about....soo...ya...