Oh, God. Really? Do I really have to defend Disney? Disney, which I regularly placed on my list of places for my then-new agent not to send my screenplays - ahead of scientologists, new agers and Jon Peters? (I really did that) Disney, the place about which a fellow screenwriter once said he would have no problem writing a dystopian science-fiction novel about life in a “not-so benign totalitarian dictatorship” because “I did a project at Disney”?
First of all, today's Disney is as far from Walt's "vision" as it can be. Its " autocratic" tendencies are all in the service of corporate greed. Walt's original idea for Epcot was definitely a strange combination of fascist control packaged in 1950's Main Street nostalgia. As his kingdom grew so did his need for absolute control which I think he made palatable to himself ( and others) by presenting it as a return to Norman Rockwell-like values.
Disney's Reedy Creek Utlities ( with its own ok to make a nuclear power plant) was an agreement made with the Orange Co. Fathers--and I mean fathers--when Walt first secretly bought all that scrub land in the western part of the County. Orlando was a small town and Orange County was rural. There was no way they could have geared up to supply power to the level Walt need in the time-frame Walt was on. And, now, it would be impossible for Orange County to take on such a sudden huge energy project. ( Unfortunately those same early "fathers" turned down a Disney proposal to build a monorail across the State. In hindsight it would have possibly been the public transport system we are now looking at needing to fund in the billions).
For DeSantis to be a "big girls blouse" ( as they say in Dublin) and throw a tizzy fit vs Disney may have been, ultimately,a step too far. It is also tinged with the smell of the ongoing struggle for power he is having with the Orange County Mayor, Jerry Demings, husband of Congresswoman Val Deming's (currently in closely watched Senate race for Marco Rubio`s seat).
Today, Disney is a huge corporate "village" which people continually confuse with being Orlando. It is an escape vacation place. There is a bit of a symbiosis with the locals through its philanthropy to Orange County Non- profits but that represents a pittance of its capability. But, thousands of locals are employed there in entertainment and a vast array of service jobs.
But here is the reality of the moment. Badly treated as employees or not ( Florida is a right to work state which hinders efforts to organize), a huge number of Disney employees are LGBTQ+ -- many drawn by the opportunities for performance which are scarce around here. They are the ones who put pressure on Disney's higher ups to resist DeSantis's all too transparent campaign to be President--this particular bill having landed heavily on the backs of the gay community (the same community that died in large numbers in the Pulse Nightclub shooting).
Disney hierarchy knows that if this population decided to walk they would have to close up shop!!
So, you are right to not totally canonize Disney for this latest move though I am glad they did it because DeSantis is simply running for President and catering to the trumpian base on the back of the State of Florida-- and, like Walt, he is dressing it up as a return to "family" values!!
Coincidentally, Disney just announced it is building a huge affordable housing project.
Yes, Disney represents a very American dilemma. they own a gigantic share of the entertainment marketplace and are hardly going to be especially edgy or controversial because they see themselves as all-powerful and, in the context of "entertainment," they might as well BE all-powerful. they're pretty cheap and not especially good to the people who work for them (certain content creators who are considered "indispensable" are given very large "retainers" ((aka bribes)) not to go anywhere else. and the history of the founder is a sort of parallel history of the pseudo-conservative non-movement that's been at very least lurking behind the so-called GOP since at least 1932 (you left out Walt's well-attested taste for underage girls, which is so widely believed that the company saw fight to "debunk" it in a biographical documentary they produced). but it IS a company that is extremely gay-friendly and has been for a longer time, and to a greater degree, than many other entertainment megaliths. of course, this brouhaha DID follow the news that Disney had contributed to that dickweed De Santis's campaign, after which they got called out pretty loudly and were then obliged to double down on what their policy always was, although it wasn't necessarily highly publicized (these are very purely bottom line people who don't like taking chances). but they DID, in fact, double down on it. and they are, in fact, not backing down. so yeah, in this case it really does seem to be a case of "the enemy of your enemy is your friend," at least for NOW. and I like to thank anyone who quotes or otherwise refers to Hofstadter, who was one of forgotten names for much too long but who I find being quoted more and more frequently. and even if HIS name had fallen out of the general consciousness for awhile, the many great historians he trained (Eric Foner springs to mind) have tended to be very much front-and-center.
As a "Disney Disliker," the one thing I have always been amazed at is the vast number of gay acquaintances I have known to live in homes full of Disney Tchochkes.
First of all, today's Disney is as far from Walt's "vision" as it can be. Its " autocratic" tendencies are all in the service of corporate greed. Walt's original idea for Epcot was definitely a strange combination of fascist control packaged in 1950's Main Street nostalgia. As his kingdom grew so did his need for absolute control which I think he made palatable to himself ( and others) by presenting it as a return to Norman Rockwell-like values.
Disney's Reedy Creek Utlities ( with its own ok to make a nuclear power plant) was an agreement made with the Orange Co. Fathers--and I mean fathers--when Walt first secretly bought all that scrub land in the western part of the County. Orlando was a small town and Orange County was rural. There was no way they could have geared up to supply power to the level Walt need in the time-frame Walt was on. And, now, it would be impossible for Orange County to take on such a sudden huge energy project. ( Unfortunately those same early "fathers" turned down a Disney proposal to build a monorail across the State. In hindsight it would have possibly been the public transport system we are now looking at needing to fund in the billions).
For DeSantis to be a "big girls blouse" ( as they say in Dublin) and throw a tizzy fit vs Disney may have been, ultimately,a step too far. It is also tinged with the smell of the ongoing struggle for power he is having with the Orange County Mayor, Jerry Demings, husband of Congresswoman Val Deming's (currently in closely watched Senate race for Marco Rubio`s seat).
Today, Disney is a huge corporate "village" which people continually confuse with being Orlando. It is an escape vacation place. There is a bit of a symbiosis with the locals through its philanthropy to Orange County Non- profits but that represents a pittance of its capability. But, thousands of locals are employed there in entertainment and a vast array of service jobs.
But here is the reality of the moment. Badly treated as employees or not ( Florida is a right to work state which hinders efforts to organize), a huge number of Disney employees are LGBTQ+ -- many drawn by the opportunities for performance which are scarce around here. They are the ones who put pressure on Disney's higher ups to resist DeSantis's all too transparent campaign to be President--this particular bill having landed heavily on the backs of the gay community (the same community that died in large numbers in the Pulse Nightclub shooting).
Disney hierarchy knows that if this population decided to walk they would have to close up shop!!
So, you are right to not totally canonize Disney for this latest move though I am glad they did it because DeSantis is simply running for President and catering to the trumpian base on the back of the State of Florida-- and, like Walt, he is dressing it up as a return to "family" values!!
Coincidentally, Disney just announced it is building a huge affordable housing project.
The fight goes on!! Buckle up.
Thanks for the excellent explanation of why we do, indeed, have to support Mauschwitz.
Yes, Disney represents a very American dilemma. they own a gigantic share of the entertainment marketplace and are hardly going to be especially edgy or controversial because they see themselves as all-powerful and, in the context of "entertainment," they might as well BE all-powerful. they're pretty cheap and not especially good to the people who work for them (certain content creators who are considered "indispensable" are given very large "retainers" ((aka bribes)) not to go anywhere else. and the history of the founder is a sort of parallel history of the pseudo-conservative non-movement that's been at very least lurking behind the so-called GOP since at least 1932 (you left out Walt's well-attested taste for underage girls, which is so widely believed that the company saw fight to "debunk" it in a biographical documentary they produced). but it IS a company that is extremely gay-friendly and has been for a longer time, and to a greater degree, than many other entertainment megaliths. of course, this brouhaha DID follow the news that Disney had contributed to that dickweed De Santis's campaign, after which they got called out pretty loudly and were then obliged to double down on what their policy always was, although it wasn't necessarily highly publicized (these are very purely bottom line people who don't like taking chances). but they DID, in fact, double down on it. and they are, in fact, not backing down. so yeah, in this case it really does seem to be a case of "the enemy of your enemy is your friend," at least for NOW. and I like to thank anyone who quotes or otherwise refers to Hofstadter, who was one of forgotten names for much too long but who I find being quoted more and more frequently. and even if HIS name had fallen out of the general consciousness for awhile, the many great historians he trained (Eric Foner springs to mind) have tended to be very much front-and-center.
As a "Disney Disliker," the one thing I have always been amazed at is the vast number of gay acquaintances I have known to live in homes full of Disney Tchochkes.
Disney sounds like a good place for laid off Truth Social workers who want a better work environment.