STUART REVERCOMB: A Little Disney Never Hurt Anyone – Or Has It?

Hot off the press: “Disney Slaps ‘Offensive Content’ Label On The Muppet Show.”

Disney has decided that ‘The Muppet Show’ — featuring Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy — contains “offensive content” and can now be seen only on an adult account. When viewers open the streaming service they are now greeted with the following disclaimer:

‘This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together. Disney is committed to creating stories with inspirational and aspirational themes that reflect the rich diversity of the human experience around the globe.’

According to The Daily Mail, “The warning is believed to refer to Muppet characters designed as stereotypes of Native Americans, Arabs and East Asians.”

Seriously?

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Last night I read a short article about J. R. R. Tolkien’s (The Hobbit / Lord of The Rings) disdain for Walt Disney himself. At the beginning of the article I couldn’t imagine anyone not liking Disney outright – at least back in the day when the work of his company was all about the telling of sweet children’s tales.

But once his reasoning was explained – that Disney took “fairy tales” and made them into innocuous “feel good” stories in lieu of the challenging and often threatening reflections of reality – that were originally meant to prepare children for the world – I understood the validity of his disappointment that, according to the article, was really closer to disgust.

Fast forward some 60 plus years and imagine Disney seeing the product of his company today – a wide open entertaining funnel at the top that draws young children into its event horizon with seemingly harmless “sweet children’s tales” (albeit with far more mesmerizing animated action and adventure) that leads, as children “age up”, to the bottom of the funnel – where Disney pop culture “teen stars” take over, leading kids ever deeper into a Hollywood inspired malaise.

This sad formula almost invariably ends with the “stars” themselves turning into hyper-sexed, drugged-out products of the American entertainment machine – with many of his or her “followers” not far behind.

Kind of gives new meaning to “when you wish upon a “Star.”

One gets the feeling that Disney himself would have shot Bambi in cold blood right on the silver screen if it would have meant the demise of the “Empire” that was to become of his creations.

Which is worse? The reality of the “big bad wolf?” Or the false “old grandmother” who hides the reality of the world from your children’s eyes so she can later kick them into the stove that is the lost and burning culture of our day.

Vote with your pocketbooks –  it’s all that’s left to do in an apostate culture that’s gone absolutely mad.

It WILL make a difference.

Stuart Revercomb

– Stuart Revercomb

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