3 Nielsen Media Research produces Nielsen ratings to measure U.S.
television audience size and composition.
4 Of course, other broadcast entertainment venues for children are not
given a free pass. Consider the widely broadcast accusations of
homosexuality among Teletubbies and Sesame Street characters (New
York Times, February 11, 1999; Mikkelson 2007), or of satanic worship
in the Harry Potter books.
5 Disney bought the rights to Winnie the Pooh after Milne’s death in
1956.
6 Paula Giese provides a compilation of Native American comments and
discussions about Pocahontas on her website at
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/poca/. Note also that Russell Means, a
Native American rights activist, was very vocal with his unconditional
praise of Disney’s version of Pocahontas. His opinion is rendered
suspect, however, because he took a prominent acting role in it.
7 In 1924, tickets averaged a quarter; by 1929 the average price was 35
cents. Prices dropped again during the Depression. In 1965, the
average movie ticket price rose above $1.00 for the first time (Picture
Show Man n.d.).
8 Giroux provides more background on the way Disney has limited
access to its archives and use of materials in academic publications for
those scholars and academics whose work conflicts with the image
they want to project. This may well be within their legal rights, but in
the end it amounts to limiting and censoring discourse.
9 There has been a great deal of speculation about Walt Disney’s ties to
Nazi Germany and his anti-Semitic feelings more generally. While
some evidence points to that conclusion, there is certainly not enough
of it to make any claims along these lines.
10 In 1930, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
(MPPDA) created a self-regulatory code of ethics. The office charged
with this duty was put under the direction of Will H. Hays, and went
into effect on July 1, 1934. The Hays Office outlined general standards
of good taste and specifically forbade certain elements in film. The
code specified that “no picture shall be produced which will lower the
standards of those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience
should never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin.”
The specific regulations included (in paraphrase): (1) Revenge in
ff
(ff)
#1