Read more at Racialicious.
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Thanks to Charles Pillsbury III who kindly responded my request for a guest post following some thoughtful comments while discussing Disney films as art.
Art is, I think, ultimately about telling a story, invoking an emotion, and reflecting ourselves. This can be the written word, photograph, film, painting, or music (or whatever art form you choose). While there are differences in how this is achieved in “art for children” vs. that for adults, the story is the crux of what the artistic endeavor is about to me.
Making art obviously doesn’t often happen in a financial vacuum. Before the 20th century “The Arts” were often supported by wealthy patrons. If the pope wants a cathedral painted, your art is more likely to have a religious theme. In the 20th Century, with the rise of the middle-class in America (and around the world) the patronage of the arts has become more distributed. This has certainly had an effect on how, and what, art is created. In the past the artist only had to be concerned with the story they wanted to tell and how it would be received by their patron. Now, with more patrons, there are more people to please if you’re going to be successful. That doesn’t necessarily mean “old art is better,” just that it was made with different financial motivators in mind. It also isn’t speaking to the way more people can participate in both the experiential and creative sides of the arts, that’s a whole other discussion to have later.
Stated more simply, modern capitalistic society has changed the arts. While we are a leisure society which allows for many more people to be involved in the arts, it also encourages the dilution of emotional power in any given piece of art so that it is approachable and enjoyable by a lowest common social denominator. This is the raison d’être of marketing regarding the arts.
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Completely perplexed by the use of the term f****t in this context (anyone?) but I absolutely love this post to a board thread discussing the Year Without Disney project. At least, I think I do.
i actually side with the liberal f****t totally. although i assume being a gullible liberal (or middle aged woman) means you swallow hook line and sinker any band of f***wits preaching a social paradigm off “science”, i can at least respect a legal and unified boycott to at least encourage a company to stop making false claims. f*****s saying you hate america if you dare say anything bad about rampant consumerism are just as bad if not worse. now if the rest of the libf***s would actually learn from this that maybe their precious social programs were just as worthless we might get somewhere
Also, a thoughtful article in the St. Petersburg Times today.
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We’ve now learned that you really can’t let your Disney guard down, even in the bread aisle. Michael purchased hot dog buns without looking at the package and didn’t see the Camp Rock promotion on the plastic bag until we got them home.
Curse you, Sara Lee Soft & Smooth!
I knew about the Sara Lee/Disney connection after spotting Hannah Montana bread a couple years ago. It was one of the first times I wondered if you could ever really get away from Disney. Hot dog buns? Not really a natural connection, but it must be working for both parties. Sara Lee is on Disney’s websites and Disney is on Sara Lee’s websites (but I’m not linking to any of it).
Hawking bread products seems a strange position to put kids into (bad grammar? Sorry, but I just watched about ten of these and it seems to have rubbed off on me):
There was some question as to whether or not we should actually eat the forbidden buns, but I determined that the damage was already done — we had paid for them.
Tally to date: One Pixar movie and one package of Disney-sponsored buns. Not bad.
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The annual back-to-school closet cleaning uncovered only a few remaining Disney items:
The only one still used is the large Disney “Treasury” — a gift from an uncle. While not all classics, the book’s been very well read. We’ll put that one away; the rest will be donated to Goodwill.
Do we ever see a Princess on a sweatshirt with her arms crossed as Mickey and Pooh are seen here? No, I don’t think so. I suspect those were originally sold as boys’ clothing.
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