The business of myth-making: Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers and the Disney effect

In just one of the many extraordinary moments during the spectacular Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games, thirty Mary Poppinses floated into the stadium on their umbrellas to battle a 40 foot-long inflatable Lord Voldemort. This multi-million pound extravaganza was telecast to a global audience of over one billion people, highlighting in an extremely effective manner the grandeur and eccentricities of the host nation, and featuring uniquely British icons such as Mr Bean, James Bond, The Beatles and Harry Potter, as well as those quintessential icons of Englishness, the Royal Family, double-decker red buses and the National Health Service.

Disney: ideologia eta pedagogia

[eus] Ikerketa honek Walt Disney konpainiak ekoiztutako hainbat filmetan agertzen den edukia eta pertsonaiak analizatzen ditu. Pelikulak balorez eta aspektu ideologikoez beteta daude eta gizarte-ikaskuntzaren teoriaren arabera, izugarrizko eragina daukate haurren jarduteko moduan. Ideia horiek oso lotuta daude emakumezkoak gizartean hartzen duen irudiarekin, gizartean dagoen familiaren esanahiarekin eta gure gizarteko sistema politiko eta ekonomikoarekin. Beraz, animaziozko filmen aurrean umeen kritikotasuna garatzeko Lehen Hezkuntzako gelarako baliabide metodologikoa proposatzen da, umeek pantaila handian ikusten dutenaz hausnar dezaten.

A magia da Disney no Facebook: estratégias de comunicação e negócios do conglomerado na rede social.

O mercado contemporâneo de mídia é dominado por um número cada vez menor de empresas, que competem entre si no mercado global. Resultantes de aquisições e fusões com atividades em várias frentes, as empresas compõem impérios midiáticos, classificados como conglomerados de mídia. Nesse contexto dos conglomerados, esta pesquisa analisa uma das vertentes do segmento de internet da The Walt Disney Company: a página da empresa no Facebook. Utilizando o referencial das indústrias de mídia e da economia de mídia como principal base teórica, o objetivo desta pesquisa é identificar as estratégias da empresa na sua relação com os usuários, especialmente aquelas de maior apelo junto ao público entre 9 e 15 anos, faixa etária contemplada pelas pesquisas TIC Domicílios e Usuários 2012 e TIC Kids Online Brasil 2012. Neste contexto, através da análise de postagens com promoções e propaganda de seus produtos, explícitas ou não (tais como filmes, jogos e desenhos animados), é possível identificar as inserções criativas da empresa no Facebook, as estratégias de marketing na referida página e as principais frentes do negócio internet da Disney Co. Para tanto, são usados também documentos oficiais (e públicos) da Companhia, em especial balanços anuais e informações divulgadas na imprensa. A metodologia adotada é a do estudo de caso incluindo as inserções feitas de 19 de maio de 2009 a 28 de janeiro de 2014, totalizando 529 postagens, e os relatórios fiscais anuais a partir de 1999, com ênfase no documento de 2013. As postagens são analisadas e categorizadas de modo a permitir a identificação do segmento do negócio Disney ao qual cada uma se refere. Com isso, o intuito é verificar as principais metas da empresa na rede social Facebook.

"I might be a duck, but I'm human" : an analysis of clothing in Disney cartoons

Mickey Mouse, one of the world's most recognizable cartoon characters, did not wear a shirt in his earliest incarnation in theatrical shorts and, for many years, Donald Duck did not wear pants and still rarely does so. Especially when one considers the era in which these figures were first created by the Walt Disney Studio, in the 1920s and 1930s, why are they portrayed without full clothing? The obvious answer, of course, is that they are animals, and animals do not wear clothes. But these are no ordinary animals: in most cases, they do wear clothing - some clothing, at least - and they walk on two legs, talk in a more or less intelligible fashion, and display a number of other anthropomorphic traits. If they are essentially animals, why do they wear clothing at all? On the other hand, if these characters are more human than animal, as suggested by other behavioral traits - they walk, talk, work, read, and so on - why are they not more often fully clothed? To answer these questions I undertook three major research strategies used to gather evidence: interpretive textual analysis of 321 cartoons; secondary analysis of interviews conducted with the animators who created the Disney characters; and historical and archival research on the Disney Company and on the times and context in which it functioned. I was able to identify five themes that played a large part in what kind of clothing a character wore; first, the character's gender and/or sexuality; second, what species or "race" the character was; third, the character's socio-economic status; fourth, the degree to which the character was anthropomorphized; and, fifth, the context in which the character and its clothing appeared in a particular scene or narrative. I concluded that all of these factors played a part in determining, to some extent, the clothing worn by particular characters at particular times. However, certain patterns emerged from the analysis that could not be explained by these factors alone or in combination. Therefore, my analysis also investigates the individual and collective attitudes and desires of the men in the Disney studio who were responsible for creating these characters and the cultural conditions under which they were created. Drawing on literature from the psychoanalytic approach to film studies, I argue that the clothing choices spoke to an idealized fantasy world to which the animators (most importantly, Walt Disney himself), and possibly wider society, wanted to return.

Working an identity, buying a life: the remains of Disney way of life among ICP alumni

O Disney International College Program (ICP) é um programa de estágio patrocinado pela Walt Disney Company, destinado a estudantes universitários estrangeiros. Uma vez aceitos no programa, estes jovens viajam para os Estados Unidos durante as férias de verão para trabalhar por três meses no Walt Disney World Resort na Flórida. O ICP tornou-se um programa popular dentre os estudantes universitários brasileiros. Todos os anos, aproximadamente trinta mil jovens candidatam-se para o programa. Contudo, apenas cerca de oitocentos conseguem ser aprovados. Durante o programa esses jovens desenvolvem uma “identidade Disney” que passará a fazer parte do self deles. O objetivo deste trabalho é explorar o papel ICP na vida dos seus participantes, assim como desvendar seus efeitos na construção do self destes jovens. O presente estudo também procurou avaliar como os participantes conseguem sustentar sua “identidade Disney”, mesmo após deixarem o programa. Para tanto, foi desenvolvido um estudo de caso qualitativo, no qual o caso analisado foi a identidade de participantes do ICP. Após uma breve análise da literatura sobre identidade, consideramos o self como a capacidade do individuo em manter viva uma narrativa particular. Assim, nossos dados foram coletados e analisados por meio do método de análise narrativo. Através deste estudo, descobrimos que a Walt Disney Company realiza um trabalho eficiente em convencer os participantes do ICP que a sua missão e seus valores são muito importantes. Com isso, estes jovens passam a louvar a marca Disney. Também foi observada a existência de uma comunidade de Disney Alumni (pessoas que participaram do ICP) unida por princípios, ideias e consumo.

O estilo do rei: o diálogo entre O Rei Leão, da Disney, e Hamlet, de Shakespeare, sob uma perspectiva semiótica

This work consists of a semiotic analysis of the animation motion picture The Lion King (1994), by the Walt Disney Animation Studios, describing its intertextual relation with Hamlet, by Shakespeare, considering Disney’s individuality, its style. In order to study style in texts, we use discursive semiotics theory, highlighting Discini’s work (2013) and the concept of discursive settings. Hence, a deep discussion about The Lion King’s style, compared to the Shakespeare’s play, is established. The movie, once a syncretic text, requires advanced studies on Expression Plane, its plastic, musical and verbal/phonic aspects. We find these studies in the work of José Luiz Fiorin (2009), Lúcia Teixeira (2009), Ana Claúdia de Oliveira (2009), Jean-Marie Floch (2009) and Antônio Vicente Pietroforte (2008). We note how a syncretic text makes the discursive settings more complex by assembling plastic and sonorous materials in semissimbolic relation. Once defined The Lion King’s style, we analyze the way it justifies the intense popularity of this kind of animation features. Finally, it is important to understand how Disney uses in its style not only discursive settings, but also passional settings, revealing its own way to stir emotions on the spectator

Dads, Daughters, And Disney: The Historical Trajectory Of Fairy Tale Fathers And Daughters

In my thesis I use a historical approach to close readings of fairy tale texts and movies to study the evolution of fathers, daughters, and marriage within three landmark tales: ¿Cinderella,¿ ¿Sleeping Beauty,¿ and ¿Snow White.¿ Using the works of Giambattista Basile, Charles Perrault, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and Walt Disney and his cohort of animators, I trace the historical trajectory of these three elements, analyzing both the ways they change and develop as history progresses as well as the ways they remain consistent. Through close and comparative readings of primary sources and films, I demonstrate the power structures and familial dynamics evident through the interactions of fathers and daughters. Specifically, I show that through the weakness and ineptitude of fairy tale fathers, fairy tale daughters are able to gain power, authority, and autonomy by using magic and marriage to navigate patriarchal systems. The work I have done is important because it explores how each tale is a product of the story before it and thus that in order for these tales to continue to survive the test of time, we must not only recognize the validity of the academic merit of the Disney stories, but also remember them and others as we forge new paths in the stories we use to teach both children and parents. Specifically, this work is important because it explores the historical trend evident in the evolving relationships between fathers and daughters. This relationship ultimately it reveals the deep underlying need for family within all of us.

Disney's Internship Program: More than Hands-On Experience

The vast majority of hospitality management programs require students to participate in a hands-on work experience, which helps bridge the gap between theory and practice, providing the student with an opportunity to practice the theory learned in the classroom. The Walt Disney World Co. developed, implemented, and operates one of the most successful internship programs in the hospitality industry. It recognizes the need for business practitioners to become more involved in the education of future hospitality managers. The authors summarize the company's program and offer suggestions for other employers looking to give interns more than hands-on experience.

Capital-C culture : the perfect American at the Brisbane Festival

A review of Philip Glass's opera The Perfect American. The Brisbane Festival’s production of Philip Glass’s opera The Perfect American is only the third production of the 2012 work ever to be staged. That’s quite a coup for the Brisbane Festival and Opera Queensland. The Perfect American was commissioned by Madrid’s Teatro Real and London’s English National Opera to mark the American composer’s 75th birthday. Glass’s telling of the Disney myth focuses on the final stages of Walt Disney’s life and career – a high art critique of a popular culture icon...

Adapting “8-bit” motion style to 3D computer animation for Wreck-it Ralph

Tangled (2011) demonstrated that Walt Disney Animation has successfully extended the traditional Disney animation aesthetic to the 3D medium. The very next film produced by the studio however, Wreck-it Ralph (2012), required the animators (trained in the traditional Disney style) to develop a limited style of animation inspired by the 8-bit motion of 1980s video games. This paper examines the 8-bit style motion in Wreck-it Ralph to understand if and how the principles of animation were adapted for the film.

Rethinking Disney: Private Control, Public Dimensions

Mike Budd and Max H. Kirsch, eds. Rethinking Disney: Private Control, Public Dimensions. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2005. ix + 341pp. $27.95

Distribution Revolution: Conversations about the Digital Future of Film and Television

Distribution Revolution is a collection of interviews with leading film and TV professionals concerning the many ways that digital delivery systems are transforming the entertainment business. These interviews provide lively insider accounts from studio executives, distribution professionals, and creative talent of the tumultuous transformation of film and TV in the digital era. The first section features interviews with top executives at major Hollywood studios, providing a window into the big-picture concerns of media conglomerates with respect to changing business models, revenue streams, and audience behaviors. The second focuses on innovative enterprises that are providing path-breaking models for new modes of content creation, curation, and distribution—creatively meshing the strategies and practices of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. And the final section offers insights from creative talent whose professional practices, compensation, and everyday working conditions have been transformed over the past ten years. Taken together, these interviews demonstrate that virtually every aspect of the film and television businesses is being affected by the digital distribution revolution, a revolution that has likely just begun. Interviewees include: • Gary Newman, Chairman, 20th Century Fox Television • Kelly Summers, Former Vice President, Global Business Development and New Media Strategy, Walt Disney Studios • Thomas Gewecke, Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Warner Bros. Entertainment • Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix • Felicia D. Henderson, Writer-Producer, Soul Food, Gossip Girl • Dick Wolf, Executive Producer and Creator, Law & Order

Thinking like Disney: Supporting the Disney method using ambient feedback based on group performance

The Disney method is a collaborative creativity technique that uses three roles - dreamer, realist and critic - to facilitate the consideration of different perspectives on a topic. Especially for novices it is important to obtain guidance in applying this method. One way is providing groups with a trained moderator. However, feedback about the group’s behavior might interrupt the flow of the idea finding process. We built and evaluated a system that provides ambient feedback to a group about the distribution of their statements among the three roles. Our preliminary field study indicates that groups supported by the system contribute more and roles are used in a more balanced way while the visualization does not disrupt the group work.

Das fatale Loch in der Berliner Theatergeschichte : lecture ueber Persoenlichkeiten des Berliner Theaterlebens und ihre NS-Vergangenheit /

Manuscript: "Das fatale Loch in der Berliner Theatergeschichte". Speech exploring the burdens placed on scholarship and the students of the Theatrical Institute of the Free University of Berlin by the presence of professors who were compromised by their activities during the Nazi era.

Philip Slomovitz papers, undated, 1933-1966.

Contains correspondence as editor of the Detroit Jewish chronicle and of The Jewish news. Of special interest is the correspondence with members of the U.S. Congress relating to aid to Israel, material relating to the boycott of Viceroy cigarettes, the question of the Jewish descent of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the dictionary definition of "Jew."