I am inclined to go along with Kate McKinnon's piece on last week's Saturday Night Live. Her initial response was “I heard about this law, and I think it’s amazing! Because when I was in middle school in the ‘90s, I was kind of tortured by the constant use of the word ‘gay,’ like, ‘That’s so gay’ or ‘Ew, you’re gay,’ and it made me feel horrible. And to hear that Ron DeSantis has taken a stand and said, ‘No, you cannot say gay in school anymore!’ I’m so jazzed. And in Florida, of all places!”
That's when the veil fell. Ms. McKinnon was reminded that the Florida law is intended to keep children from having to hear about anything "gay." Having spent a similarly miserable time in junior high being labeled "gay" because I did not conform with the uniform behavior and dress standards set by popular culture, I can imagine what a glorious relief it would be if Kate's first impression had been correct. So much so that my current experience as an elementary school teacher would be enhanced by never having to speak to seven and eight year olds who have heard that word and see it as a way to degrade their classmates. Currently I have to stop every week or so to let the hammer of truth sing out. "What's wrong with gay?" I ask.
That's when it gets very quiet.
"Did you call him gay because you wanted him to feel bad?"
Usually it stays quiet, but every so often a very macho second grader will want to insist that whatever their little companion had done was abhorrent or wrong. Because it did not meet his very primitive sense of the world. The one that was handed to him by his parents. If being thoughtful, caring, empathetic and creative is "gay," then sign me up. Meanwhile, we have a number of families with parents, cousins, siblings and on and on who would prefer if "gay" was celebrated or accepted at the very least. There is already far too much in the world that tells our little minds that it is not.
Now we have the state of Florida telling us that it's best just not to talk about it all. "Don't say 'gay?'"
Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. y. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay. Gay.
Pixar Employees Make Stunning Accusation: Disney Censors The Studio’s Films
ReplyDeleteEmployees at Disney-Pixar Animation Studios have issued an unprecedented letter criticizing the Walt Disney Company’s muted position on the state of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which passed this week in the Florida Senate.
The letter, attributed to “LGBTQIA+ employees of Pixar and their allies,” claims that Disney has excised “nearly every moment of overtly gay affection” in Pixar films to date
Pixar employees issued their letter amidst the worst public relations crisis for the Walt Disney Company since Bob Chapek took over as CEO two years ago.
The crisis is largely one of Chapek’s own making and was elevated to a new level after Chapek issued a ham-fisted defense of Disney’s approach to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by claiming that the best way to affect change was “through the inspiring content we produce.”
The Pixar employees reference that internal studio memo and claim that they “aren’t even allowed to create” the inspiring content that Chapek touted as the foundation of Disney’s response. Chapek has since tried to buy his way out of the crisis by pledging $5 million from Disney to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, however, that too backfired after the group refused the donation until “meaningful action is taken to combat” Florida’s new law.
full story here: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/pixar-employees-make-stunning-accusation-disney-censors-the-studios-films-214105.html