#1416 The Disneyfication of Our Past, Present and Future
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2021
⏱️ 82 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 5/8/2021
Today we take a look at the culture that Disney has helped create and how they did it, using cuteness as a weapon to push ideas from racist stereotypes and segregation to the masterful use of hollow nods toward progressivism while reinforcing the ethics of individualism in order to give systemic injustice a pass.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
MEMBERSHIP, Gift Memberships and Donations! (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content)
REFER-O-MATIC! Sign up, share widely, get rewards. It's that easy!
Want to advertise/sponsor the show? Details -> advertisecast.com/BestoftheLeft
SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The Racial Politics of Disney Animals Part 1 - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 8-28-15
Scholar, writer, and activist Walidah Imarisha is someone who’s been thinking hard about what stories Disney tells and why. She teaches a class on race and Disney films at Portland State University.
Ch. 2: 40 Acres and a Movie - Still Processing - Air Date 4-8-21
Disney owns a piece of every living person’s childhood. Now it owns Marvel Studios, too. Jenna and Wesley look at depictions of racist tropes and stereotypes in Disney’s ever-expanding catalog. The company has made recent attempts to atone for its past.
Ch. 3: The Racial Politics of Disney Animals Part 2 - Popaganda from @BitchMedia - Air Date 8-28-15
Ch. 4: Woke Disney - Lindsay Ellis - Air Date 9-30-21
Nodding to progressive ideas while just proping up capitalism is just marketing.
Ch. 5: Disneyfication of American History - American Hysteria - Air Date 1-25-21
Disney has been presenting a fairytale reality within a reality since the 1920s, a far cuter reality that mimics our reality until reality is no longer reality at all. Make sense?
Ch. 6: How Disney Ruined Culture - Wisecrack - Air Date 11-9-20
It's no surprise that Disney has an absolute stranglehold on the culture we consume today. But the joys of the Magic Kingdom aside, what if it's actually kind of really bad for art? We'll explain in this Wisecrack Edition: How Disney Ruined Culture.
Ch. 7: The (Not So) Wonderful World of Disney - It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders - Air Date 2-16-18
Sam talks to filmmaker and activist Abigail Disney, daughter of Roy E. Disney, about her views on inequality in the U.S., corporate greed and why, despite her last name, she's become one of the more vocal and prominent critics of The Walt Disney empire.
Ch. 8: DED Talks: Why Walt Disney is Nothing Like You Think He Was - Cracked - Air Date 1-19-15
Disney tell's his story
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 9: Disneyfication Of Cuteness - American Hysteria - Air Date 1-25-21
Disney has been presenting a fairytale reality within a reality since the 1920s, a far cuter reality that mimics our reality until reality is no longer reality at all. Make sense?
Ch. 10: Copyright: Why We Can't Have Nice Things - Wisecrack - Air Date 4-23-21
This video, like everything else in the world, is copyrighted. But what does that really mean? Copyright laws started out as a way to protect creators from having their hard work stolen, but it's turned into something else entirely.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 11: Ableism in the show - Alyson from Colorado
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on Woke Disney and Ableist language
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out the BotL iOS/Android App in the App Stores!
Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of Left Podcast, in which we shall |
| 0:07.2 | learn about the culture that Disney has helped create and how they did it, using cuteness |
| 0:13.1 | as a weapon to push ideas from racist stereotypes and segregation to the more recent masterful |
| 0:19.8 | use of hollow nods towards progressivism while reinforcing the ethics of individualism |
| 0:26.6 | in order to give systemic injustice a pass. |
| 0:30.0 | Clips today are from Papaganda, still processing, Lindsay Ellis, American hysteria, Wisecrack, |
| 0:38.5 | it's been a minute with Sam Sanders and Cracked. |
| 0:53.9 | Last days, Disney is one of the most influential media companies in the world. |
| 0:58.9 | It's hard to believe that Disney almost went bankrupt right after it got started. |
| 1:04.4 | In 1940, the studio had sunk $2.3 million into making epic musical work Fantasia. |
| 1:12.3 | The movie was a financial loss and Disney had exceeded its loan limits. |
| 1:17.0 | The studio turned to a simple story of a flying elephant to make some money. |
| 1:31.2 | Maybe you saw Dumbledore as a kid and didn't think too much about it, but listen again to that |
| 1:49.5 | too. |
| 2:03.7 | These crows are clearly standing in for black people. |
| 2:07.4 | They're way of speaking, they're clothes, even their name are racial stereotypes. |
| 2:11.8 | The main bird's name is Jim Crow, and reference to America's racial segregation laws. |
| 2:18.0 | Some of the crows are voiced by black actors, but Jim Crow himself was portrayed by Cliff |
| 2:23.0 | Edwards, a white actor and ukulele player, better known for voicing the Jiminy cricket. |
| 2:38.2 | Many people have examined the racial politics of Disney animals over the years. |
| 2:42.6 | The documentary film Mickey Mouse Monopoly explores this issue, along with other critical |
| 2:48.1 | perspectives on Disney, here's a clip from the documentary, which starts with a scene |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jay Tomlinson, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jay Tomlinson and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.