|
Reprinted from Reuters,
January 5, 1998.
Disney's Eisner Takes On Critics In Letter
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES, CA, Jan. 5 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner said on Monday
his vast entertainment company does not censor its artists as he defended Disney against
critics who charge it with promoting homosexuality and ethnic stereotypes.
In a carefully-worded letter to shareholders in Disney's annual report, Eisner said the
world's second largest entertainment company will not bend to politicians or special
interest groups that attempt to control creative content.
"We seek to be in business with the best and most creative talent we can find. We
then try to give them freedom to do their best work. We try not to censor them, and I will
always defend the right of talented artists who work for us to push the limits of their
imagination," Eisner wrote.
Disney critics have included Southern Baptists, who have called for a boycott of Disney
products, Catholics who have fired off petitions and Arab Americans who said they have
been defamed. All the critics allege that Disney was misusing its family-orientated image.
Eisner, in a major statement confronting his company's critics, stopped short of
draping Disney in absolute First Amendment freedom of speech protection. He labeled the
company's creators as "editors" and said Disney accepts responsibility for its
products.
"If we sometimes make choices with which others disagree, it is not because we
have failed to look hard at our decisions," he wrote.
"Sometimes we will make the wrong choice. Hopefully, we will more often make the
right choice."
He charged some groups with "wanting to leverage our strength with the public for
their own ends, trade on our popularity, if you will."
He also said that issues raised by some critics center on products made by Disney-owned
subsidiaries that do not focus on the same, family-oriented audiences targeted by Disney
brands.
For instance, the Disney movie studio will produce animated features like "The
Lion King" under the Disney brand because it is made for audiences including families
and children.
However a Disney-owned company, such as independent film producer Miramax Films, will make movies that
include adult-oriented content because Miramax targets an audience that excludes children
in many of its films.
In 1997, Disney came under harsh criticism from some religious groups when its ABC
television network allowed TV star Ellen DeGeneres to openly portray a Lesbian in her
prime time show "Ellen."
That move led the Southern
Baptists Convention to vote for a boycott against company products.
Religious groups also complain of a so-called "Gay Day" at Disney theme parks
targeted specifically for homosexuals.
Some Catholic church officials have charged the ABC show "Nothing Sacred"
with portraying priests in a negative light, and the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee in August used the recent
movie "G.I. Jane" as an example of Disney's unfair depiction of Arab characters.
Disney has moved to halt some products from reaching market, however. It recently
stopped distribution of a potentially offensive rap album by the duo Insane Clown Posse.
Also, its theme parks revamped the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, removing displays in
which drunken sailors chased women.
Walt Disney Co., based in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, is second only to New
York-based Time Warner Inc
in a run-down of the world's largest entertainment companies.
Some of its subsidiaries, affiliates and brand names include Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Touchstone Pictures, Touchstone Television, Miramax Films, Hyperion Books, Hollywood Records, ABC, ESPN and The
Disney Channel.
|
