Kevin Shortsleeve's goal in this piece is to find out what it is that critics truly fear about Disney. He is quick to note that he is not the first critic of Disney. He recognizes that there are many people out there that despise Disney and his tendency to oversimplify and dumb down the "traditional" stories from which Disney obtained his ideas. They call this the "Disneyfication" of these stories because it tends to make their plots more simplistic and sentimental than their authors intended. He separates himself from these critics by claiming that he is not a "Disney discontent"because he sees no problem with making movies that encourage happiness and optimism. I think that is the reason most people love Disney movies and other productions because they promote good feelings. As Shortsleeve states later in his piece, "audiences sought deliverance from a system, a place, and a time that had failed them". That is the joy of watching a film, you get distraction from whatever situation you are currently in. I think Shortsleeve's problem with Disney is that he did not incorporate those values of optimism and human aspiration into running the actual company.
I think Kevin Shortsleeve's thesis is that the real reason critics, and maybe even the general audience on a subliminal level, fear Disney is that his methods for gaining popularity for his company took advantage of the Great Depression and allowed him to get away with using political methods that would not be taken well today. Shortsleeve believes that Disney's methods went along the same lines as the political and social thoughts that led to WWII. I think that accusation is a little far fetched but I do think he has a point in saying that Disney commanded his company in a very totalitarian way. I can see what he meant by stating that Walt Disney had an "Orwellian" style management. If all of Shortsleeve's facts are true, there is plenty proof that Disney relied on surveillance, propaganda, and manipulation to maintain control of his company. The citizens of Celebration, Disney's experimental village, claim to feel watched all the time. Disney workers are scared to talk about the company and are terrified of ever being caught doing something wrong in case they get linked back to Disney and have to face those consequence as well. There is also the point that Disney and the company had a bad habit of extreme unequal pay among the workers, even those doing the exact same job. Disney had a reputation for putting down strikes and firing those who he saw as a threat. He was clearly a conservative man and although for the most part he was able to carefully word his opinions so he would not look bad, his ideals were pretty clear.
Overall, I do not think Disney's way of running his company is enough to hate him for it. He was born in a different time and tried to build a company in a time of trouble. I think Disney knew that he would have to be strict to succeed and he was not afraid to be like that. People may complain about his methods and the fact that similar ruthless methods are used today, but I can only imagine how much more complaining there would be if Disney workers were allowed to express themselves freely. The amount of complaints of service and product distribution as well as actual film plots would be unbelievable. I think another reason Disney favored these accusations is that they served as free propaganda at times. All the conversations about Disney may not have been favorable but at least he (and his company) were being talked about. He believed in his business and believed that absolute power over it was necessary for its success, despite people like Shortsleeve that disagreed with this idea.
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