Disney granddaughter takes issue with the Magic Kingdom
Is Stefanik styling at a new level in try for vice-presidential nod
It was Walt Disney's idea.
If you worked at Disneyland - and later Disneyworld - you were not an employee, you were a "cast member."
You were part of the team.
You were someone special.
But in The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales, Abigail Disney tells us that is no longer the case.
Disney is the granddaughter of Roy Disney who founded Disney with his brother Walt Disney. Abigail Disney, 64, has no current role in operating the Disney corporation, although she still owns stock and is reported to be worth more than $100 million. She is a Hollywood producer in her own right and directed and starred in this recent documentary about the Disney Corporation's treatment of workers.
The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales was the opening act at the Albany Film Festival this weekend with Abigail Disney appearing on a panel discussion afterward.
The story of rank-and-file American workers being left behind in corporations where CEO's often make 100 to 200 times more than the average worker should be nothing new to most of us.
The fact that corporate greed is no stranger at Disney, where they still call janitors and food service people "cast members," does make it a little more shocking.
After all Disney is known alternately as "The happiest place on Earth" or "Where dreams come true." Yet, when a homeless "cast member," who actually did play Winnie the Pooh at a Disney Park, died in her car in 2018, it raised questions.
"I'm the loudest of the loudmouths in my family," Abigail Disney said at the outset of the discussion after her movie on Saturday, but maybe the more important question is why it took the Disney heiress so long to raise the issue.
The documentary weaves Abigail Disney's early memories of Disneyland's opening in 1955 with her discussions of current employees' struggles to live above the poverty line in Southern California.
In the movie, she reaches out out to Disney CEO Bob Eiger about his $65 million salary when many Disney workers are making less than $15 an hour. But she doesn't reveal his reaction.
"It was insulting," Disney said on Saturday. "It angered me and showed a complete lack of humanity."
After she made the movie, she said she did not speak to her older brother for a long time. She also said she probably would not have made the movie if her parents were still alive.
While Disney's quest to illuminate the wealth gap in the United States is admirable, the question of "What took you so long?" kept coming back to me.
Two themes collide head-on in the film.
The first is the fantasy reputation that Disney enjoys as a perfect utopia for families to escape. The early footage of Disney and her family and the building of Disneyland is what we want to remember as the good old days.
She says her grandfather and his brother Walt would be shocked by the treatment of workers today.
The stories of workers who have to work holidays away from their families, the third shift for a few extra dollars while unable to afford a place to live is the most powerful part of the movie. And the fact it is happening at Disney makes it worse.
Disney asks workers if they know workers who can't afford the company's health insurance, if they are on food stamps, if they have every lived in their car?
In each case, several of the workers raise their hands.
Of course, the bigger story is that Disney is not unique among American corporations.
It is becoming the norm for American workers.
When I was first married, my wife and I took part in a direct stock purchase of Disney stock. This was way before anyone had a 401k program. I think we were trying to be grown up and be investors. We didn't have enough money to get advice from a stock broker, so we invested in a company that seemed to have the right ideals while being immune to economic forces.
We mailed our check in every month for a few years and got these cool stock certificates with Mickey Mouse on them. We eventually sold them when the stock stalled. We made a little bit of a profit.
While watching the documentary, I felt bad about ever investing in the company.
But Abigail Disney didn't seem to mind.
"The question of complicity is the biggest issue," Disney admitted. "I hope to do the best that I can do.
"A whole mindset shift occurred right under my nose," Disney said. "My grandfather (Roy Disney) was a right-wing loon, but he would never have treated the people the way they are being treated now."
The good news is that Disney unions have begun to work together and a deal from last year will give low-level workers a 37 percent raise by 2026. That $3.00-an-hour lift for more than 30,000 workers may still not be enough in the southern California real estate market, but it is a start.
Not long after that deal was struck, Disney announced it would lay off 7,000 workers but the unions did not believe the hourly workers in the unions would be affected.
The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales is currently streaming on Prime and Apple TV for $2.99.
Stefanik looking good
A reader from Stillwater passed on a recent photo of Rep. Elise Stefanik from the Albany Times Union and couldn't help but notice that Stefanik is looking really good these days.
The reader couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with the vice-presidential sweepstakes and Trump's insistence on beautiful people being around him.
"From the looks of the photo, she’s been going to a high-end hairdresser and makeup artist," the reader concluded. "I almost didn’t recognize her. It sure looks to me as if she’s going through a very thorough grooming process to make her look vice presidential with her new haircut, obvious highlights and makeup, including what appear to be eyelash extensions."
The reader looked at older Instagram photos and said there was a dramatic difference in her appearance.
"I'll bet there are many other sharp-eyed readers out there who noticed it as well," the reader wrote.
I noticed higher quality, slicker photos being used in her press releases and more perfection in her makeup as well. Whether it has anything to do with looking better for Trump, well, I wouldn't rule it out.
Albany Film Festival
My trip to the Albany Film Festival this weekend was my first and I was impressed with the array of movies and panel discussions, including a full slate of movie shorts.
The festival is put on by the New York State Writers Institute and was free to the public.
It was also kind of cool to see a big-time actress like Jacqueline Bisset and hear her talk about acting and her career.
Her new movie Loren & Rose, an independent film directed by Russel Brown, was a treat as well.
Saint Rose documentary
A panel discussion with College of Saint Rose students and visiting professor Jaime Iglehart seemed like an afterthought to me, but I was curious about the project.
But students and alumni filled the room to check out a preview of a documentary trying to put in perspective the end of a local educational institution.
Iglehart is a visiting professor of communications at Saint Rose and was joined on the panel with several of the students working on the film "Goodbye Dear Neighbor."
The closing of the school was announced in December so they had little time to complete their project, but what was previewed showed the emotions of the students and faculty for their school.
Iglehart pointed out the school-closing phenomenon is being repeated all over the country. She said over 50 colleges had closed in the past year and that studies show that when a school closes, just 17 percent of the students go on to graduate.
During the Q&A, it was obvious that many there had attended the College of Saint Rose and were sad about its closing.
I'm hoping they have a world premiere for the movie sometime in the near future.
Stay-at-home eclipse
We chose the stay-at-home option for viewing the eclipse with snacks and a Bloody Mary or two.
Although we did not get the full eclipse - there was still a sliver of the sun at totality time. Our garage lights - which come on as it gets dark - came on at totality, but no reaction from our dog Sophie.
But she did enjoy the snacks.
And the best part for us - no traffic.
Chapman book sale
Reminder that the Chapman Museum will be holding a spring book sale at the same time as Crandall Public Library on April 19-20.
The Chapman will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Several local authors will be appearing to sign books on both days. I will be signing books on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
What I noticed at the Chapman is the great collection of books on local history that I have not seen in other places ever before. Books like "Bridging the Years."
Mark you calendars
Battenkill Books in Cambridge will be hosting a discussion between former Schenectady Gazette Editor Judy Patrick and myself about my new book The Last American Editor, Vol. 2 as well as general discussion about journalism and newspapers.
The event will be held Thursday, May 16 at 6 p.m. at Battenkill Books.
A new haircut and make-up won’t change anything. Trump goes for beautiful and porn material. He wants to have a beautiful woman standing next to him hoping every man in America envies him. Stefanik isn’t that. I’m not trying to put an emphasis on looks, just draw attention to Trump’s shallowness.
She is a bit too heavy for Trump. Plain and simple, he has a "type" for sure, and Elise ain't it. She looks way too wholesome for the viper to cast his gaze on. Even as she tries to look a bit more seductive...I can't believe I'm commenting on her looks, what have I become....