Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Nemo, Monsters INC., and Cars, what do all these movie titles have in common? They are all products of Disney. Children from every generation have enjoyed the products and movies produced by Disney. You can even catch me, a twenty one year old male college student singing “Just Around the River Bend” from the movie Pocahontas. But recently, in 2011, Disney has been under great scrutiny for hiring a Chinese company called Sturdy Products to manufacture toy cars. Disney hired Sturdy Products to produce toy cars, but Disney did not know the unethical practices Sturdy Products used to produce these toy cars. According to Business Insider, “Workers were as young as 14 years old. Worked frequent excessive overtime. Worked in abusive working environment. Employees were shouted at and denied medical attention. The company had poor safety regulations. Were hiding poisons during audits. The staff was being paid to lie about factory conditions.” (Johnson, Robert)This was taken place in 2011. Disney did not suffer any serious repercussions from this event. We cannot blame Disney for Sturdy Products having immoral working environment. Disney did not know Sturdy Products were doing these awful things. A worker at Sturdy Products said to a reporter …show more content…
from Force Change, “During client companies’ visits: workers were forced to hide pots of adhesive and thinners, and were paid to give misleading answers during factory audits.” (Tung, Allison) Due to Disney’s lack of knowledge of Sturdy Products working environment they did not suffer. Sadly, Sturdy Products is very good at what they do.
Sturdy Products did not suffer ANY serious repercussions from this event. Sturdy Products force all workers to sign a “voluntary” agreement saying all workers are willing to work overtime, and agreeing to work in hazardous conditions (Tung, Allison). The only set back Sturdy Products faced was a replaceable one. A worker from Study Products told the Guardian, “A female worker committed suicide, because she was always scolded. However, I feel helpless because it is not easy for me to find another job." (Chamberlain, Gethin) It is terrible that someone committed suicide because the working conditions were so awful, and yet Sturdy Products is not
responsible. Most companies do not buy from an unethical supplier. Disney found themselves buying from an unethical company in 2011. Disney overlooked a lot of things. As I’ve stated above, when Disney went on their visits to Sturdy Products they were not aware of the horrible treatment of the workers. Disney knew of the previous accusations made about Sturdy Products maltreatment in 2007, Disney thought Sturdy Products changed their malpractices. The reasons Disney overlooked this unethical treatment, is because of money. Why pay workers here in the states minimum wage, when you can have workers in China do it for 33 cents an hour. (Ye, Ai) After Disney was informed of Sturdy Products working conditions they released this statement, "We take these matters impacting our licensees and business partners very seriously and will continue to evaluate this situation based upon the information available to us." (Chamberlain, Gethin) This just means Disney wasn’t going to do anything unless they had too. They should have done much more. Someone killed herself because of Sturdy Products mistreatment. Disney should have reached out to the family of Hu Nianzhen, the woman who committed suicide, apologized and helped their family out financially. Disney also should have cancelled all agreements with Sturdy Products, and make a public announcement that they will never due business with Sturdy Products again.
Presently, Disney known for its mass media entertainment and amusement parks technically bring warm feelings to many children and some adults. Personally, Disney elicits magical fantasies that children enjoy and further encourages imagination and creativity. For decades Disney has exist as an unavoidable entity with its famous global sensation and reach. Furthermore, Disney is a multibillion dollar empire with an unlimited grasp on individuals and territories. An empire per se, since they own many media outlets, markets, shops, etc., you name it they got it. However, the film Mickey Mouse Monopoly presents an entirely new perspective on the presumed innocence projected in Disney films. This film exposes certain traits Disney employs and exclusively portrays through its media productions, specifically cartoons for directing and nurturing influence beginning with children. Mickey Mouse Monopoly points out camouflaged messages of class, race, and gender issues in Disney films that occur behind the scenes intended to sway viewers towards adopting Disney values.
The 1941 strike at the Disney Studios was one of the prime purposes for Disney’s testimony in front of HUAC years later. The problem is that historians cannot agree on the exact specifics of the strike. Leonard Mosley and Marc Eliot are two biographers who have both written versions of Disney’s life. The two biographies are astoundingly different from each other and two different explanations of the strike of 1941 are given.... ... middle of paper ...
All of Pixar’s iconic films are inspired from small ideas drawn from aspects of everyday life. One of the most prominent inspirations was channeled into the film Finding Nemo. Andrew Stanton, a high ranking director and producer for Pixar, used his memories of a fish tank in a dentist’s office from his childhood as half of the story in Finding Nemo. Stanton’s sympathy for the fish and being an overprotective father served as the other half of the basic story and together the two memories formed the emotional anchor for the film. Another idea that spawned from a staff member helped create the unforgettable and heartfelt film Toy Story. John Lasseter, the chief creative officer of Pixar, owned many rare and collectible toys, and became nervous whenever his kids wanted to play with them. However, the real message, Lasseter realized, is just because a toy is signed by Tom Hanks, it does not mean that it is sentenced to life on a shelf. Channeling that type of thinking into all of the toys in Toy Story is what makes the film so cherished and more easily relatable. Another popular film is The Incredibles, which is Pixar’s tribute to pop mythology, comic books, and spy movies. The other inspiration for this movie deals with an average, everyday family life: the fear, anxiety, work, and insecurities that happen throughout a day. Combining the two aspects make for a very interesting, action-packed film, while also being very sincere and family-friendly. Pixar films were not all inspired from personal experience and passion. A documentary about the Rainforest Mountains in Venezuela made by Adrian Warren was the inspiration behind the movie Up. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and Pixar proves that anything can be ex...
They’re a lot of cattle anyway.” This reflects negatively on the neglect and passivity of factory owners and inspectors because of their unwillingness to protect the safety and wellbeing of factory owners.Within the same document, it Mr. H.F.J Porter mentioned that “There are only two or three factories in the city where fire drills are in use. In some of them where I have installed the system myself, the owners have discontinued it.” This is yet again another example of how neglectful factory regulators can be to employees and that they pay little attention to their health just to earn money in an easier but cruel way. Employees on the other hand, form unions to rebel against poor conditions, low pay, and long work hours. The employees also went on strike. They knew that they needed to prevent themselves and other employees from falling into the trap of harsh conditions of factories. The owners eventually raised their pay and shortened hours, but did not improve the working conditions of the
Not only is the pay and work hours bad, the jobs are dangerous too. One man lost two of his fingers in a machine and after being taken to the hospital, his boss furious for having to pay for the bill, is expected to go back to work in excruciating pain to pay off the medical bill (Lee-Potter 2007). In a Chinese sweatshop in Italy a fire broke out and killed 7 people. Because of all the dust and fabric on the floor, the fire spread quickly trapping workers inside due to iron bars on windows to keep them in (Aloisi 2013). The reason for those 7 workers to still be at the factory is that they were sleeping in “cardboard cubicles” (Aloisi 2013). Most workers cannot afford to have homes outside of the factories and sleep where they work. When factories are shut down, its inhabitants are
The creation of the Mickey Mouse character marks the beginning of a long journey to bring high quality family entertainment to the adoring Walt Disney fans. The company utilizes many industries to bring high-quality family content to the customers, from motion pictures where it began, to television, live productions, theme parks, cruise ships, and much more. The early acquisition of ESPN demonstrates the company’s commitment to providing entertainment for the entire family. Additionally, as the company has seen the technology trends continuing to push forward, The Walt Disney Company has been sure to join the innovative industries that are drawing the consumer’s attention at this time. Most recently, the acquisition of Maker Studios, a company that produces online videos that is a prominent fixture on YouTube, has brought the company further into the technological realms. Previously, acquisitions of companies such as
The first reference Disney makes is in the short film Tin Toy made in 1988. There have been sequels to the original movie and it has become a franchise. Notably, the Franchise is still alive especially since there is another movie planned to be released in 2019 that is part of the
Companies such as Disney own a vast number of media outlets so they are able to influence culture in a biased way that is shaped to how they want. The more money a company has then the more power and influential they can be and the Disney corporation has plenty of money and power. They are able to give us the information they want us to see and have in order to shape popular culture.
Walt Disney stated “it all started with a mouse.” Little did Mr. Disney know what an empire his name and his mouse would create all while having such a large impact on American culture and society. Disney has proven a brand with iconic characters and images that he was able to create a connection with not only the average American family, but also allowed other cultures to have the same connection and experience. Disney’s characters had the ability to be recognize by a large number of people, allowing Disney to have a broad market to serve making the park a safe and comfortable place for large audience of American families, while other parks limited their target audience to young adults and
In reviewing the vast corporation of the Walt Disney Company and all that it has to offer, one profound statement made by Walt Disney himself comes to the forefront, “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse” (Walt, n.d.). This statement suggests that the company has a strong focus to continually guide them in the way of the original idea of the company. Even as it watches the changes taking place in society and adapts to the new technologies and innovations, the Walt Disney Company has been able to implement diverse strategies for its growth and prosperity.
In the contents of this case there are several management and safety issues and areas for improvement. One issue is Mattel, Inc.’s responsibility to its stakeholders; to its customers, to its stockholders, to its employees, and to its suppliers. The responsibility to Mattel’s customers is that of producing and selling safe products. Along with the recall on the lead coated toys there were also toys that contained small, but powerful magnets that if swallowed could attract each other and cause serious or fatal intestinal perforation or blockage. These defects were not discovered during the testing of the products. Before this incident occurred Mattel, Inc. was recognized by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most trustworthy U.S. companies. Too this, Mattel did everything they could to assure that they were doing everything possible to handle and correct this problem. For Mattel’s stockholders, the company had to make sure that the image and reputation was saved and redeemed as soon as possible. With such a massive and extensive recall of potentially hazardous products, that was designed to be safe for children, the stock prices and e...
One of the key factors of the successful diversification is the very strong branding of the name Disney. That the name was famous after the success in the early years made it among other things possible to go into the theme park industry. Evaluated isolated, the theme parks was a success. But when also accounting for the synergies created, the decision to go into this industry was a huge success. It has created a spiral of synergies, where the characters in the movies get more popular due to the parks, as well as the fact that when people are visiting the parks they get stimulated to buy the merchandise. This is just one example of the synergies that exist in Disney. When Michael Eisner took over control in Disney, he kept focusing on same corporate values as earlier, which are quality, creativity, entrepreneurialism and teamwork. These values have been preserved despite of the size of Disney, and are an important factor in sustaining and building the Disney brand.
Walt would work at Disney often ’till midnight and demanded the same of his employees (JustDisney.org). (what does this say about him, as a person?) In grueling “sweatbox” sessions he could fire an animator for a poorly drawn dwarf’s thumb (JustDisney.org). But Walt also had a nice side, he built a corporate campus with airy rooms, air-conditioning and top furniture, in the manner of today’s coolest ad agencies or software firms. Dress, led by Walt, was casual and he also encouraged pranks among the staff (Forbes.com). I appreciate how Walt was rough at times but also nice and happy at times. There are not many bosses who can do that so I idolize Walt for that. But In 1941 Disney studio animators went on strike because they were promised a reward after they spent long hours and hardly ever left the Disney studio while they were working on the film “Snow White” (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). But what set the workers off was when 17 workers were fired for “pro-union activity (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). Later on fellow outraged employes made stirring speeches in support of their colleagues and the next day three hundred workers went on strike (SaysDigitalCommons.ric.edu). Walt was shattered (Forbes.com). He would never again feel the same passion for cartoons
Foxconn, one of Apple’s major manufacturer’s, recently had a breakout of suicides amongst their workers because the working conditions were so awful. Workers are often forced to work continuous shifts through meal times and work up to 100 hours overtime in a single month, even though the legal limit is a mere 36. And to make it even worse, Foxconn now makes their employees sign a contract saying that if an employee commits suicide as a result of the horrendous conditions, the family is not even allowed to sue them. Instead of cutting ties with Foxconn upon recei...
What are the causes of the weak safety record of the Bangladesh garment industry? Do Western companies that import garments from Bangladesh bear any responsibility for what happened at the Rana Plaza and other workplace accidents? The causes of the weak safety record of the Bangladesh garment industry are because of Western companies that import garments from Bangladesh and the government. The government could utilize their power to improve the conditions in Bangladesh, but instead they sit around and do nothing about it. Additionally, Western companies and others like it that chose to conduct business with industries like in Bangladesh seek to produce their products effectively and efficiently. Therefore, poor work conditions should be expected because those companies should know the situation those industries is in because their country is poor. Nevertheless, Western company’s do bear responsibility for what happened at the Rana Plaza along with other workplace