Jessica Alba: I don't want to be stay-at-home mom
During her speech when presenting the Best Actress Award to Emma Thompson at Tuesday night’s National Board of Review Awards, Meryl Streep slammed Walt Disney as a gender bigot and anti-Semitic.
Thompson won the award for her performance as Mary Poppins in Saving Mr. Banks. Streep gave a nine-minute speech praising Emma and criticizing Walt Disney.
“Some of Walt Disney’s associates reported that Walt Disney didn’t really like women,” Meryl said. “Disney, who brought joy, arguably, to billions of people, was perhaps … or had some racist proclivities.”
“He formed and supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group. And he was certainly, on the evidence of his company’s policies, a gender bigot.”
Meryl then read a letter from Walt Disney to a young woman in Arkansas, who wanted to work on his cartoon training program, from 1938.
“Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that task is performed entirely by young men,” Disney wrote. “For this reason, girls are not considered for the training school.”
Streep chose to do this “in Emma’s tribute, because I know it will tickle our honoree, as she’s also a rabid man-eating feminist like me!”
Wow this was shocking news to me! Indeed, Walt Disney who made happy so many kids and adults from all over the world is a gender bigot, racist and anti-Semite. I would never have expected this form Walt Disney. Well, creative people are also people with their outlook on life and political preferences. We cannot do a thing about it, just criticize and share our point of view, but this was a shocking news tome, I need to confess. The bright figure of Walt Disney I know since childhood has got it shade, and no longer that sweet to me, unfortunately.
I have never thought of Walt Disney in this light. He has always been the embodiment of fairy-tale creator for me since childhood. After this article I got frustrated a lot. I would better avoid reading it. Still, I will know once again that people are different and what we know of them is jut only one side of their personality.
Wow, I am shocked, I always loved all the production by Walt Disney, I am shocked he was thinking this way about women, but from the other side I do understand him, his way of thinking was probably brought by the society of that time that was dictating to its people how they should act and what they should do. Thinking that woman is able to do fewer things than man, not according to the physical power but according to everything was normal for that period of time, so probably he got caught by it. I am sure he was not thinking that bad about ladies as described. Shame on Meryl for bringing up the subject, she was supposed to give the award instead of criticizing some other people.
I am wondering, what there were no other subjects to discuss on the award, than discussing the theme that soon will be like a century old. Why did Meryl bring up the subject? Maybe it is because she is getting old and is not that interesting to the society anymore, that is why she trying that hard to do anything in order to keep herself in the media and being spoken. I guess there are some other ways for Meryl to keep herself in motion, things like charity or helping people of the third world countries, or maybe creating her own school for the young talents. I mean in order to be spoken, it is better to give some good and decent reasons for it, instead of making people talk the bad ones.
I think it is good that Meryl has brought the subject, as it explains why there are not that many famous women in the cinema industry behind the cameras. Well, women were always neglected by men, in all the times, though men usually forget the one and only truth, “behind each powerful and famous man, there is always a strong but fragile woman who is guiding him during his all life and carrier, and who is at the same time his muse”. I am a very happy woman, as my husband almost each day of our life is thanking me for being there with him in good and bad moments, and I am thankful to Lord for having such a good and loyal man by my side. I wish every woman on the Earth to share same happiness as I have.