Banned Cartoons

[eyeamflesch]

episis alla tosa epixeirimata tha sou poun ti kalos anthrwpos itan o gero-Walt. kaneis den egine nazi vlepontas tis tainies tou.

Episis alles epoxes tote. Tote legane kai "nigger". Twra tha se kremasoun apo to agalma tis eleutherias etsi kai to peis

Den pisteBw oti itan nazis, pisteBw oti itan kairoskopos kai syntiritikos. Kai oti synebale simantika sto gamisi tou simerinoy Dytikoy politizmoy.

[The Nerd]

Egw pantws pitsirikas
to dollario, thn a3ia toy ploytoy kai ton kapitalismo gennikotera ta ema8a apo ta Mickey Mouse ...
Walt Disney = sigoyra synthrhtikos (family values klp karameles), kai h Disney shmera ws organismos einai demmenh sto arma twn Repoymplikanwn me emmesh logokrisia...

[enitharmon]

Walt Disney = sigoyra synthrhtikos (family values klp karameles)...

sure, alla ta tria anipsia menan me to theio tous kai i mana tous de fainetai pouthena (oute o pateras, o opoios einai kai agnwstos)

[The Nerd]

Walt Disney = sigoyra synthrhtikos (family values klp karameles)...

sure, alla ta tria anipsia menan me to theio tous kai i mana tous de fainetai pouthena (oute o pateras, o opoios einai kai agnwstos)

Polyagaphmenh moy Enitharmon 8a soy para8esw toys logoys gia toys opoioys pisteyw oti xaneis to dentro gia to dasos

To zhthma toy patera (kai twn goniwn genikotera) den diafainetai ka8oloy sto comic giati poly apla odhgei sthn erwthsh "mama ti shmainei na eisai esy h mama kai o mpampas o mpampas" dhladh sthn gennethsia pra3h, kai to kolpo me 8eioys ktl htan enas (kompsos?) tropos na apofygoyn to olo zhthma. Kata ta alla, h typologia ths synhpar3hs twn anipsiwn ktl einai h klassikh leykh middle classed family.
Mias kai anefera to leykh, kyrioi o Disney htan kai enas ratsistaras na (me to sympa8eio), oloi oi gamatoi xarakthres eixan leyka poypoyla kai oi mayroi htan panta sidekicks h kakoi ... (O Mickey Mouse htan leykos Btw)

[enitharmon]

paizei na xeis dikio, de tha ton yperaspistw, giati de m'endiaferei

alla an thes na psakseis gia nazi stin texni genikotera, tha vreis ena swro (ksekinwntas apo ton Tolkien)

[The Nerd]

paizei na xeis dikio, de tha ton yperaspistw, giati de m'endiaferei

alla an thes na psakseis gia nazi stin texni genikotera, tha vreis ena swro (ksekinwntas apo ton Tolkien)

Den einai eygeniko otan o allos soy para8etei ta epixeirhmata toy me wraio tropo na petas ena "de m'endiaferei". Oi teytones fhmizontai gia to oti teleiwnoyn oti arxizoyn, den se ephrreasan ka8oloy?

Anoi3e thread gia kryfonazi sthn texnh, prepei na to psa3oyme ligo parapanw pisteyw

[enitharmon]

to "de m'endiaferei" pigaine sto oti den me endiaferei na ton yperaspistw, oxi sto oti de me endiaferoun oi apopseis sou

[Acid Baby]

Ο Μικι Μάους ήταν ποντίκι κατα βάση.

[eyeamflesch]

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/ep ... isney.html

By 1947, The Walt Disney Studios were famous for their short cartoons and animated motion pictures, which were distributed globally. Walt Disney also worked with the FBI in its investigations of communists in Hollywood.

In his testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Disney discusses the effect that he believes communists have had on his employees, who had recently unionized and gone on strike.
Testimony of Walter E. Disney before HUAC

October 24, 1947

ROBERT E. STRIPLING, CHIEF INVESTIGATOR: Mr. Disney, will you state your full name and present address, please?

WALT DISNEY: Walter E. Disney, Los Angeles, California.

STRIPLING: When and where were you born, Mr. Disney?

DISNEY: Chicago, Illinois, December 5, 1901.

STRIPLING: December 5, 1901?

DISNEY: Yes, sir.

STRIPLING: What is your occupation?

DISNEY: Well, I am a producer of motion-picture cartoons.

STRIPLING: Mr. Chairman, the interrogation of Mr. Disney will be done by Mr. Smith.

CHAIRMAN J. PARNELL THOMAS: Mr. Smith.

H.A. SMITH: Mr. Disney, how long have you been in that business?

DISNEY: Since 1920.

SMITH: You have been in Hollywood during this time?

DISNEY: I have been in Hollywood since 1923.

SMITH: At the present time you own and operate The Walt Disney Studio at Burbank, California?

DISNEY: Well, I am one of the owners. Part owner.

SMITH: How many people are employed there, approximately?

DISNEY: At the present time about 600.

SMITH: And what is the approximate largest number of employees you have had in the studio?

DISNEY: Well, close to 1,400 at times.

SMITH: Will you tell us a little about the nature of this particular studio, the type of pictures you make, and approximately how many per year?

DISNEY: Well, mainly cartoon films. We make about 20 short subjects and about two features a year.

SMITH: Will you talk just a little louder, Mr. Disney?

DISNEY: Yes, sir.

SMITH: How many, did you say?

DISNEY: About 20 short subject cartoons and about two features per year.

SMITH: And some of the characters in the films consist of ...

DISNEY: You mean such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and things of that sort.

SMITH: Where are these films distributed?

DISNEY: All over the world.

SMITH: In all countries of the world?

DISNEY: Well, except the Russian countries.

SMITH: Why aren't they distributed in Russia, Mr. Disney?

DISNEY: Well, we can't do business with them.

SMITH: What do you mean by that?

DISNEY: Oh, well, we have sold them some films a good many years ago. They bought the Three Little Pigs [1933] and used it through Russia. And they looked at a lot of our pictures, and I think they ran a lot of them in Russia, but then turned them back to us and said they didn't want them, they didn't suit their purposes.

SMITH: Is the dialogue in these films translated into the various foreign languages?

DISNEY: Yes. On one film we did 10 foreign versions. That was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

SMITH: Have you ever made any pictures in your studio that contained propaganda and that were propaganda films?

DISNEY: Well, during the war we did. We made quite a few -- working with different government agencies. We did one for the Treasury on taxes and I did four anti-Hitler films. And I did one on my own for air power.

SMITH: From those pictures that you made, have you any opinion as to whether or not the films can be used effectively to disseminate propaganda?

DISNEY: Yes, I think they proved that.

SMITH: How do you arrive at that conclusion?

DISNEY: Well, on the one for the Treasury on taxes, it was to let the people know that taxes were important in the war effort. As they explained to me, they had 13 million new taxpayers, people who had never paid taxes, and they explained that it would be impossible to prosecute all those that were delinquent, and they wanted to put this story before those people so they would get their taxes in early. I made the film, and after the film had its run, the Gallup poll organization polled the public, and the findings were that 29 percent of the people admitted that it had influenced them in getting their taxes in early and giving them a picture of what taxes will do.

SMITH: Aside from those pictures you made during the war, have you made any other pictures, or do you permit pictures to be made at your studio containing propaganda?

DISNEY: No; we never have. During the war we thought it was a different thing. It was the first time we ever allowed anything like that to go in the films. We watch so that nothing gets into the films that would be harmful in any way to any group or any country. We have large audiences of children and different groups, and we try to keep them as free from anything that would offend anybody as possible. We work hard to see that nothing of that sort creeps in.

SMITH: Do you have any people in your studio at the present time that you believe are communist or fascist, employed there?

DISNEY: No; at the present time I feel that everybody in my studio is 100 percent American.

SMITH: Have you had at any time, in your opinion, in the past, have you at any time in the past had any communists employed at your studio?

DISNEY: Yes; in the past I had some people that I definitely feel were communists.

SMITH: As a matter of fact, Mr. Disney, you experienced a strike at your studio, did you not?

DISNEY: Yes.

SMITH: And is it your opinion that that strike was instituted by members of the Communist Party to serve their purposes?

DISNEY: Well, it proved itself so with time, and I definitely feel it was a communist group trying to take over my artists and they did take them over.

CHAIRMAN: Do you say they did take them over?

DISNEY: They did take them over.

SMITH: Will you explain that to the committee, please?

DISNEY: It came to my attention when a delegation of my boys, my artists, came to me and told me that Mr. Herbert Sorrell ...

SMITH: Is that Herbert K. Sorrell?

DISNEY: Herbert K. Sorrell, was trying to take them over. I explained to them that it was none of my concern, that I had been cautioned to not even talk with any of my boys on labor. They said it was not a matter of labor, it was just a matter of them not wanting to go with Sorrell, and they had heard that I was going to sign with Sorrell, and they said that they wanted an election to prove that Sorrell didn't have the majority, and I said that I had a right to demand an election. So when Sorrell came, I demanded an election.

Sorrell wanted me to sign on a bunch of cards that he had there that he claimed were the majority, but the other side had claimed the same thing. I told Mr. Sorrell that there is only one way for me to go and that was an election, and that is what the law had set up, the National Labor Relations Board was for that purpose. He laughed at me and he said that he would use the labor board as it suited his purposes and that he had been sucker enough to go for that labor board ballot and he had lost some election -- I can't remember the name of the place -- by one vote. He said it took him two years to get it back.

He said he would strike, that that was his weapon. He said, "I have all of the tools of the trade sharpened," that I couldn't stand the ridicule or the smear of a strike. I told him that it was a matter of principle with me, that I couldn't go on working with my boys feeling that I had sold them down the river to him on his say-so, and he laughed at me and told me I was naive and foolish. He said, you can't stand this strike, I will smear you, and I will make a dust bowl out of your plant.

CHAIRMAN: What was that?

DISNEY: He said he would make a dust bowl out of my plant if he chose to. I told him I would have to go that way, sorry, that he might be able to do all that, but I would have to stand on that. The result was that he struck. I believed at that time that Mr. Sorrell was a communist because of all the things that I had heard, and having seen his name appearing on a number of commie front things.

When he pulled the strike, the first people to smear me and put me on the unfair list were all of the commie front organizations. I can't remember them all, they change so often, but one that is clear in my mind is the League of Women Shoppers, The People's World, The Daily Worker, and the PM magazine in New York. They smeared me. Nobody came near to find out what the true facts of the thing were. And I even went through the same smear in South America, through some commie periodicals in South America, and generally throughout the world all of the commie groups began smear campaigns against me and my pictures.

JOHN MCDOWELL: In what fashion was that smear, Mr. Disney, what type of smear?

DISNEY: Well, they distorted everything, they lied; there was no way you could ever counteract anything that they did; they formed picket lines in front of the theaters, and, well, they called my plant a sweatshop, and that is not true, and anybody in Hollywood would prove it otherwise. They claimed things that were not true at all and there was no way you could fight it back. It was not a labor problem at all because -- I mean, I have never had labor trouble, and I think that would be backed up by anybody in Hollywood.

SMITH: As a matter of fact, you have how many unions operating in your plant?

CHAIRMAN: Excuse me just a minute. I would like to ask a question.

SMITH: Pardon me.

CHAIRMAN: In other words, Mr. Disney, communists out there smeared you because you wouldn't knuckle under?

DISNEY: I wouldn't go along with their way of operating. I insisted on it going through the National Labor Relations Board. And he told me outright that he used them as it suited his purposes.

CHAIRMAN: Supposing you had given in to him, then what would have been the outcome?

DISNEY: Well, I would never have given in to him, because it was a matter of principle with me, and I fight for principles. My boys have been there, have grown up in the business with me, and I didn't feel like I could sign them over to anybody. They were vulnerable at that time. They were not organized. It is a new industry.

CHAIRMAN: Go ahead, Mr. Smith.

SMITH: How many labor unions, approximately, do you have operating in your studios at the present time?

DISNEY: Well, we operate with around 35 ... I think we have contacts with 30.

SMITH: At the time of this strike you didn't have any grievances or labor troubles whatsoever in your plant?

DISNEY: No. The only real grievance was between Sorrell and the boys within my plant, they demanding an election, and they never got it.

SMITH: Do you recall having had any conversations with Mr. Sorrell relative to communism?

DISNEY: Yes, I do.

SMITH: Will you relate that conversation?

DISNEY: Well, I didn't pull my punches on how I felt. He evidently heard that I had called them all a bunch of communists -- and I believe they are. At the meeting he leaned over and he said, "You think I am a communist, don't you," and I told him that all I knew was what I heard and what I had seen, and he laughed and said, "Well, I used their money to finance my strike of 1937," and he said that he had gotten the money through the personal check of some actor, but he didn't name the actor. I didn't go into it any further. I just listened.

SMITH: Can you name any other individuals that were active at the time of the strike that you believe in your opinion are communists?

DISNEY: Well, I feel that there is one artist in my plant that came in there, he came in about 1938, and he sort of stayed in the background, he wasn't too active, but he was the real brains of this, and I believe he is a communist. His name is David Hilberman.

SMITH: How is it spelled?

DISNEY: H-i-l-b-e-r-m-a-n, I believe. I looked into his record and I found that, No. 1, that he had no religion and, No. 2, that he had considerable time at the Moscow Art Theater studying art direction or something.

SMITH: Any others, Mr. Disney?

DISNEY: Well, I think Sorrell is sure tied up with them. If he isn't a communist, he sure should be one.

SMITH: Do you remember the name of William Pomerance, did he have anything to do with it?

DISNEY: Yes, sir. He came in later. Sorrell put him in charge as business manager of cartoonists and later he went to the Screen Actors as their business agent, and in turn he put in another man by the name of Maurice Howard, the present business agent. And they are all tied up with the same outfit.

SMITH: What is your opinion of Mr. Pomerance and Mr. Howard as to whether or not they are or are not communists?

DISNEY: In my opinion they are communists. No one has any way of proving those things.

SMITH: Were you able to produce during the strike?

DISNEY: Yes, I did, because there was a very few, very small majority that was on the outside, and all the other unions ignored all the lines because of the setup of the thing.

SMITH: What is your personal opinion of the Communist Party, Mr. Disney, as to whether or not it is a political party?

DISNEY: Well, I don't believe it is a political party. I believe it is an un-American thing. The thing that I resent the most is that they are able to get into these unions, take them over, and represent to the world that a group of people that are in my plant, that I know are good, 100 percent Americans, are trapped by this group, and they are represented to the world as supporting all of those ideologies, and it is not so, and I feel that they really ought to be smoked out and shown up for what they are, so that all of the good, free causes in this country, all the liberalisms that really are American, can go out without the taint of communism. That is my sincere feeling on it.

SMITH: Do you feel that there is a threat of communism in the motion-picture industry?

DISNEY: Yes, there is, and there are many reasons why they would like to take it over or get in and control it, or disrupt it, but I don't think they have gotten very far, and I think the industry is made up of good Americans, just like in my plant, good, solid Americans. My boys have been fighting it longer than I have. They are trying to get out from under it and they will in time if we can just show them up.

SMITH: There are presently pending before this committee two bills relative to outlawing the Communist Party. What thoughts have you as to whether or not those bills should be passed?

DISNEY: Well, I don't know as I qualify to speak on that. I feel if the thing can be proven un-American that it ought to be outlawed. I think in some way it should be done without interfering with the rights of the people. I think that will be done. I have that faith. Without interfering, I mean, with the good, American rights that we all have now, and we want to preserve.

SMITH: Have you any suggestions to offer as to how the industry can be helped in fighting this menace?

DISNEY: Well, I think there is a good start toward it. I know that I have been handicapped out there in fighting it, because they have been hiding behind this labor setup, they get themselves closely tied up in the labor thing, so that if you try to get rid of them they make a labor case out of it. We must keep the American labor unions clean. We have got to fight for them.

SMITH: That is all of the questions I have, Mr. Chairman.

CHAIRMAN: Mr. Vail.

VAIL: No questions.

CHAIRMAN: Mr. McDowell.

MCDOWELL: No questions.

DISNEY: Sir?

MCDOWELL: I have no questions. You have been a good witness.

DISNEY: Thank you.

CHAIRMAN: Mr. Disney, you are the fourth producer we have had as a witness, and each one of those four producers said, generally speaking, the same thing, and that is that the communists have made inroads, have attempted inroads. I just want to point that out because there seems to be a very strong unanimity among the producers that have testified before us. In addition to producers, we have had actors and writers testify to the same. There is no doubt but what the movies are probably the greatest medium for entertainment in the United States and in the world. I think you, as a creator of entertainment, probably are one of the greatest examples in the profession. I want to congratulate you on the form of entertainment which you have given the American people and given the world and congratulate you for taking time out to come here and testify before this committee. He has been very helpful. Do you have any more questions, Mr. Stripling?

SMITH: I am sure he does not have any more, Mr. Chairman.

STRIPLING: No; I have no more questions.

CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, Mr. Disney.

[Weiss]

Λίγο άσχετο με την τροπή που έχει πάρει η κουβέντα αλλά σχετικό γενικά με το τόπικ: δικάζεται την Τετάρτη (νομίζω) ο αυστριακός κομίστας που έφιαξε το κόμικ "Η Ζωή του Χριστού" (κυκλοφόρησε από τις εκδόσεις Οξύ για καμία βδομάδα πριν την κατάσχεση από τον εισαγγελέα - όλοι οι ιδιοκτήτες των βιβλιοπωλείων που το διέθεσαν ήδη έχουν καταδικαστεί με χρηματικά πρόστιμα). Το κόμικ παρουσιάζει το Χριστό και καλά λίγο ρέμπελο (χαχαχ καπνίζει λιβάνι και μετά κάνει τα θαύματα κτλ). Αλλά είναι τραγικό που δικάζεται μόνο στην Ελλάδα ο τύπος - είμαστε φυσικά η μοναδική χώρα που δημιούργησε πρόβλημα από τις 10-15 στις οποίες δημοσιεύτηκε. Ελευθερία του τύπου my ass.
Υπάρχουν κάποιες (λίγες) αντιδράσεις - ο Ιός της Ελευθεροτυπίας χθες είχε συγκεντρώσει σκίτσα ελλήνων σκιτσογράφων που κατακρίνουν τη λογοκρισία.
Ελπίζω να μην καταδικαστεί ο τύπος, γιατί αλλιώς θα γίνουμε διεθνώς ρεζίλι.

edit: αθωώθηκε πανηγυρικά.

[eyeamflesch]

HEH

Subject: Death at Disneyland!
Date: 22 Oct 1993 21:14:13 GMT

WAITING IN LINE TO DIE

- DEATH AT DISNEYLAND -

Disneyland has often been called "the happiest place on earth." Since its
opening in 1955, hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life have
flocked to this American Mecca and been swept up in the fantasy world
envisioned by Walt Disney. From the park entrance on "Main Street USA",
recreating turn of the century small town America at 5/8 scale, to the top of
the faux Matterhorn, complete with imitiation bobsled runs, Disneyland evokes
images and fantasies of life in happier, more pleasant, and more exciting
worlds.

But, beneath this glittering facade lurks something malevolent, something
lethal. In the Magic Kingdom, life is not all pixie dust and happy, fairly
tale endings. Behind the mouse's perpetually forced grin, there is more than
a trace of the death head's grimace. For not all of the millions of "guests"
(never visitors, patrons or suckers) entering the park in search of fantasy
and pleasure survive to see the Electric Parade. They will leave the park in
body bags, struck down by fantasy "attractions" run amok.

Reactionary pundits and other defenders of the All-American Way of Life,
Orange County style, will immediately spring to the defense of the pride of
Anaheim with the old transporation argument. "Why, you're more likely to die
on the way to the park than inside." And right they are, _especially_ in the
case of Disneyland. History does not record the number of young
Disneyland-bound families wiped out in fiery holocausts on the Santa Ana
freeway. But other modes of transport do demonstrate the dangers. In 1968
alone, the Disneyland/LAX helicopter service suffered two of the worst
civilian chopper crashes in U.S. history. In May, a helicopter carrying 23
people lucky enough to leave the park alive disintegrated in mid-air and
crashed near Paramount. There were no survivors. Less than three months
later, a Disneyland-bound chopper crashed on a Compton playground, killing
all 21 would-be "guests" and crew on board. Even the stroll from the parking
lot to the park entrance is not without its risks. In 1987, after a Mormon
party at the park, a gang fight in one of the lots erupted in gunfire,
leaving one youth dead and a bystander injured.

But this is beside the point when it comes to discussing the hazards awaiting
the unwary inside Disneyland. You're just as likely to die en route to such
traditional mid-American amusements as tractor pulls or Bon Jovi concerts.
Once inside, you're safe. But, to place yourself at the mercy of Disneyland
is to risk mangling, mutilation, and even death.

>From 1955 through 1963, Disneyland's safety record was flawless. Not all of
their "guests" may have left happy, but they did leave alive. Tragically,
this perfect record ended in May of 1964, instituting the era of carnage that
continues even today.

The killer attraction: the Matterhorn. The event: a party for 10,000 Long
Beach Elks and their guests. Its tragic first victim: 15 year old Mark Maples
of Long Beach. The day had been difficult for Mark. Earlier, during an
otherwise sedate ride on the Skyway, he argued with a girl over going steady.
His friends had to restrain him from flinging himself to the ground 50 feet
below. But no one can stay depressed in Disneyland for very long. By 11:30
that evening, he was in better spirits, engaging in "horseplay" while waiting
in line for the Matterhorn with his friends.

Things went smoothly for the first third of the ride. Then, near the summit,
Mark felt a sudden, inexplicable need to stand up. It's not clear whether he
merely wanted to stretch his legs or was confusing the simulated bobsled ride
with such more traditional Angeleno sports as surfing or skiing. His friends
merely heard a thump, some noise, and Mark was gone; no screams or triumphant
shouts of "Kawabunga!" According to Disneyland officials, he was "catapulted
from the speeding car". He landed on the track a few feet down, with a skull
fracture and various internal injuries. He never regained consciousness, and
died four days later. The Matterhorn had claimed its first victim.

---

The Matterhorn earned its underground sobriquet of "widowmaker" in January,
1984. This time, its victim was no innocent, hi-jinking teenager, but a
respectable 48 year old matron. Dollie Young of Fremont had been enjoying an
impromptu Disneyland visit with old friends from Arizona. The survivors later
recalled that "It started out like one of those magical, happy days" so
frequently depicted in Disney promotional materials. And the day had gone
well, until they dared the deadly slopes of the Matterhorn.

Dollie was riding alone in the rear car of the sled, so no one saw quite what
happened. Disney workers swear they had buckled her in. However, two thirds
of the way down the slopes, her so called "safety" belt was definitely
unbuckled. She fell to the track, and, as she bounced along track while
struggling to regain her feet, a second speeding sled smashed into her. The
"bullet" sled dragged her for a car-length before stopping with her corpse
pinned beneath its wheels. She was pronounced dead at the scene from massive
head and chest injuries. The Matterhorn was closed for the rest of the day
due to "technical difficulties", and the bullet sled riders evacuated via a
hidden elevator. The nearby motorboat cruise and monorail ride were also shut
down, presumably to spare Fantasyland guests the sight of a real-life police
investigation.

---

Equally hazardous to park visitors is the PeopleMover. Hurtling through the
sterile corporate future of Tomorrowland at a speed of two miles per hour, it
is plainly a menace to the life and limb of every guest. Less than two months
after its opening, it mutilated and killed its first victim. In August of
1967, Rick Yuma, a 15-year old boy from Hawthorne, innocently attempted to
change cars as the PeopleMover passed through a tunnel. Unfortunately, he
slipped and, as the papers reported, was "found wedged between two cars with
his head and the upper part of his body crushed". And "wedged" was the word
for it; Disney "Imagineers" negligently hadn't forseen this possibility and
made allowances for it in their design. Workers had to dismantle the train in
order to extricate the boy's mangled remains.

The PeopleMover killed a second time under even more tragic circumstances:
During a Grad Night party. On that sad June night in 1980, the park was
filled close to capacity with 18,000 young people celebrating their high
school graduation. The crowd included 260 graduates of San Diego High. Only
259 would survive to receive their diplomas. In the early morning hours,
their classmate Geraldo Gonzales attempted to change cars as the PeopleMover
tore throught the "Superspeed" tunnel. He stumbled and fell. As he lay
sprawled across the tracks, a second speeding PeopleMover train struck,
crushing him beneath its cruel hard rubber wheels and dragging him along the
tracks. He was pronounced dead at the scene from extensive internal injuries,
yet another young man cut down in the prime of life.

---

Rides aren't the only attractions at Disneyland; nor are they the only
killers. Consider Tom Sawyer Island. Located in the middle of the Rivers of
America and accessible solely by raft, this is the only attraction in the
park Walt designed personally. Although it and the surrounding river are as
fake and manmade as Sleeping Beauty's castle, it appears to be an innocent,
rustic oasis of nature in a sea of synthetic "imagineering", as well as an
inviting refuge from the omnipresent lines. Precisely for these reasons, it
beckons innocent park guests to their deaths, much like the Sirens of
classical mythology.

The island's sinister spell claimed its first victim in June, 1973. Bodgen De
Laurot, an 18-year old Brooklyn man, and his younger brother, decided to
watch the nightly fireworks display from the island. Unfortunately, the rafts
to and from the island stop running at dusk. After the fireworks, the
brothers found themselves stranded a la "Swiss Family Robinson". But, rather
than building a tree house, they did what any true red-blooded American young
man would do - they swam for it. History does not record if the river was too
swift, the water too cold, or the distance too great. What is known is that
neither brother made it.

The younger boy was the lucky one - a boat ride operator hauled him from
those treacherous waters around 10 PM. Bodgen was nowhere to be found. A
search followed, possibly the biggest land, sea and air search in park
history. Frontierland and the Rivers of America were scoured by police,
firemen, and park employees using searchlights, helicopters and boats. Not
until dawn did they find Bodgen's drowned body among the rocks and rapids
near the lethal isle.

In June of 1983, the island lured a second young man to his death in yet
another grad night tragedy. That evening, Phil Straughan of Albuquerque had a
double cause for celebration: his graduation and his 18th birthday. In an
innocent display of youthful high spirits, he and a friend "borrowed" an
inflatable rubber maintenance boat for an impromptu nighttime cruise on the
river. Near the deadly island, they struck a rock. Phil was flung into the
river. As a football player, he had the strength to struggle valiantly. But
he was no match for the power of the Rivers of America as four feet of cold,
cruel water closed over his head. Rescuers recovered his drowned body an hour
later. In all apparent sincerity, a Disney spokesperson said, "It's a really,
really sad thing on what's supposed to be one of the happiest days of his
life."

---

The entire park exerts a similar, irresistible lure. For 35 years, management
has hyped Disneyland as the American Mecca, making every American feel that
they _must_ make the pilgrimage at least once in their lives. The only catch
is that the park charges stiff admission price for entry onto these hallowed
grounds - over $25 as of late 1990. Not everyone can afford it. One can only
feel sympathy for these frustrated pilgrims, and understand their desperate
efforts to sneak in.

One of these poor souls never made it, and died trying. Guy Cleveland, a
19-year old Northridge man, undoubtedly driven to his fate by the
irresistible media hype, futilely attempted to enter the park along the
monorail track. With a monomaniacal intent usually confined to religious
fanatics, he climbed a 16-foot fence, disregarded the security guard's
shouted warnings, and evidently ignored the sound of the rapidly approaching
train. As he clambered along the canopy underneath the track, the train
struck. It dragged him 30 or 40 feet before it could stop. The newspapers
could only describe his body as "badly mangled".

---


Park guests aren't the only ones seduced to their deaths by the park's
attractions. Consider the late, lamented "America Sings". It was seemingly
designed strictly as a hazard to employees. Converted from the old General
Electric Carousel of Progress, it featured six theaters revolving around a
four part fixed stage of Disney audioanimatronic animal figures performing
well-loved American songs. Even before its official 1974 opening, there was
something sinister about this android musical spectacular. The tragedy to
come was foreshadowed at the press preview party, when one of the
attraction's designers fell into a pit and sustained slight injuries.

Disneyland ignored this omen, and opened "America Sings" to the public at the
end of June. This decision would cost them the life of an innocent young
hostess, the first Disneyland employee killed in the line of duty.

Deborah Stone had just graduated from nearby Santa Ana High. In many ways,
she epitomized the crisp, clean all-American image encouraged among park
employees. She edited her high school year book, belonged to the honor
society and capped her high school career by winning the principal's award
for "outstanding service to her school and community". Undoubtedly, she
breezed through her coursework at the Disneyland University.

Yes, she had nothing but a bright future full of promise to look forward to
on that tragic July night. There were no witnesses to her agonizing end, no
spectacular fall or dramatic search. Around 11 PM, fellow employees noticed
her missing from her post greeting guests. After a brief search, they found
her crushed remains. As the theaters rotated about the fixed inner stage, she
had been caught between a stationary wall and a moving wall. The attraction
smashed her like a steamroller running over one of Disney's beloved characters
in a hilarious act of animated mayhem. Except this was no cartoon, and there
would be no animated sleight of hand to "uncrush" her. America Sings was
closed for three days until a system of warning lights could be installed.
But for one young hostess, it was a little too late.

---

By far the grimmest and most widely-criticized event in Disneyland's
blood-spattered history was the park's first homicide in 1981. The victim was
Mel Yorba, an 18-year old Riverside man. On that fateful March night, he was
attending a private party at the park thrown by a local defense contractor,
accompanied by a friend and their dates. His family recalled that the young
people were simply out "to have a good time".

The "good time" ended around 10 PM that evening in the deadly confines of
Tomorrowland. Near the Skyway, James O'Driscoll, a 28-year old man from San
Diego, accused Yorba of touching his girlfriend. There was a scuffle; blows
were exchanged. O'Driscoll pulled a knife. Then, either O'Driscoll brutally
stabbed Yorba, or Yorba stumbled while lunging forward, impaling himself on
the blade. The jury believed the former. Eventually, this scuffle would cost
the killer 8 years to life for 2nd degree murder.

No one criticized Disneyland security's handing of the killing. With
efficiency rivalled only by certain Third-World dictatorships and some
(former) Eastern Bloc police states, they swung into action. O'Driscoll's
girlfriend was quickly apprehended as she tried to slip out of the park.
Divers found the alleged murder weapon, an 8 1/2 inch knife, in a Disneyland
waterway, variously reported as the Sleeping Beauty Castle moat or the
submarine lagoon. O'Driscoll only managed to evade the kingdom-wide manhunt
for little more than an hour before he was found hiding in the bushes in
Adventureland.

Meanwhile, as Yorba lay bleeding to death on the grounds of Tomorrowland, the
Disneyland nurse made a fateful decision. Instead of calling the paramedics,
she elected to have him driven to the hospital in a park van. By the time the
van, lacking flashing emergency lights, made its leisurely way to the
hospital (which, unlike other nearby hospitals, did not have a trauma
center), Yorba was to all intents dead from a knife wound piercing his heart,
liver and diaphragm.

For once, Disneyland was roundly chastised in the media. Two Disneyland
workers claimed "the rule at the park is don't call the paramedics".
Presumably, flashing red lights and uniformed rescue personnel tearing up
Main Street would mar the park's atmosphere. Not that the emergency crews
wanted to disturb the guests; the Orange County Director of Emergency Medical
Services was quoted as saying he would not be "adverse" to dressing up
paramedics in mouse suits if necessary.

In wake of this criticism, Disneyland hired an ambulance and changed its
emergency procedures somewhat. Not that this helped at the trial. Contrary to
what their employees thought, the park produced a written policy in effect at
the time of the stabbing requiring that paramedics be called in
life-threatening situations. Nonetheless, the jury found Disney neglegent to
the tune of $600,000, making Yorba (or at least his family) one of the few of
the park's many victims to win compensation for their injuries.

---

Of course, these are just the fatal incidents. The offical pristine park
history also fails to mention other serious mishaps that fortunately (or
perhaps unfortunately) didn't end in death. There was the innocent 4-year old
boy who plunged 30 feet to the ground from the deadly People Mover and
fractured his skull. In 1983, a young man was thrown from the Space Mountain
rollercoaster and left as a paraplegic. And the blood continues to be spilt
to this day. Just last year, an 8-year old girl riding a Fantasyland tram was
hit and seriously injured by a stray bullet.

Yes, beneath the sunshine and smiles, and behind the fun and fantasy lurk
true danger and real death. Some members of the crowds queued up in the
hours-long lines aren't just media-tranquilized consumers patiently waiting
for a 90-second dose of ersatz, "safe" thrills. Rather, they are sheep being
led to the slaughter by a startling array of anthropomorphic rodents, pigs
and puppets playing the part of the Judas goat. Those treasured E-tickets are
but one-way passes to the morgue. As one victim's relative put it, "You don't
think of people dying Disneyland". But people do.

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From "Murder Can Be Fun" Issue No.13 $1.25

Written & Published by John Marr, PO Box 640111, San Francisco, CA 94109
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