facebook icon facebook icon facebook icon
  • About
  • ADS
  • Masthead
    • Editorial Board
  • Submission
  • Subscribe
The Wellesley News -
  • News
    • Contract ratified by Wellesley’s Maintenance and Service Employees Union
      Contract ratified by Wellesley’s Maintenance and Service Employees Union
    • News in Brief
      News in Brief
    • Wellesley adapts to end of race conscious admissions
      Wellesley adapts to end of race conscious admissions
    • Senate Report
    • News in Brief
  • Features
    • Professor Spotlight: Dr. Faisal Ahmed
      Professor Spotlight: Dr. Faisal Ahmed
    • Spotlight: New Professor Kathryn Winner
      Spotlight: New Professor Kathryn Winner
    • Spotlight: New Professor Lucia Nhamo ’11
      Spotlight: New Professor Lucia Nhamo ’11
    • Humans of Wellesley
    • Archives
  • Opinions
    • France’s Abaya Ban Unveils Its Own Misogyny
      France’s Abaya Ban Unveils Its Own Misogyny
    • Editorial: In defense of affirmative action
      Editorial: In defense of affirmative action
    • I am an NCAA champion: we should end college recruiting
      I am an NCAA champion: we should end college recruiting
    • Editorials
    • Letters to Editors
  • Arts
    • Bottoms is the Best Queer Comedy of the Year, and Wellesley College agrees!
      Bottoms is the Best Queer Comedy of the Year, and Wellesley College agrees!
    • Rio Romeo releases single “Over & Over”
      Rio Romeo releases single “Over & Over”
    • Dolly Parton confirms “Rock Star” collaborations
      Dolly Parton confirms “Rock Star” collaborations
  • Sports
    • Gauff and Richardson Shatter Expectations
      Gauff and Richardson Shatter Expectations
    • Student Athlete of the Month: Kennedy Mayo
      Student Athlete of the Month: Kennedy Mayo
    • No image
      What even is a BORG and why does it matter?
  • Multimedia
    • Photo of the Week
      Photo of the Week
    • “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
      “Stronger Together” Rally with Chelsea Clinton
    • College Government Vice President 2016 End of the Year Report
      College Government Vice President 2016 End of the Year Report
    • Podcasts
    • The Wellesley Snooze
  • Projects
      • The News in Conversation
    • About
      • Contact
      • Join the News
      • Masthead
      • Editorial Board
    By Dominiki Kurz Arts, Popular CultureNovember 15, 2017

    Disney censorship of the Los Angeles Times sparks backlash

    Photo courtesy of Disney Every Day

    In late September, The Los Angeles Times broke a story highlighting the business relationship between Anaheim, California; Disneyland and the disparity between the benefits that Disney receives and what it gives to the city. Usually when a business starts a headquarters or business in a city, it is a symbiotic relationship. For example, Amazon is seeking a new headquarters, HQ2, and is taking bids from over 230 different cities. The company has elicited a vast number of bids due to the potential financial benefits such as 50,000 new jobs and has inspired cities and towns to propose various tax breaks and incentives in the hopes of gaining a competitive edge.

    However, Anaheim residents have become increasingly displeased with their town’s relationship to Disney. Various elected city councillors financially backed by a Disney-endorsed super pac that keeps Disney’s interests at heart have started losing to anti-Disney competitors. Not long after The LA Times published their piece, Disney issued a screening ‘blackout’ against The Times for future releases of their movies, claiming that the newspaper “showed a complete disregard for basic journalistic standards,” and that access to preview screenings was “a privilege and not a right.”

    The blackout took effect immediately, and The LA Times was unable to see or therefore review “Thor: Ragnarok” prior to its wide release. Such a ban leaves The Times at a severe disadvantage for the coverage of films made by Disney or any of its assets, including Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

    Almost immediately, many other publications and critics came to defend The LA Times. The culture critic from The Washington Post, Alyssa Rosenberg, said she “can’t in good conscience attend similar showings or write reviews in advance … as long as Disney is blocking the critics from the Los Angeles Times.”

    The New York Times also stated that it would not write any reviews for any Disney movies “until access is restored to the Los Angeles Times.” Additionally, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics and The National Society of Film Critics announced that they would not “consider Disney films for awards until [the ban] is lifted.” A number of other high profile film industry figures also spoke out in support of The Times. Ava DuVernay, director of 2014 film “Selma” and an upcoming adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time,” itself a Disney film, tweeted her solidarity for “the film journalists standing up for one another” and wrote that she was “Standing with [them].”

    Now that Disney’s blackout has gained attention, the very issue that they punished The LA Times for—the reporting of the various business ties to Anaheim—has increased traction and additional scrutiny has fallen to Disney.

    In our political climate and era of ‘fake news,’ I am excited by how solidarity has been demonstrated. With the current administration’s presentation of ‘alternative facts’ and its attempts to discredit or bar journalists from press screenings, it is refreshing to see multiple journalistic groups and critical societies band together to fight one of the largest companies in the world in the wake of attempted censorship. If a company does not feel comfortable with its behavior being brought to public attention, it should rethink what it is doing.

    Censorship is unequivocally harmful. Attempts to shut down and punish an organization designed to spread news and awareness should not be taken so lightly. We hear a lot about attempted censorship coming from the state, yet this LA Times incident has gotten relatively little coverage outside of entertainment industry news circles. If we are trying to combat censorship, the best way to do so is by talking about it in many different circumstances. Censorship is not just a government issue, and it is important to fight against it at all levels.

    Share on

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Google +
    • LinkedIn
    • Email
    Previous articleMarjorie Prime Unnerves Viewers with Holograms and Memory Loss
    Next articleGuy Mendilow Ensemble bridges past and present through musical storytelling

    You may also like

    Bottoms is the Best Queer Comedy of the Year, and Wellesley College agrees!

    Rio Romeo releases single “Over & Over”

    Dolly Parton confirms “Rock Star” collaborations

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    The Wellesley News

      SECTIONS

    • News
    • Features
    • Opinions
    • Arts
    • Sports
    • Multimedia
    • Projects
    • About

      ABOUT

    • Contact
    • Join the News
    • Masthead
    • Editorial Board

      RESOURCES

    • Advertising
    • Submission
    • Subscribe

      CONTACT US

    • Contact
    COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS