Now there’s some serious ‘job security’, am I right?
/s
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There’s a theme park in Kentucky that’s overtly screaming for this.
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Actually over 50 years ago now! Just to provide context for what was considered culturally acceptable back then, this ride was running for a full three months before the Supreme Court decided that states had to allow interracial marriage.
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So, has anyone come up with a straight-faced explanation for how the old ride was a matter of heritage and culture; but not, y’know, in a way that reflected poorly on the people violently in favor of it?
Because I’m told that’s how you defend a lost cause.
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“We’re whalers on the Moon, we carry a harpoon. But there ain’t no whales so we tell tall tales and sing a whaling tune”
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Dammit; the passage of time, how it vexes me!
Fun fact, which is also a tangent;
My own mom was originally against marriage equality (much to my horror)… until she had the realization that had she lived in a different state when she first started our family, she could have easily been arrested for breaking the law. That was only the 1960’s; not that long ago… and our society still has such a long way to go yet…
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I think at times it’s hard for people to accept that the things that they like can be flawed. That’s even okay, literally nothing can be perfect, it’s only really a problem when you let your like of a thing compel you to defend those flaws.
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Scarily enough, it seems that for a large segment of the population lack of consent is sexy.
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Ugh. That makes me feel ill.
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I’ve been trying to find the exact quote by Spider Robinson…"Callahan’s Key"
About Disney.
It’s something like “yes, I know Disney is a evil corporation that’s just in it for money and hating on corporations is fashionable these days, but as evil corporations go, its main mission is to bring joy and happiness to people that want to escape and enjoy”
Something like that. He phrased it better…can’t find it…Anyone?
/posted from my iphone.
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Pirates may have been racy, but it’s still nothing compared to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which ends up in Hell.
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I’m not familiar with amusement park rides other than the German Phantasialand, but I really would like to have a walking tour with you through any theme/amusement park focusing on historical and factual accuracy! I wouldn’t buy a book on it, but semiotics and historicity of amusement parks would also make a great podcast or tv show!
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Am I the only one too wonder about that lightbulb? O_o
It’s all about Ethics in Disney Storytelling!
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In every version of this scene the women where just part of the “lot”, which also included “booty” (like gold plates, paintings, trinkets, etc.). The auctioneer in the scene considers himself a trader, who has his pirates raid Spanish settlements across the Caribbean to then sell it off on either the island where the ride takes place, or on his trade-routes to Peru. He does not accept anything other than hard currency as payment. When one of the pirates offers several bottles of Rum for one of the women, he refuses and tells the pirate he is only interested in gold coin.
The removal of the women as part of the lot changes very little to the overall scene of a pirate trader selling off what he has taken from his raids. In fact, the removal of the horridly mysoginistic elements from this scene puts it more in line with what the rest of the ride is: a swashbuckle-style kids-ride in a Disney park.
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There’s a lot of horrified pearl-clutching going on on various Disney fan forums about the heritage aspect of this ride, because it’s one of the few rides that Walt himself was personally involved with. It’s all a bit moot, because while the bulk of the ride is the same as it was originally, it’s been tweaked and updated over the years (adding bits from the movies, removing parts with pirates lustily chasing women) so it’s not purely the ride he ‘approved’. In the end it’s simply a theme park ride, and taking out a scene that’s been questionable for decades is only an improvement.
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I DO wish, though, that they’d made her (the gal in the ride) less “pretty”. This has been talked about as a big step forward, but if they wanted to empower little girls she should’ve been a bit less coiffed and had a bit more pirate grunge going.
I’m guessing at least the following -
Subjective physical attractiveness, general health (long term investment value), age, subservience…
This part of the ride was always repugnant to me (once i was old enough to grasp the humanity involved).
Where you, the rider, are hit by a train and go to Hell. I’m in my 40’s and still find that a bit too dark. Or how about the Country Bear Jamboree, where the dismembered taxidermied heads of various animals sing to you? Not to mention the entire ride that’s about death, and begins with narrator hanging himself from the ceiling…
Anyway, Disney changes stuff all the time. I spent 30 years in California going there more or less annually. Probably the only reason this even warrants a mention is because it’s such an iconic ride. No one complains when they change the cars in Autopia.
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I once went on a ride that was at the Kerry County museum in Ireland. You travel through the medieval village of Geraldine, seeing what life was like back in the day. I was impressed that they strived for accuracy, including diseased beggars, open sewers, and even adding the authentic sewage odors.
Apparently in recent years they removed the ride system (maybe because it wasn’t historically accurate?) but there’s still a walk-through version. Just watch where you step…
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