Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece • Hacker News Board

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#71

Post by Animats » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:34 AM UTC

When Disney acquires Barbie, their domination will be complete.

(Check out "Hello Barbie", in stores now.[1] Now your kids can talk to Barbie and she'll talk back. Barbie has a WiFi connection to servers back at Mattel HQ running AI software. "ToyTalk, the tech company that partnered with Mattel to bring Hello Barbie to life, stores by default everything the doll records for at least two years to help it better analyze children’s speech." Coming up next, Cognitoys, plush animals powered by IBM's Watson system and able to answer hard questions.)

[1] http://shop.mattel.com/product/index.jsp?productId=65561726 [2] https://cognitoys.com

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#72

Post by angersock » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:42 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #71

When Disney acquires Barbie, their domination will be complete. (Check out "Hello Barbie", in stores now.[1] Now your kids can talk to Barbie and she'll talk back. Barbie has a WiFi connection to servers back at Mattel HQ running AI software. "ToyTalk, the tech company that partnered with Mattel to bring Hello Barbie to life, stores by default everything the doll records for at least two years to help it better analy…

I'm somewhat reminded of Harrison's "I Always Do What Teddy Says" (https://opalcp12.wikispaces.com/file/view/I+Always+Do+What+T...).

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#73

Post by angersock » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:43 AM UTC

fennecfoxen wrote: post #17

Archio wrote: post #6

Reading this gives me a chill down my spine. There's something about a corporation controlling, optimizing, monetizing, and branding dominant components of a childhood that just doesn't seem right.

It's a little self-limiting in the end, at least. The more Disney throws recycled characters in our face as part of a bland franchise-entertainment product, the more compelling real original work will become, and the more likely they are to ruin the childhood magic. I also find hope in recent developments overseas, and anticipate the impact of works such as Puella Magi Madoka Magica on the future of children's televi…

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is most certainly not children's television. ／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#74

Post by cwyers » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:48 AM UTC

deciplex wrote: post #45

Basically nothing about Disney's strategy would be wrong, or even harmful, provided copyright terms were something reasonable rather than infinite as a practical matter. By now anyone should have been allowed to make "The Force Awakens" and without paying $4.1 billion for the privilege, either.

I'm not so sure I agree. First of all, it's not like anyone could have made this movie without significant financial resources -- reportedly it cost $200 million to make, and it looks it (not to mention, Harrison Ford isn't coming back for cheap). Nobody without a large commercial stake in it was going to be able to make a movie like this.

That doesn't justify current copyright laws (trademarks alone might be sufficient to keep someone from making Star Wars VIII even if copyright was allowed to lapse on ordinary time rather than being constantly extended to keep Steamboat Willy out of the public domain), but collaborative works of fiction require big financial commitments sometimes to get made.

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#75

Post by rpgmaker » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:49 AM UTC

zekevermillion wrote: post #30

There was some magic to the 80s childhood movies -- Star Wars, ET, Last Starfighter, Goonies -- that I don't think can be bottled. Whatever stories hold that place for our kids, I don't think they will be the same movies that did it for us. There's just something about seeing Star Wars in the context of that time, and it's not the same as seeing it now.

As someone that watched the Star Wars film for the first time relatively recent, I concur. I did not like ANY of the films at all (I watched them in the order they were released). The scripts of the first three seemed utter shit to me. It works as a family movie I guess but not one an adult should be able to enjoy. Needless to say this opinion makes me part of a despised minority but I understand why many people love the films and that many grew up with them. Just like I still love the Goonies many people still love Star Wars.

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#76

Post by JabavuAdams » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 4:57 AM UTC

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #37

rayiner wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we weren't raising our kids to be such consumers--turning stupid shit like Star Wars into "cultural experiences"-- Disney wouldn't have any power. They can't own sticks and dirt.

You know the worst part? You can't even prevent it if you are raising your kids otherwise. My 5 year old has never seen a Disney movie, yet she told me today that for her 6th birthday she wants a Cinderella shirt and an Elsa costume - both characters she has never actually seen on screen. Her friends at school all talk about it though and recount fantastic stories. I hear from people saying that we will raise a kid w…

You really have to experience this to fully appreciate it. Social contagion is real.

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#77

Post by rangibaby » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 5:01 AM UTC

paulddraper wrote: post #70

beedogs wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the name of a single character now counts as a spoiler, I don't think I want to live on this planet anymore.

Could you spoil it for us with the name of the planet you do want to live on?

Well, if there's a bright center to the universe, then the planet that it's farthest from.

The "spoilers" for the new Star Wars film aren't a big deal. I knew them and the "spoiled" scenes still had a big impact on me, because that's what good film making is all about.

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#78

Post by JabavuAdams » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 5:02 AM UTC

olewhalehunter wrote: post #27

DannoHung wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did we watch different films? The end of the movie was about realizing that emotional experiences are complex and that it's ok to be sad about things and that you shouldn't run from negative emotions. Every person had an anger too. Not sure how you got the notion that the film makers thought anger is bad.

My main gripe is that of symbolic brainwashing; allowing millions of children to view media from a global corporation that asserts that the inner world of your mind acts in a specific way using constant mini-deities, asserting that "abstract thought" is risky, and enforcing psychological cliches is dangerous.

You realize that Pixar movies are made by a brain-trust of intelligent, empathetic, and cultured people, right?

None of that means that they are immune to their cultural and corporate biases and zeitgeist, but you seem to be implying something much more intentional and predatory. Why?

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#79

Post by forrestthewoods » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 5:03 AM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #61

LukeShu wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pre-release materials are the worst, and often contain awful spoilers. I intentionally avoided them for Star Wars. During the previews when I saw Star Wars, one of the people I went with did his best to ignore the Captain America trailer, because he didn't want it spoiled at all. You watch enough ads/pre-release materials to decide you want to see it, then once you decide to see it, you ignore everything you can.

IMO, outside of thrillers or movies that pretty much rely on a major twist, "spoilers" is nonsense. I'm not going to go around telling the plot of a movie to people (that's a dick move), but if a movie cannot stand on its own even if you've been told the last 5 minutes verbatim (or seen them) before seeing the rest, then the movie is probably not worth watching. And there are very few trailers that are that bad. Agai…

That's cool. Good for you. You've decided what you do and do not care about before seeing a movie. Now let other people do the same.

Re: Disney is safeguarding its future by buying childhood, piece by piece

#80

Post by rangibaby » Mon, Dec 21, 2015, 5:03 AM UTC

oldmanjay wrote: post #57

LukeShu wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's more than just the name; the first part of the sentence is far more spoiler-y than the name at the end.

Spoiler alert: franchise soft reboots do the same thing as the original franchise because that's what puts ("record" number, in this case) butts in seats. I just ruined A LOT of movies from here forward.

It also makes more sense with Star Wars (1977), a simple and universal story (a fairytale, even) than say, Robocop.