So, as you know, Eva and I have been watching The Owl House

[conuly]

Which Disney cancelled because they're awful in multiple ways.

I ran across some people talking online about how odds of the show being resurrected for a proper third season from letter writing and petitions are about the same as the odds of a unicorn appearing in my bedroom, which led to other people commenting that they wished some other media company would pick up the show.

Which really does seem to me to be wishful thinking. Does Disney ever give up any sort of media, to anybody, for any price? The unicorn thing seems more likely.

Speaking of Disney, I'm not sure how to feel about this.

On the one hand, this is stupid petty tit-for-tat, and not only is it obviously wrong to target any entity specifically because of their political views but Disney is definitely not "woke" in any sense of the word, sorry.

On the other hand, those copyright laws are absurd and harmful to society, and copyright all around should definitely be shrunk down to reasonable limits, because c'mon. Also, the mealy-mouthed claims by media shills that super duper long copyright protections are necessary to protect creators pale in the face of the fact that well, they don't. (It's things like that which make me okay with media piracy. At least some of the time, anyway.)

I think I ought to mostly come down on the former, if only because they didn't just hint at the goal of this legislation but stated it outright. Not classy at all.

Comments

[ioplokon]

Yeah, both this and "strip Disney of the special district that lets them have their own police force" are very "Don't threaten me with a good time" to my lefty sensibilities even if the rationale is just incredibly stupid. We'll see what happens though bc I'm pretty sure none of them have actually thought any of this through (like, they realized after the fact that ending Diseny's special district status meant they'd owe Disney like, millions and millions of dollars and have to raise property taxes by, like 20%)

[mama_kestrel]

Other than being wildly unconstitutional on free speech as well as intellectual property grounds, I can't see a problem. I mean, the bill's sponsor has announced specifically that it is retaliation for political speech. [Removes tongue from cheek]

[konsectatrix]

Yeah, the execs continually getting in the way of letting the Owl House creator tell the story she wants to tell, despite it being an award-winning show of critical and fan acclaim is so frustrating. It's such a damn shame.

Honestly when it comes to the FL Republicans vs Disney war, I'm content to eat popcorn and watch. It's probably gonna end worse for Florida than for Disney, though.

[alexseanchai]

pretty much, though also I don't care for the precedent of "express the least bit of reluctance to march in lockstep with Republicans -> get kicked in the tender bits"

I assume "Steamboat Willie" is Disney's tender bits, anyway

[siliconshaman]

It was their breakthrough cartoon, the foundation stone of the House of Mouse, and the copyright is the thing that all their financial empire hangs off...so, yeah... right in the wallet.

[siliconshaman]

Multiple execs... that was the problem. One studio exec will usually make a few changes to stamp their mark on a project, as a sop to their ego. Multiple execs will get into a pissing contest, trying to erase each others 'influence' and only cooperate to gang up and bully the artist/writer into submission, so they can then torture the script into some semblance of their cocaine fuelled 'visions'.

[sabotabby]

I want them to destroy each other. Disney is such a shit unethical company that I'm half-hoping the GQP can do some damage before Disney takes it down. It's like wanting Alien and Predator to focus on each other for a bit.

[pauamma]

I'm similarly of two minds: I would welcome a less absurdly long US copyright period, but a bill of attainder seems a very high price to me. (And I'm convinced this is one despite the protest of innocence.)

As to Disney not being woke in any sense of the word... as much as you (and I) may wish it may stay true to its original meaning, there's mounting evidence that even in US English, the language engineering attempt (*spit*) to make the disparaging, ridiculing, or insulting the dominant one appears to have gotten traction, largely but not only from Republicans. (See https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/woke-meaning-origin, https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-attacking-cancel-culture-and-woke-people-is-becoming-the-gops-new-political-strategy/, and https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-are-crusading-against-woke-n1264811.)

In France, the pejorative, dismissive, and ridiculing acception is the only one I've seen. (I have only limited exposure to language used by social justice and civil rights activists in France, so it may be sampling bias at least in part, but I've been called "woke" disparagingly on Twitter several times. https://twitter.com/pauammapublic/status/1380616258710822913 is one.

[konsectatrix]

Absolutely, it's a problem that's plagued way too many creative ventures.

[ioplokon]

irt France, this is also bc they like to argue/imply that lgbt and anti-racist social policies are american imports. before le wokisme, there was the théorie du gender/djender and le lobby gay.

I don't know people who use those expressions positively/non-ironically, but also, I'm old & not connected.

[ioplokon]

yes exactly. it's bad precedent, but i wish it would happen for different reasons/in a different environment.

I like those odds

[frith]

I have several unicorns in the glass cabinet in my bedroom, although they're all plush unicorns. No unicorns were harmed while typing this comment.

[thewayne]

I did some reading up on the 'police force' thing, and Disney themselves have nothing more than the equivalent of an unarmed night watchman with no law enforcement powers, so they can't do much more than yell at you to get off the grass. At the Orlando properties, they do have a permanent County Sheriff presence to process shoplifters. If they need actual law enforcement, they call for help.

To actually redeem the bonds would be more on the order of a billion dollars to the two counties that Disney straddles, I believe the lump sum charge to each property owner would be over $2500, then you have the on-going costs for services.

[thewayne]

Hawley is a moron. While I hate the bill, the bill protects all studios, all copyright works. He's trying to slap Disney, and everyone else the bill protects and all the congresscritters who receive money from everyone else who is part of this bill will rip him to shreds.

[ioplokon]

Thanks, that makes sense. Disney are prudent not to take the liability of being actual police. Philosophically the situation still seems sub-optimal to me, but clearly I need to read more about it and better understand the specifics.

also i had billions and then was like surely that's too much! I don't envy whoever has to figure all that out if it happens...

[thewayne]

Yeah, the infrastructure for a city is VERY expensive: sewer, electrical, water.  That's why it's paid for in like 40-50 year bond issues.  And yes, the state is going to have to take them over if they want to eliminate the special tax district.  De Santis and the legislature thought they could pass a simple law and make the district go away: BIG mistake.

[ioplokon]

I just have California syndrome where everything north of San Francisco and east of Yuma is just villages, obviously.

and yeah, I think if you actually wanted to end it, you'd be looking at a multi-decade deal (and probably you'd still have to compensate Disney somehow for them to agree & not just say lol have fun with these bonds!)

[thewayne]

I actually live in a Village: 800 full-time residents, on top of a mountain at 9,000' in the middle of a national forest.  25 minutes to the nearest city of 30,000 people.  90 minutes to the nearest bookstore.  I came from Phoenix, which is 500 miles away. It was an adjustment. :-)

[ioplokon]

oooh see, while I'm definitely jealous of getting to just hang out in the forest, I cannot deal with <1mil people. It makes me feel really lonely and conspicuous!

[alexseanchai]

(also, pun 😛😸)

[cellio]

The extended copyright duration (almost a century!) is pretty ridiculous, but it's obvious grandstanding and according tot hat article, the copyright is going to expire in two years anyway. This is all about scoring points with his base, it seems.

Disney is evil and I'd love to see them take a hit, but this isn't the hit they should be taking. They should be forced to pay all their debts, with interests and any contractual penalties. If the guy wants to cost them money, maybe press on that instead. But targeting the mouse and not actually standing up for anybody who's been wronged seems more like his style. :-(

[l33tminion]

Oh no. I hadn't heard The Owl House was cancelled. Does that mean I shouldn't start on the show? How marred will it be by the truncated ending? Are the first two seasons worth it on their own?

[silveradept]

Disney does not let go of anything they own ever, including the Congresscritters they've bought, so no, unless the copyright expires on them, there's no third season. I would dearly love for Disney to have their copyrights revoked or otherwise pushed into the public domain, but there are an infinite number of better, more legal reasons to do it than petty revenge for chasing money rather than ideology.

[conuly]

The second season definitely has some pacing issues that clearly can be traced back to having to wrap things up quickly.

[thewayne]

I wouldn't have been able to live in Phoenix for much longer due to air pollution, but I don't know where I would have ended up, maybe just outside of town in Prescott possibly.  But married an astronomer and moved to the sticks.  I can appreciate how you feel, though.  Like I said, heck of an adjustment.  And made me a pretty darn good cook, too!

[pauamma]

Two French speakers who do are Rokhaya Diallo and Mame-Fatou Niang - both, as it happens, from the US, which obviously means they're foreign propaganda agents - as am I, for all that I live in France, when I contradict MiniTru publicly.