Cute_Consideration38 t1_jaamg0l wrote on February 28, 2023 at 1:28 AM

Reply to comment by shalafi71 in TIL Poltergeist, which came out in 1982, was rated PG. This is despite not just the movie fitting perfectly into the horror genre, but also many adult themes including the smoking of marijuana and a deep dive into the occult. by duganaok

Moral obfuscation like:

You don't have to do what your parents say even if your father is the king. You know better than he does..

And if you see a cute guy, you should totally give up everything including EVER seeing your family again, and losing your gifted singing voice in a voodoo ritual so that you can go shack up with a sailor.

And then if it turns out that you're not happy with your choices you can breach any contract you entered into and if the other party doesn't want to oblige then it's perfectly okay to steal your payment back from them.

The Little Mermaid did it, and everything worked out well for her!

Also it's perfectly alright to break into places you're not allowed to be. And if you're hungry, you can totally steal food, because if you don't you'll starve and die. And while surviving, if you're have to destroy other people's possessions, or ruin their chance to make a living, so be it. Aladdin could have gotten a damn job. "Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat!"

Shall I go on?

shalafi71 t1_jaar9sy wrote on February 28, 2023 at 2:04 AM

Ah! Makes more sense. But I see Disney simply telling stories that resonate with children, making 'em money. Every example you give is a child's power trip fantasy. "Yeah! I could do that thing!" Got any kids around? They're dumber than rocks when it comes to nuance; They're not reading life lessons into a cartoon.

Do you honestly see Disney having some sort of moral agenda? Reddit tells me all corporations are mindless money-making machines with no morals.

If you state that Disney does have some sort of agenda, especially a liberal one, why aren't they publicly dropping the hammer on DeSantis for his shenanigans? (May be getting far off track here, especially if you're not up-to-date on the story.)

Cute_Consideration38 t1_jab2tlw wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:32 AM

The moral agenda is, I admit, an illusion as everyone knows their agenda is profit based. But in an effort to maximize profit they cater to the child's disdain for rules and authority. Kids want to see examples of how it's possible to do bad things but still be liked, loved, and get everything that they want.

I mean if Aladdin got caught doing 90 percent of the things he does, during the era that is suggested, he would have a knife plunged into his abdomen and then he would pathetically bleed out on the cobblestone as wild dogs fight over his fingers. No ambulance, no lenient judges if you survive the stabbing, no investigation into your murder if you don't survive it. But that wouldn't make a good movie for babysitting, soooo....