Disney's Dark Past

Over the years, Walt Disney has given the world some of the most magical films of all time. 'Snow White', 'Steamboat Willy', 'Pinnochio', 'Peter Pan', and 'Song Of The South'. Sorry? You haven't heard of the classic 'Song Of The South'? The delightful musical set in a plantation in the south of the USA? Well of course you haven't: it was never released on home video, and has only gained cult attention because of its rather racist undertones.

The plot circles around Uncle Remus, a black plantation worker for a rich family. When a young boy visits his grandmother whilst his father works away he is befriended by Remus, who tells them stories of Br'er Rabbit, Fox and Bear. Seems timid? It is. It really actually is. But this is a kid's film, and critics have called it a "depiction of a perfect master-slave relationship". Remus happily works his days at the plantation whilst he receives seemingly no pay, and worst of all this film is set more or less straight after the American Civil War. However, the film is charming, and the animation scenes are some of the best I've ever enjoyed and the original song 'Zip-Ah-Dee-Doo-Dah' even won an Academy Award. The film does try to get out a good message, but is completely insensitive in doing so. And for those of you who think I'm displaying a little hypocrisy can think again: it isn't a fair film. Watch it and you'll see. Even when Walt himself was commenting on the making of the film he would use the word 'negro' ("old negro philosopher") to describe Uncle Remus. Disney, being a primarily children's entertainment corporation should be telling kids that all people are equal and should be treated fairly and as friends, however this film (although everyone is happy together) sets a complete stereotype of working African Americans at that time. Maybe certain elements are true, in that he would've been employed and treated in such a way, but surely it's not right to put this in a kids' film? And if that's still not enough for you, Walt Disney has included several racial stereotypes in some other media in the past.

• The crows in 'Dumbo'
• The red indians in ''Peter Pan'
• The numerous black characters in the old 'Mickey Mouse' films and books

Walt Disney himself was a mad anti-semite too, and constantly made fun of the Jews, even having the 'Big Bad Wolf' from a rendition of the 'Three Little Pigs' be depicted as a Jewish peddler, and having Mickey Mouse do a little jig dressed up as a Hasidic Jew. Back in the days of pre-Martin Luther King America racism was rife and anyone with half a brain knows it. Anybody who accused others of being a racist back then had the first amendment wrongfully slapped in their face despite hardly anybody ever having read it (go to 5:00). However, soon things went quiet and now we're being strangled if we even sing 'Baa-Baa Black Sheep', and we laugh at the apparently risque but actually completely shit Little Ms. Jocelyn.

I bring all this to your attention as Disney have cast their first Afro-American Princess in their latest animated film, 'The Princess and The Frog'. Now for me, this is great news, as instead of those who will obviously highlight it as a some sort of sign of an "immigrant invasion" (I'm watching you, Griffin), I see it as a corporation embracing the wonderful fact that the USA is a vastly diverse multicultural society. By 2012 America will be less than 50% white, and some predict in the next 20 years Spanish will be the most spoken language there. Although I've grown out of the Disney animated films to an extent, their main purpose is to educate children and diversify their outlook on life. 'The Princess and The Frog' does this excellently, however 'Song of The South' certainly does not. Disney does have a dark, mischievous past, and it's criminal to ignore it, but those times have gone and they're back to helping one of the best causes in the world, educating kids.

Thanks for reading, I just thought I'd bring up a little snippet of info for all you Disney lovers out there, and I hope I haven't ruined too many childhoods in the process. I hope to see you here again soon!

Hello All

TheFamousPeter.com is expanding, and today brings the joyous news that I, The Kid the famous Peter sits next to in English, have been given permission to write articles for the site. Whether or not Peter will come to regret this decision remains to to be seen. What I can promise, however, is general hilarity and a decent counterpoint to Peter's political views. I see myself as more of a Little John, from the Mail, as opposed to Peter's Charlie Brooker.

I am not partial to the long-term plan for the site, but now at least I have somewhere to vent my frustration at the fact that the thought police in our country won't let me vent my frustration anymore. Anyways, expect my first article soon, probably on something about British society etc. and how its not as good as it used to be.

What's The Fuss About Warfare? Part 2

I'm continuing this little snippet of interest as it's something I can really get my teeth into. I believe that the majority of the British public are not as stupid as they seem, and when a team of video game producers, sometimes a hundred men and women strong, their efforts should be available to the public. And if the game is "brutal" or "violent", people will be intelligent enough to know whether it is suitable for the children, or themselves. Before you say it, I know that there are people too stupid to understand this, and those will be the ones who will copy a games example and bring on such acts as the murder of Stefan Pakeerah. However in this day and age people are more educated than ever, so restraining them is not the answer in my opinion.

However, I'm a reasonable man, and I will look at both sides of the argument. There is a tragic side to violent video games in isolated if heartbreaking cases, and it would be disrespectful of me not to look at them.

The man responsible for all this is Keith Vaz MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Leicester East. Vaz first brought up video game violence in 2007, following the death of Pakeerah.

"According to Giselle Pakeerah, the mother of Stefan Pakeerah, the young Leicester boy who was stabbed to death in a park in Leicester when aged only 14, the 17-year-old killer copied exact scenes from “Manhunt 1” to lure Stefan into the park and stab him 17 or 18 times with a knife."

I'd be a very bad person to argue with this. Stefan was innocently partygoing, and upon being lured into a park to be mugged by his older friend was stabbed to death. My heart goes out to Giselle: she's obviously very strong to get through this and should take pride in herself. If for a minute we take the 'Manhunt' out, there is obvious grounds for mental illness here, and the murderer is obviously very impressionable, so it's unfair to blame it wholly on the game, like Vaz was insinuating. However, I'm not a psychologist, and I don't want a Jan Moir case on my website.

In my opinion, Manhunt is a devilishly brutal game and I wouldn't buy it, however some people are into that sort of simulation, in that you harness the vast power of taking life, so they're free to buy it. And there we go: someone who is aware of the aspects of the game has chosen not to buy it on the grounds they find it morally objectable, yet has accepted that others may wish to. In a free country like this, if a few dozen grown members of the public develop a detailed, enjoyable and controversial game they should be celebrated for artistic triumph rather than quashed under rules. This murderer was obviously a member of the tiny, tiny minority of people who are impressionable, and no matter what it is, if there is some violence there is a chance that they could copy it. Nowadays, with everything there will be a risk factor.

• This toy contains small parts: children may choke.
• Speed kills.
• Smoking kills.
• This chewing gum may have a laxative effect.

The last one was silly I know, but it's a risk. Eventually, with the vast crusade of political correctness poisoning the nation this could be the government's main aim for 2019 (if you want more, check the front page of the Daily Express from time to time). There's no doubt that the murder of Pakeerah and several others brought on by video games are terrible, but the government is just highlighting it in the wrong way. The government being behind on technology has brought on thousands of deaths, the most notable example being asbestos. The first recorded death in the UK was in 1906, however asbestos was not phased out until the 1980s, and only completely banned in 1999 following the EU's outlawing of Chrysolite, the only form still legal at the time in Britain. 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' is if anything a deterrent to war; the bloody, depressing battles you are involved in throughout will probably only appeal to the top 0.01% of the hardest people in Britain. If the government still insist on having these games tones down, maybe they could just ask the producers to put a few extra warnings in, tell store clerks to advise parents on the content of the game or just move all the adult games to another area. I do believe in the age rating system, as a 6 year old having 'Grand Theft Auto IV' bought for him (like I saw just a few weeks ago) is plain wrong.

For me, this is much like the great cannabis debate (which when you look at the evidence is better for you than alcohol, cigarettes and some say caffeine) maybe this is an area which the government is too conservative to really look into for the social benefits, and should be left to public choice, so those who don't like it should adopt the traditional British attitude of "if you don't like it, ignore it" (or "if you can't beat them, join them": whichever is easier for you).

***EDIT*** It turns out that the Pakeerah case had no relation to video games, instead it was drug dealing. I'll leave the post as it is as I aimed to highlight the reaction by the government more than the event itself.

What's The Fuss About Warfare?

Today sees the release of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2', across many a gaming platform. A game splattered with violence, gore, grit and guns, it sounds perfect to put under the tree for a little six year old. However, before I start getting into detail, let's look at the basics. The first game was notorious to say the least. Instantly slammed in the House of Commons for being too "realistic", it seemed that the aims and efforts of video game producers were seen as taboo, and that maybe games should steer clear of this area of real life. But maybe it's not because the games are realistic: in 1993 'Cannon Fodder' caused mass hysteria by being a blatant exploitation of wartime grief, never mind the uproar from the British Legion due to the use of a poppy on the front cover.

Video games will always have something said about them for as long as they are around, simply because they play such a big part in the lives of kids nowadays. Children are known to spend up to six, maybe seven hours a day on their consoles instead of doing something productive; no wonder the world is getting tremendously fatter.

I hear you saying "you must be some nerd to be saying all this, video games are great!" However, I agree, video games are great, but in the last year I have felt their wrath. Throughout the time I should have been revising for my GCSE's I tried to crack open Fallout 3, and still failed. My results felt the full blow and it's given me a chance to reflect on video games as a whole. But enough of that demoralising tripe!

This week, the political effect of video games was seen again with Keith Vaz MP bringing up the subject in Parliament. (Thank you to Graham Murkett for this) Vaz, who voted for the invasion of Iraq, claimed "it [Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2] contains such scenes of brutality even the manufacturers have put warnings within the game". Ironic? I should certainly think so. War is a horrible, horrible thing, whether it be necessary or not, and war on an XBOX is far more timid, I think Mr. Vaz. The game has an 18 certificate from the BBFC, so the law on this is as heavily enforced as on film. Vaz's argument was not really to have it pulled from the shelves but instead to make 100% sure that children don't get their hands on it, but when I turn on the news at midday on a Saturday when some juveniles are bound to be watching, I see reports of another British soldier killed brutally in Vaz's name.

So I ask, what poisons a child more? Shooting a few pixellated Russians witha joystick or seeing dead men just a few years older than themselves paraded down a road in a coffin draped with a flag? With the power of the media and the ease of gaining information, the effect on the British public from the wars in the East are catastrophic. This is total war, as everyone has a feeling or opinion about Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran.

To put it simply, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" is just leisure. Instead of debating about a product which is playing a bigger and bigger part in our economy, maybe, especially so near to Rememberance Sunday, MP's should think about what is going on a million miles away and how that is affecting our children at home. We all know Britain is in social decline, and maybe taking a step back could be the best answer.

As you can see, this is a far more serious piece, brought on by Keith Vaz MP's little falsh of hypocrisy (I love writing about powerful people contradicting themselves). Thanks for reading, I'll see you soon.

The Relaunch and Morrissey

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today is a momentous day.

Today is a great day. Today is a day our children, our children's children, and our children's children's children will remember forever.

Today, The Famous Peter is relaunched.

Welcome back! If you've been wondering where I've been, the simple answer is being lazy. When my exams finished I just wanted to relax, and at that time my idea of relaxing was not writing blogs, sadly. Instead I've been working hard at college, getting a few things sorted out and now it's okay. And the surprising thing is that's probably the most you'll ever hear about me on this blog.

The old 'Famous Peter' used to be about me. I bleated on and on about myself, what I was doing,what I had planned, and now it's about interesting things. I've taken very nicely to Charlie Brooker, and aim to take his job at The Guardian in a few years. Therefore, I'm starting where he did, and writing about good stuff. And we'll get right into it, shall we?

Morrissey performed at The Liverpool Echo Arena just last Saturday. It was the biggest venue in the North of England he played at all through the tour, so one would assume it was the most well policed/guarded. Instead, some yob managed to get through the "inpenetrable" bottle inspections into the standing area and throw a plastic bottle at Morrissey's head (by the way, I write this as I was literally six feet away from Morrissey when he was hit, and about a metre away from the bloke who threw it). A slurry line from 'Black Cloud' and rub of the head later, despite being less than two songs in (This Charming Man, Black Cloud) he proceeded to leave the stage along with his band and not return.

The arena went black and boos drowned out any other sound. People turned to one another, some frantically panicked, and others like me just laughed a little at how it sort of bobbed off his head. However, I didn't laugh for long. When the steward came to the front barrier and shined his torches in the vicinity of the thrower, my heart started beating a mile a minute as he scanned me. Before long, a dozen people were chanting "Here he is, here he is, here he is the fat bastard!" to the tune of 'You're Not Singing Any More', which were so enthusiastic they went over the thousands singing "Morrissey! Morrissey!" in a full hearted attempt to get him back on stage. One fat, middle aged man in a blue shirt had a face as hard as rock, frowning, eyes filling up. Staring mindlessly into the torch of accusation that was blinding even me. As a drunk fellow wearing a suit (who had in fact earlier offered to go to the bar for me) pointed at him, shouting "Him! Him!" Immediately, the fat man grabbed his arm and shook his head mouthing "No." This was like some horror film. My heart was racing and a fat man was about to cry. Just as he was about to be hauled out, I heard a furious voice raging past to my left, headed for the fat man. "Where is he? I'll fucking kill him." A skinheaded man tore through the crowd, pointing at fatty. He grabbed him by the neck and shouted something I couldn't make out. Blue shirt was still mouthing "No. No. No." The steward quickly broke it up, and hauled him out. He was very, very, very lucky. Ten minutes later (yes, ten) a man came on the stage.

"Morrissey has been hit on the head with a beer bottle. The show will not continue."

For the next minute, hell broke loose. The witch hunt stepped up. Anybody who was drinking beer at the time was on death row. Grown men pushed each other round like children in a playpen, not swinging punches but just going pig mental for space in this tiny area. I just shouted at the stage. 9 months of waiting and £32 wasted by one dickhead with a plastic beer bottle. After that, not much happened. The crowd dispersed, the stage was cleared and Twitter went crazy. It was a bad night.

Aside from that depressing story, I will be mainly writing comedic stuff on here, although I felt obliged to cover that event. So, thank you for popping in again and I hope to see you soon!