Your argument for Disney’s level of evil leaves something to be desired
I was browsing through some random websites earlier this week, and I came across a site was full of “evidence” of how evil Walt Disney was (and Disney as a corporation is). It had some of the more common stories, but the one I found most amusing is that “Walt Disney was evil because he chose music by dead composers for Fantasia so that he wouldn’t have to pay for the music.”
While it’s true that Disney (as a company) has an incredibly powerful legal team that understands the inner workings of copyright law better than just about anyone else anywhere, it makes me laugh that using public domain music is evidence of evil. How is it not an artist’s prerogative to choose to either have new work commissioned, support currently established composers, or reintroduce the public to classical works? Any of those three options, especially with the scope of Disney’s influence, had the potential for significant ramifications within the artists’ careers (if new work had been commissioned or contemporary work used) and the public consciousness and awareness of the music scene, even though the film was originally not as well-received as hoped.
Thees ees… a thesis?
So… thesis. Let’s discuss, shall we?
Because this is CalArts and we tend not to do things the “normal” way, there’s no prescribed format for my thesis. I’m not writing a traditional research-based thesis with a dissertation defense and all that stuff… I get to choose my project’s format and do what works for me.
Some disciplines have more prescribed theses: MFA3 directors, for instance, do a thesis project, which is one of the shows in the season. MFA3 playwrights also have a show fully produced in the season. MFA3 and BFA4 actors do their grad showcase in New York and L.A. as a showcase for agents and managers. Producers, though, get to do whatever we want. Kind of.
Improv Everywhere
I’m kind of in love with Improv Everywhere. It’s a New York-based performance art group that takes large-scale pranks out into the public, and the whole “improv” concept is rooted in the way the audience responds to the performers’ actions. It’s kind of like a cross between Punk’d, candid camera, and performance art, and the result is really cool.