Lani
07-29-2002, 10:35 AM
New archbishop in row with Disney (http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=793402002) - The Scotsman, 7/24/02
Only hours after the Archbishop of Canterbury was installed to head the world’s 70 million Anglicans, Dr Rowan Williams became embroiled in a controversy after the criticisms of Disney he made two years ago were brought back into the limelight. In the book, Lost Icons, Dr Williams criticized Disney for turning children into consumers. He wrote: "The perception of the child as consumer is clearly more dominant than it was a few decades ago. The child is the (usually vicarious) purchaser of any number of graded and variegated packages - that is, of goods designed to stimulate consumer desires.
"A relatively innocuous example is the familiar ‘tie-in’, the association of comics, sweets, toys and so on with a new film or television serial; the Disney empire has developed this to an unprecedented pitch of professionalism." Dr Williams, who also used the book to criticise the premature sexualisation of children by a consumer society, confessed he was "interested" to see comments he had made two years previously brought back into the public domain.According to the article, a Disney spokesman defended the company and refused to accept the criticism.
Only hours after the Archbishop of Canterbury was installed to head the world’s 70 million Anglicans, Dr Rowan Williams became embroiled in a controversy after the criticisms of Disney he made two years ago were brought back into the limelight. In the book, Lost Icons, Dr Williams criticized Disney for turning children into consumers. He wrote: "The perception of the child as consumer is clearly more dominant than it was a few decades ago. The child is the (usually vicarious) purchaser of any number of graded and variegated packages - that is, of goods designed to stimulate consumer desires.
"A relatively innocuous example is the familiar ‘tie-in’, the association of comics, sweets, toys and so on with a new film or television serial; the Disney empire has developed this to an unprecedented pitch of professionalism." Dr Williams, who also used the book to criticise the premature sexualisation of children by a consumer society, confessed he was "interested" to see comments he had made two years previously brought back into the public domain.According to the article, a Disney spokesman defended the company and refused to accept the criticism.