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December 1995, Week 3

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Sender:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:
From:
Scott Henderson <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 19 Dec 1995 23:35:27 +0001
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Reply-To:
Film and TV Studies Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
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On Mon, 18 Dec 1995, Jeffrey Apfel wrote:
 
> You wrote:
> >
> >Why did the producers and/or director of TOY STORY go to such visual
> lengths
> >to make sure that the evil/dark "other" kid -- Sid--was depicted as
> being
> >poor????
> >
>
> I kind of thought it was refreshing since I can usually peg the villian
> in almost all movies right off the bat as the rich or educated one.
> Surely you do not believe that the poor are depicted as evil more
> commonly than the rich?
>
> Jeff Apfel
>
> ----
        I'm surprised by these readings of the neighbour as poor. As
others have posted already, there is plenty of evidence that income wise
the "bad" kid comes from the same sort of family as the "good" kid. What
sort of cultural assumptions are being made here that assume that being
less clean, less caring, lazier, less attentive to your children etc.
automatically identifies someone as poor? If it wasn't so evident that
the both kids were of the same class background then I might suggest that
Disney was resorting to some troublesome stereotypes. Still, I suppose
they are still relying on stereotypes based on choices of lifestyle
(clothes, music etc.). There is a sort of 50's ideal vs. 90's nightmare
structure to the whole thing. No computer games, rock music or anything
"modern" for our hero, just good, old 'classic' toys providing the sorts
of male role models a 'good' boy supposedly needs.
 
                                                Scott Henderson
                                                Brock University
                                                St Catharines, Ontario
 
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