There was a time when life was much simpler, something to which I can testify. It was decades ago when those simpler times equated with innocence, an era very familiar to me.
I’m old enough to remember when the United States consisted of only 48 states. In case you’re wagering, there are currently 50. You’re welcome.
Besides being old and decrepit, I am also anxious to share experiences with those younger than both me and my close younger buddy, Methuselah, if for nothing other than posterity.
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Television with rabbit ears |
Rabbit ears consist of two metal rods which are conjoined by a plastic lump, from which a connecting wire led to the television set. This contraption sat upon the television to magically receive the TV programs. Rich people had their antennas on their roof, while really rich people hid theirs in the attic.
But it was the programming that kept people returning for charming shows available to a growing public.
Westerns were very popular during the early days of TV, some of which included Roy Rogers, Bonanza, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Bat Masterson. They were largely designed for adult viewers but wound up as babysitting tools for busy housewives such as my Mom.
It was Sunday evening, though, that was my favorite day for something I genuinely enjoyed: The Wonderful World of Disney (WWD).
For many decades, founder Walt Disney, emceed the WWD at 7:00 PM, which contained a wide variety of Disney-created shows. One week it would air a cartoon marathon, a travelogue on another, while a nature-related program featuring animals on still another Sunday. Alas, they were largely wasted on B&W televisions.
With developing technologies came the advent of something life-changing: color television. Color TV was so new only a few households had one because of the exorbitant cost. As luck would have it, a next-door neighbor purchased one and invited my sister and me to experience not only color television, but WWD in color!
We dragged along snacks and a bottle of wine, plus some beer for our hosts, as a gesture of appreciation. Suddenly, everyone present was happy.
Airing on NBC – the National Broadcasting Company – whose logo was an animated peacock spreading its colorful plumage, introduced the WWD. With animated fireworks surrounding Disney’s Cinderella Castle, the excitement soared into my stratosphere verifying my imagined colors, absent until this special moment.
A few short years later my Dad bought us a new color TV – with a remote control – something that transformed our television baseball and football games from a drab gray to vibrant green, a moment for which the majority of our household had been waiting.
Eventually I had seen most, if not all, the Disney classic cartoons, feature movies, and educational programs until I later gravitated to more mature fare of movies in theaters, effectively closing the book on WWD for me.
Still, those memorable shows and movies from Disney included such titles as Lady and the Tramp, Cinderella, Herbie the Love Bug, Mickey Mouse, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, all of which helped shape me into becoming the person I am today.
You see, the early Disney productions consisted of wholesome themes – themes upon which traditional, nuclear families – were built. The formulae were simple: a male father, a female mother, children living together, all experiencing life separately but together, created a wholesome story with a message,
Lately, Disney has been seemingly trying to compete with other cartoon and movie factories, producing creations of new characters in new situations for a new generational audience. But to create some distance, Disney has been incorporating humans in their productions as something called live-action movies.
Sure, they were animated or live-action that were contrived to suit the narrative. However, although the subject matter changed, the message remained consistent.
One Disney movie I fondly recall as a child, was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The original feature animated film was from the 1937 Grimm brother’s story, that has withstood the test of time so much so that a live-action version was just recently released (2025), again as a feature film.
This new release is now entitled simply Snow White, and stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. For some reason, Disney thought it would be prudent to create the Seven Dwarfs with computers to generate a clever mix of animation and people.
Of course, times change, as do circumstances. But this recent Snow White film appears more cursed that Tutankhamen's Tomb. It seems as though Ms. Zegler is a special kind of young activist – one that hates Jews.
Posting obnoxious comments about Israel and Israelis on social media, Zegler has proven herself a strong, vocal supporter of Palestinians who have an unscratchable itch against non-Palestinians.
These selfish acts of grandiosity have apparently plagued not only Zegler, who feels she has the absolute right to speak her mind, but also Disney who spent a hefty $270,000,000, on this production.
I am not a lawyer, movie producer, psychologist, animator, or talent agent, but I am a consumer who is familiar with Disney who knows what he likes. And I do not like to be expected to pay a handsome ticket charge to subsidize those who have a special disdain against an entire segment of a civilized society.
Let’s hope Disney is able to correct their tone deafness for future endeavors. Bud Light did.