Comments on: When the Magic Kingdom Ate the Galactic Empire http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2012/11/02/when-the-magic-kingdom-ate-the-galactic-empire/ Responses to Media and Culture Fri, 12 Feb 2016 19:35:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5 By: Thoughts on Disney’s Takeover of Lucasfilm | R. Colin Tait http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2012/11/02/when-the-magic-kingdom-ate-the-galactic-empire/comment-page-1/#comment-370502 Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:28:39 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=16161#comment-370502 […] latest online post – When the Magic Kingdom ate the Galactic Empire – recently appeared in Antenna – Responses to Media and […]

]]> By: Richard Taylor http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2012/11/02/when-the-magic-kingdom-ate-the-galactic-empire/comment-page-1/#comment-370332 Sat, 03 Nov 2012 00:06:04 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=16161#comment-370332 As always your observations are astute and well balanced Colin. I think everyone agrees that Lucas’ stranglehold on the creative processes behind SW has lead to some visually stunning but otherwise unengaging films. I suppose Disney won’t give John Woo a try, how sad. ON the flipside, I’m sure many fans also cringe as Disney’s tentacles further extend its monopoly over entertainment. They’re becoming as ubiquitous to popular film as microsoft is to PC’s.

Anyway, for myself the most significant aspect of the takeover is the now increased savagery with which lawyers (Disney’s in particular being even more ferocious than Lucas’) will protect copyrights. Thus, my dream funeral ie. being burnt atop a funeral pyre in a Darth Vader costume, would probably bring about horrendous legal reprecussions for my funeral planner. Sigh. Maybe Kim Dotcom can find a way to steal Star Wars too. Cheers.

]]> By: Eleanor Patterson http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2012/11/02/when-the-magic-kingdom-ate-the-galactic-empire/comment-page-1/#comment-370308 Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:16:50 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=16161#comment-370308 Colin, you bring up many good points. I guess I wonder how much of a deal this is for Lucasfilm employees, as the company is currently located in Marin County, about 9 – 10 hours north of Burbank, where Disney’s studios and headquarters are. Yes, Lucas himself may be getting a sweet deal, but the other employees, especially those below the line, have no guarantee that Disney will not relocate them to the LA area, which would be devestating to Marin County’s economy, as well as its media production community.I also wonder how these employees will make sense of their new position as Disney employees. Disney has a horrible reputation among below-the-line media workers, I once saw a sign up on an editor’s office “Those who God wishes to destroy, he first has Disney employee.” I would imagine that in comparison, employees might make sense of their professional identities working for Lucasfilm perhaps through the sort of masculine, maverick auteur persona that is discursively attached to George Lucas and his company. I guess I also wonder what this move means logistically and legally for fans. Disney is much tighter with intellectual property, and I am doubtful if fan productions, like Star Wars Uncut, and others, would have been allowed under Disney, or will be in the future. And similar to the shift in how employee identification might shift after this acquisition, I wonder how fan identity might shift, at least among some communities of hard core Star Wars fans, who may resent “their” franchise becoming part of the Disney family friendly universe.

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