Defying the Disney Image: The Testimony of Walt Disney Essay -- House

Walt Disney was born in 1890 to a woman named Seora Isabelle Zamora. His father, Elias, met Isabelle in California of that same year and the two carried on an affair that ended with the birth of Walt. Later, Elias brought the two back to Chicago, Illinois where Isabelle became a housekeeper for the Disney family. Walt was assimilated into the Disney household and treated as the biologic son of Elias and Flora Disney. Isabelle was with the family for years, being passed on from the Elias and Flora household to the Walt and Lillian family years later (Eliot 152-157). This account of Walt Disneys birth poses many questions about myths, legends, and rumours that encircled the action of the man behind the mouse. Biographies and documentaries attempt to give accurate chronicles of his life and delve into the mind of this genius. Even people who make a career of perusal the mans life can only make theories about his actions from oral descriptions given by those who knew Di sney personally. However, On Friday, October 24, 1947, Walt Disney testified in front of the House unpatriotic Activities Committee (HUAC) and left his legacy on record for the entire world. While the testimony was documented and cannot be questi one and only(a)d, Disneys motives for testifying, impact it had on his animated features, and how the ordeal affected his image are issues that are still scrutinised and debated. The strike of 1941 at the Disney Studios was one of the prime purposes for Disneys testimony in front of HUAC years later. The caper is that historians cannot agree on the exact specifics of the strike. Leonard Mosley and Marc Eliot are two biographers who have both written versions of Disneys life. The two biographies a... ... the animated feature film and brought entertainment to family audiences during the enceinte Depression and WWII, a dark time when American morale was low. This created an image of Disney that could never be ruined and to this day he still remains one of the most highly respected men in Hollywood. It is not common knowledge that Disney even played a part in the HUAC hearings, as it has been gigantic forgotten in the chaos of honours he has achieved. Leonard Mosley, an acclaimed historian, even left his cowardly testimony out of the biography. However, Disneys testimony is documented and will incessantly be available to critics searching for the truth about the man Disney really was. Works Cited Eliot, Marc. Walt Disney Hollywoods Dark Prince. Great Britain Andre Deutsch Limited, 1994.Mosley, Leonard. Disneys World. Lanham, MD Scarborough Press, 1985.