- In some pretty big news, the Texas Board of Education has decided to sell all of its Disney stock, citing the horrible, violent films that Miramax has been producing as the reason. Chasing Amy, Dogma, and even Pulp Fiction (which was released BEFORE the board bought the stock to begin with) are mentioned in the article. By the way, these are the guys that Marilyn Manson is after for defamation of character, since they’ve accused him of raping kids and giving out drugs and such. They sure like to be in the news…
Texas Schools To Dump Disney Stock
Board votes to divest in protest over films like ‘Pulp Fiction’ Texas state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt, D-Dallas, was one of the few officials Thursday who objected to divesting from Disney. She was joined by a few other protesters, some dressed as Mickey Mouse and other Disney symbols.
AUSTIN, Texas, July 10 — The Texas Board of Education on Friday decided to dump $45 million in Walt Disney Co. stock — not because of its performance but because of the content of some movies produced by Disney subsidiaries. The board felt Disney-backed movies like “Pulp Fiction” are promoting violence, drug use and promiscuous sex as well as homosexuality.
THE BOARD appears to be the first state agency anywhere in the United States to rid itself of Disney stock in protest against the content of its films. Board chairman Jack Christie said before the vote that he expected the full board to go along with a “sell” recommendation made Thursday by a board committee. “I hope it sends a message to Miramax (Films, a Disney unit) that the public in this country has had enough of the violence in these movies. How many more school shootings do you want?” said Christie, a Republican from Houston. He said he was convinced to sell the Disney stock after the religious group American Family Association showed him clips from the Miramax-produced black comedy “Pulp Fiction,” which includes scenes of murder, drug use and sadomasochism. The 1994 film won an Oscar for best original screenplay. “I think as the public sees that type of garbage [the stock] will lose some of its luster,” Christie told reporters. “Watching that [“Pulp Fiction”], I cannot be any part of investing children’s money into that type of promotion.” Divestiture was favored by eight members of the board, with four voting against, two abstaining and one absent.
OTHER DISNEY FILMS ON LIST
The American Family Association has been lobbying all Texas state agencies for the last year to divest their Disney stock. It is also urging Americans to boycott Disney, claiming it has a “homosexual agenda.” The AFA’s list of other Disney films it finds objectionable include: “Chasing Amy” (lesbianism), “Color of Night” (sex), “Clerks” (graphic language), “Chicks in White Satin” (lesbianism), “Dogma” (homosexuality), “Lie Down with Dogs” (homosexuality), “Priest” (homosexuality, anti-Christian), and “The House of Yes” (incest). AFA’s effort in Texas included collecting 5,000 signatures and producing a video called “Dumping Disney: How Texas is Bankrolling the Disney Empire.” It also found support in the Texas legislature, where an AFA official earlier this year testified by reading lyrics from groups produced by Disney’s music label, Hollywood Records.
A scene from “Pulp Fiction,” which a Texas education official singled out as an example of a Disney-backed film that the state education board objects to.
OTHERS FOR, AGAINST The AFA is not the only group to go after Disney. Southern Baptists last year voted to boycott Disney because of its alleged “promotion of immoral ideologies and practices.” But Rep. Harryette Erhardt, D-Dallas, was one of three state lawmakers who told an education board committee Thursday that they felt that going after Disney was about politics, not what’s in the best interests of schoolchildren.
And the Texas Freedom Network, a religious group that calls itself a “moderate voice” in the debate about family values, warned that tactics like divesting stock are risky for state agencies, which also hold stock in companies involved in tobacco, alcohol, gambling and adult entertainment. “Divesting from a profitable stock to make a political point is the top of a slippery slope in which the investments of public state agencies … are determined by the social morals of select groups,” said Richard Levy, a board member of the network who testified before the education committee Thursday.
GOVERNOR AGAINST IDEA Texas Gov. George W. Bush also voiced opposition, saying through a spokeswoman that he believes investment decisions by state funds should be based on return on investment, not ideology. But Karen Hughes added that Bush, a Republican, would not interfere in the board’s work. “This is a decision to be made by the board, which is independently elected,” she said. The board runs the public school system in Texas and controls the $17.6 billion Permanent School Fund, which holds the Disney stock.
Board votes to divest in protest over films like ‘Pulp Fiction’ Texas state Rep. Harryette Ehrhardt, D-Dallas, was one of the few officials Thursday who objected to divesting from Disney. She was joined by a few other protesters, some dressed as Mickey Mouse and other Disney symbols.
AUSTIN, Texas, July 10 — The Texas Board of Education on Friday decided to dump $45 million in Walt Disney Co. stock — not because of its performance but because of the content of some movies produced by Disney subsidiaries. The board felt Disney-backed movies like “Pulp Fiction” are promoting violence, drug use and promiscuous sex as well as homosexuality.
THE BOARD appears to be the first state agency anywhere in the United States to rid itself of Disney stock in protest against the content of its films. Board chairman Jack Christie said before the vote that he expected the full board to go along with a “sell” recommendation made Thursday by a board committee. “I hope it sends a message to Miramax (Films, a Disney unit) that the public in this country has had enough of the violence in these movies. How many more school shootings do you want?” said Christie, a Republican from Houston. He said he was convinced to sell the Disney stock after the religious group American Family Association showed him clips from the Miramax-produced black comedy “Pulp Fiction,” which includes scenes of murder, drug use and sadomasochism. The 1994 film won an Oscar for best original screenplay. “I think as the public sees that type of garbage [the stock] will lose some of its luster,” Christie told reporters. “Watching that [“Pulp Fiction”], I cannot be any part of investing children’s money into that type of promotion.” Divestiture was favored by eight members of the board, with four voting against, two abstaining and one absent.
OTHER DISNEY FILMS ON LIST
The American Family Association has been lobbying all Texas state agencies for the last year to divest their Disney stock. It is also urging Americans to boycott Disney, claiming it has a “homosexual agenda.” The AFA’s list of other Disney films it finds objectionable include: “Chasing Amy” (lesbianism), “Color of Night” (sex), “Clerks” (graphic language), “Chicks in White Satin” (lesbianism), “Dogma” (homosexuality), “Lie Down with Dogs” (homosexuality), “Priest” (homosexuality, anti-Christian), and “The House of Yes” (incest). AFA’s effort in Texas included collecting 5,000 signatures and producing a video called “Dumping Disney: How Texas is Bankrolling the Disney Empire.” It also found support in the Texas legislature, where an AFA official earlier this year testified by reading lyrics from groups produced by Disney’s music label, Hollywood Records.
A scene from “Pulp Fiction,” which a Texas education official singled out as an example of a Disney-backed film that the state education board objects to.
OTHERS FOR, AGAINST The AFA is not the only group to go after Disney. Southern Baptists last year voted to boycott Disney because of its alleged “promotion of immoral ideologies and practices.” But Rep. Harryette Erhardt, D-Dallas, was one of three state lawmakers who told an education board committee Thursday that they felt that going after Disney was about politics, not what’s in the best interests of schoolchildren.
And the Texas Freedom Network, a religious group that calls itself a “moderate voice” in the debate about family values, warned that tactics like divesting stock are risky for state agencies, which also hold stock in companies involved in tobacco, alcohol, gambling and adult entertainment. “Divesting from a profitable stock to make a political point is the top of a slippery slope in which the investments of public state agencies … are determined by the social morals of select groups,” said Richard Levy, a board member of the network who testified before the education committee Thursday.
GOVERNOR AGAINST IDEA Texas Gov. George W. Bush also voiced opposition, saying through a spokeswoman that he believes investment decisions by state funds should be based on return on investment, not ideology. But Karen Hughes added that Bush, a Republican, would not interfere in the board’s work. “This is a decision to be made by the board, which is independently elected,” she said. The board runs the public school system in Texas and controls the $17.6 billion Permanent School Fund, which holds the Disney stock.
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