![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Animated Bambi Debate Arouses Pastoral Passions
By PATRICIA COHEN, The New York Times, April 23, 2008
When Ollie Johnston, one of Disney’s pioneering animators died at 95 last week, his family requested that instead of flowers mourners should donate to an environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Anyone who has seen “Bambi,” one of the many films that Mr. Johnston worked on, can understand why. The loving depiction of the woods and animals, particularly Bambi with those big soulful eyes and long lashes, was hailed by wildlife conservationists and denounced by hunters when it was released in 1942. An insult, declared Outdoor Life magazine, while the National Audubon Society compared its consciousness-raising power to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
Just how much of a friend Disney has been to woodland folk (and their kin in the sea and the jungle) has long been batted about by scholars and writers. The latest addition to the debate comes just in time for Disney’s announcement this week that it is creating a new production unit for nature documentaries (not to mention Tuesday’s Earth Day celebrations).
In “The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation” (Ashgate), David Whitley, a lecturer at Cambridge University, argues, in the overstuffed prose that launched a thousand academic careers, that the finely wrought imagery and emotional power of Disney movies like “Bambi” and “Finding Nemo” helped inspire generations of environmentalists.
( Read More )
Really? The Claim: During a Seizure, You Can Swallow Your Tongue
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times, April 22, 2008
THE FACTS
One problem with old wives’ tales and medical myths is that they can sometimes lead well-meaning people to do ill-advised things. Armed with the adage that people having seizures can swallow their tongue, Good Samaritans will sometimes try to force an object into the victim’s mouth to keep that from happening.
A persistent belief, experts say, but a wrong and potentially injurious one.
( Read More )
Panel Finds Link Between Smog and Premature Death
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, The New York Times, April 22, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded Tuesday.
The findings contradict arguments made by some White House officials that the connection between smog and premature death has not been shown sufficiently, and that the number of saved lives should not be calculated in determining clean air benefits.
( Read More )
By PATRICIA COHEN, The New York Times, April 23, 2008
When Ollie Johnston, one of Disney’s pioneering animators died at 95 last week, his family requested that instead of flowers mourners should donate to an environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Anyone who has seen “Bambi,” one of the many films that Mr. Johnston worked on, can understand why. The loving depiction of the woods and animals, particularly Bambi with those big soulful eyes and long lashes, was hailed by wildlife conservationists and denounced by hunters when it was released in 1942. An insult, declared Outdoor Life magazine, while the National Audubon Society compared its consciousness-raising power to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”
Just how much of a friend Disney has been to woodland folk (and their kin in the sea and the jungle) has long been batted about by scholars and writers. The latest addition to the debate comes just in time for Disney’s announcement this week that it is creating a new production unit for nature documentaries (not to mention Tuesday’s Earth Day celebrations).
In “The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation” (Ashgate), David Whitley, a lecturer at Cambridge University, argues, in the overstuffed prose that launched a thousand academic careers, that the finely wrought imagery and emotional power of Disney movies like “Bambi” and “Finding Nemo” helped inspire generations of environmentalists.
( Read More )Really? The Claim: During a Seizure, You Can Swallow Your Tongue
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times, April 22, 2008
THE FACTS
One problem with old wives’ tales and medical myths is that they can sometimes lead well-meaning people to do ill-advised things. Armed with the adage that people having seizures can swallow their tongue, Good Samaritans will sometimes try to force an object into the victim’s mouth to keep that from happening.
A persistent belief, experts say, but a wrong and potentially injurious one.
( Read More )Panel Finds Link Between Smog and Premature Death
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, The New York Times, April 22, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded Tuesday.
The findings contradict arguments made by some White House officials that the connection between smog and premature death has not been shown sufficiently, and that the number of saved lives should not be calculated in determining clean air benefits.
( Read More )
