From: shawn keen 
Subject: Mr. Magoo news story
check this out.
more fuel for the fire.
>Date:         Thu, 31 Jul 1997 14:18:59 +0000
>Reply-To: Blind-x Blind Exchange & Discussion
>              
>Sender: Blind-x Blind Exchange & Discussion
>              
>From: BILL KOPPELMANN 
>Subject:      Mr. Magoo news story
>To: BLIND-X@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>
>Hi Listers,
>I just today saw this story, and thought that I'd share it with you in case
>you've not seen it.
>
>HOLLYWOOD: social-studies programs.   By now, Mr. Magoo's popularity was at
>an all-time high. TV market researchers took to gauging the potential
>success of new pilots by studying how audiences reacted to the new shows
>compared with Magoo cartoons. Time Magazine's 1963 list of ``What's In''
>included electric toothbrushes and Mr. Magoo (TV's Dr. Kildare and model
>trains were deemed ``out''). The ``Feminine Mystique'' had just been
>published, and a progressive Mr. Magoo was used by General Electric Co. in
>a campaign to sell light bulbs to women during the 1964 presidential
>election. ``Capitalizing upon increased women's interest in politics, we
>are sponsoring Betty Bright as our candidate with Magoo as her campaign
>manager,'' GE boasted in a 1964 press release.
>
>But by 1970, when the star-spangled TV special ``Uncle Sam Magoo'' arrived,
>the old geezer looked dated. Divisive issues such as civil rights,
>feminism, sex and Vietnam were arriving on television with ``All in the
>Family'' and ``The Mary Tyler Moore Show.'' CBS had withdrawn ``Amos `n'
>Andy'' after protests from black communities in 1966, soon to replace it
>with more up-to-date fare like ``The Jeffersons'' and ``Good Times.'' Kids'
>TV got hip to the changes with ``Sesame Street'' in 1969. Stalwart Mr.
>Magoo, however, remained the same.
>
>``My attitude was if you have a message, go to Western Union,'' Mr.
>Saperstein says of the period. Although Mr. Magoo remained on TV in reruns,
>UPA in 1970 decided to stop producing new shows and to survive off the
>syndication profits.
>
>It was also during this time, with minority groups gaining more of a voice,
>that the >>National>Federation>of>the>Blind<< first spoke
>up against Mr. Magoo. In a 1975 speech to members, then-president Kenneth
>Jernigan used Mr. Magoo as an example of damaging stereotypes that
>perpetuate the public's misconception of >>blindness<<. But the
>organization wasn't ready to launch a public protest. ``The concern then
>was how to get a job for >>blind<< people,'' says Marc Maurer, the group's
>current president.
>
>Besides, except for a short-lived attempt by CBS to bring him back on
>Saturday mornings in the late 1970s, Mr. Magoo seemed to be in permanent
>retirement.
>
>But then came cable television, and suddenly a great void of new channel
>hours needed to be filled. In 1989, USA Network went to UPA to bring back
>the codger's old shows. But on one condition: Cholly, Mr. Magoo's Chinese
>housekeeper, would have to be modified. Cholly not only sported buck teeth
>and black silk pajamas, but a sing-song Chinese accent as well. USA decided
>it couldn't risk a backlash, especially since several California stations
>at the time were yanking UPA's old ``Dick Tracy'' episodes featuring a
>Mexican marathon-running sidekick (and frequent siesta-taker) named Go-Go
>Gomez.
>
>``They told us he was too stereotyped, so Cholly was sterilized,'' Mr.
>Saperstein says. UPA dubbed Cholly's voice with an American accent and the
>series aired.
>
>In the 1990s, Hollywood entered the recycling era, ransacking archives to
>resurrect old films and cartoons that appealed to nostalgic baby boomers.
>``Batman'' had proved to be a gold mine for Warner Bros., and the new
>entertainment conglomerates began snapping up the rights to almost any
>character who had the potential of becoming a ``franchise,'' with spinoffs
>of home videos, CD-ROMs, toys, clothing, Web sites, TV series and
>theme-park attractions.
>
>In 1993, Mr. Saperstein got a call from Steven Spielberg, who optioned the
>rights to Mr. Magoo for a movie. But the director never got around to
>making the film, and when the rights expired, Disney's Mr. Vogel put in a
>bid in 1995.
>
>Disney's movie will feature yet another incarnation of Mr. Magoo, this one
>a lovable old geezer with Gump-like spirituality, Mr. Vogel says. ``At a
>time when everyone is cynical and complicated, Magoo is innocent and
>naive,'' he says.
>
>The plot is innocent and naive as well: After he is mistakenly accused of
>stealing a jewel at a museum auction, Mr. Magoo, through a series of
>misadventures such as riding an ironing board down a ski slope, foils the
>true robber and saves the day.
>
>Mr. Vogel says Disney is empathetic to the >>National>Federation<<
>>>of>the>Blind<<'s concerns, but feels the issue may be misplaced,
>considering that the 1997 Magoo derives creativity and strength from his
>inner vision.
>
>``Magoo is not >>blind<<. We would think about it as an issue more if he
>were >>blind<<,'' he says. ``But I don't really think what they're saying
>is what we're doing.'' Says Mr. Nielsen of the role: ``Yes, the
>vulnerabilities are there. But so are the strengths, the gentleness,
>honesty, inventiveness and courage. Above all, Magoo ends up as a hero.''
>
>``Magoo,'' Mr. Vogel adds, ``is the kind of character you can take and
>design as you want.''
>
>                Bill K.
>
>
>                   ************
>                   *  BILL K  *
>                   *    THE    *
>                   * DENVER*
>                   *   DUDE  *
>                   ************
>
>
Shawn Keen
orange@texas.net	
www.eden.com/~orange
"love isn't blind, but the braille sure is fun."
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