What Would Captain America Do?

I decided to wait a bit before commenting upon the whole "Disney acquires Marvel" thing. I had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to it, I will admit, and I scowled and fumed a bit. But I decided not to go off half-cocked. I thought I'd wait a while, read some articles, and let it settle into the old brain somewhat.

Okay, here's the thing. I'm not an avid researcher of things Disney. I don't scour the internet looking for information that will support one view of Disney or another. Despite that, however, I seem to have developed a mental picture, both of Walt Disney the man and Disney the corporation, that is not particularly appealing.

Why do I have the impression that Walt Disney was a racist? Why do I have it in my head that he was interested in what the Nazis were doing in 1930s Germany? Why do I have the sense that Disney employees are overworked, underpaid, and subject to near-tyrannical rules and regulations?

Did these notions just appear unbidden in my head? Have I been reading the wrong websites? Have the opinions of many ill-informed readers and writers simply overwhelmed our current zeitgeist?

Or is there something to it?

I honestly don't know. What I do know is that ultra-conservatism can lead to fascism. That the promotion of "family values" can be taken to extremes and lead to intolerance and bigotry. That preservation of the status quo, if held to blindly and inflexibly, can suffocate the very thing it's trying to protect and lead to stagnation.

Yes, I realize that by writing this post in this manner, I'm probably coming across as anti-Disney. But in reality, I don't know enough about either the man or the corporation to give any kind of informed opinion on either. I'm simply exploring possibilities here, asking questions, wondering what the real story is. There's a lot of rhetoric out there, and lot of mindless chest-pounding as well. It's a challenge to find the thoughtful, informed, intelligent commentors, but they're worth finding, and I will continue to seek them out.

As far as the Marvel acquisition is concerned, no one knows what's going to happen. It's a sure bet that Disney is going to merchandise the hell out of the Marvel stable of characters, but beyond that, we'll just have to wait and see. It does vex me, however, to think of people in Spider-Man and Iron Man costumes wandering around Disneyland and Disney World, making photo-ops for the kiddies.

But then, I'm not planning on visiting either of those places, so perhaps I should just shut up about it.

I'm painfully aware of the fact that I'm not the most assiduous researcher in the world, and I know that I can jump to conclusions with the best of them. As one of my favorite authors, Harlan Ellison, once said: "You are not entitled to your opinion, you are entitled to your informed opinion. If you are not informed on the subject, then your opinion counts for nothing." Harsh words, but words I have taken to heart over the years. I know my shortcomings.

So, not wishing to be narrow-minded or bedecked with blinders, I find myself asking this question: What would Captain America do?

Captain America is Marvel's symbol of American patriotism. You won't find another superhero character anywhere who so staunchly defends the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. He's a champion of democracy, bane of tyranny, defender of "truth, justice, and the American way". (Yeah, I know. That's Superman. But it fits.)

Cap's not without his problems, certainly. After all, he was "created" in the 1930s to be a super-soldier and fight against the Nazis, but he ended up in the 1960s due to an accident where he fell from an experimental drone plane and spent nearly thirty years frozen in a block of ice in the North Atlantic.

So the man is a throwback, even for the sixties. He had to adjust to an age quite different from that in which he was born and raised. He had to apply his World War II-era moral compass to one of the most turbulent decades in history. It was not an easy time for him.

Still in all, he managed to become one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. Through all his trials and tribulations, his moral center never budged, and his vision of the world stood him in good stead as he waged battle after battle, both solo and with the Avengers, against the forces of crime and corruption.

Given all this, one might think that Captain America would be proud to stand among the many representatives of the Disney empire. After all, Disney has been producing good, clean, all-American entertainment for eighty-six years. It's a strong promoter of American family values, and it's been filling and fulfilling the dreams of American children for as long as it's been around.

And yet, look at what happened in the many pages of Marvel's Civil War saga. When the U.S. government brought in the Superhuman Registration Act, it was not Captain America, but Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, who jumped on board and began spouting the party line. Cap was opposed to the act. He felt that the rights and freedoms of individuals were more important than rules and regulations of even his own government. He became the outlaw, and he went underground.

I believe all large corporations have the potential to become "evil empires". When corporations become large enough, their rules and regulations can often become more important than the people following them. The human aspect of the enterprise is often overlooked or forgotten. The almighty dollar becomes as a god, and the company worships it above all others, even making sacrifices in its honor.

Disney is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, and in order to keep itself from toppling under its own weight, it must have a very precise set of policies and procedures in place. The sheer size of the company precludes flexibity. It has to keep rolling, or it will stall, stagnate, and fall apart.

So we don't even need the rumors of draconian treatment of employees. It's enough to know that, in a corporation that big, the individual doesn't matter. There is such a thing as "too big", and the constant acquisitions of smaller companies by larger companies is not strengthening the economy or making the world a better place to live. It's stifling competition and all but stamping out creativity. The net result? We are exposed to mindless drivel on television, in the movie theaters, in magazines, and in newspapers.

No, I just don't think Captain America would approve.

I know I don't.

Gesundheit.

(And here, for your entertainment and edification, is Captain America's theme from the 1966 Marvel Super Heroes animated TV show. Even his theme song is patriotic-sounding.)