Sergei Eisenstein: Disney Fan | Brows Held High

Apparently the father of film theory was a huge Disney nerd?
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[@webkinzfan00]

Kyle is one of the main reasons I pushed myself into a film degree and am now interning with film festivals and film foundations. He has contributed incalculably to my love of film and I’m overjoyed to see a new video in my feed from him! Thanks Kyle

[@chrisowens4550]

Thought you were talking about Walt for a second there.

[@CannibalWHORE22]

Biggest complement I have ever seen. Glad somebody was able to give you that push.

[@jackcovey1832]

Disney thought that his speech to the workers would be so powerful and influential that any thoughts they might be harboring of unionization would dissolve forever. Instead, one of the union organizers said, "That speech did more to radicalize Disney's workers than our previous ten years of organizing." The striking picketers' rage exploded in the aftermath, with anyone previously opposed to,. or on-the-fence about the strike throwing in with the leaders of the proposed union. For his part, Walt he recognized a strike leader who was verbally baiting Walt. Walt then jumped out of his car and challenged him to a fistfight, but was pulled back into his car. At his brother's behest, Walt then took off for a Goodwill Tour of Latin America, and in his absence, his brother and other company leaders recognized the union and negotiated the company's first management-labor contract. For the rest of his life, Walt felt disgust for his unionized work force, which he barely concealed at times. Six years later in 1947, Walt testified before the House Un-American Activities and blamed this earlier result --- union recognition, having to negotiated regular contracts with that union --- on the infiltration into his workforce of provocateurs taking direct orders from Stalin, of which there was ABSOLUTELY ZERO ACTUAL EVIDENCE. Regarding that speech, though ... wow ... talk about not being able to read the room.

[@Painocus]

Offering relief from the realities of Capitalism (for a price) and perpetuating the same system are not in conflict, in-fact they often go hand-in-hand. I think that's why American culture in particular value escapism and "apoliticality" so highly; "it's just a movie", "it's just a game", "it's just a burger", "I just want to be entertained, not have opinions shoved down my throat", etc. I had this classmate, the child of one of the many families that moved to my country dissapointed with the turn Eastern Europe had taken after the fall of the USSR. Her parents had not showed her any Disney as a child (according to her calling it "insidious capitalist propaganda") and when she finally watched it as a teen she did not understand the massive appeal of most of it. She was confused by her friends insistance that it was "just fun" and eventually we came to roughly the same conclusions as Eisenstein, though far from as well formulated, that Disney offered, as Marx would have put it, an "opium for the masses".

[@lmeeken]

Yeah. I didn't read those comments as praise by Eisenstein for Disney being anti-capitalist (which feels like a *really* bizarre misreading in an otherwise thoughtful essay), so much as a straightforward description for how and why Disney's films were so successful. If anything, those words feel damning, rather than praising. "Walt greases the wheel of the capitalist grinder by churning out escapist slop that is very effective at distracting people from their political reality" doesn't read as high praise to me, nor as incompatible with critiquing Walt for being a rapacious, capitalist, anti-worker, anti-democratic asshole.

[@danmorgan3685]

Disney "content" kind of takes the place of religion. Religion overtly demands obedience and puts many demands on its followers. Disney movies seem to offer pure escapism. It's a trap. They offer myths and legends that actually demand much of their viewers. You *will* accept monarchy. You *must* not question how things are. You *won't* have a thought that diverges from this set pattern. You will *always* be happy and you'll do it *all the time* or their is something wrong with you.

[@kategrant2728]

This is, more generally, Marx's basic concept of alienation of labor. Suffering the loss of the benefit of their labor, people seek to recoup their losses through commodities. So not only is the idea of an escape from capitalism being compatible with the machinery of capitalism possible, it's an idea that shows Eisenstein's grounding in Marxist theory.

[@tjr930]

You should read his book "On Disney". He ABSOLUTELY praises Disney very highly and considers their animations some of the highest of art. OP here is right and touches on what Eisenstein actually thought - that only the capitalist machine of America (or any social order of chains) could have produced such boundless forms in its art. He contrasts the "escapism" of form with the escapism of "content", i.e. lying to the masses that they can live a perfect happy life, rather than expressing pure ecstasy in animation like watching a flame flicker on and on.

[@DwRockett]

It’s been too long since there’s been an episode, so it’s so nice to see this

[@myselfapretend]

Exactly!

[@benburke3015]

Wow. Did not know about the Cosgrove Hall version of Pied Piper. That was powerful, man.

[@doffrell]

I saw that one too as a kid. It was powerful indeed as I remember it

[@TheValeyard92]

It's a beautiful film. If you can find it, I'd recommend it (along with a slightly longer fairy tale called The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship). Sadly, since they went under, nearly everything they've done apart from Danger Mouse has been deleted and vanished from the marketplace.

[@benburke3015]

TheValeyard92 What about Count Duckula? I think that’s still in print. Sure, two legendary animated shows does not a legacy make necessarily, but it’s still better than nothing.

[@TheValeyard92]

@@benburke3015 True. I forgot about Duckula. But almost their entire stop motion catalogue is gone. Definitely can't get Pied Piper, Fool of the World or Noddy's Adventures in Toyland anymore. Not sure about Wind in the Willows.

[@benburke3015]

TheValeyard92 Just checked. I think the film (Wind in the Willows) is still in circulation. Not sure about the series though. Found a dvd on amazon with three episodes on it, and a VHS which I think has the exact same episodes.

[@HobGungan]

It is hard to reconcile the fact that I love and cherish the art of Disney while despising their business practices with every fiber. The truth is that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism - so I shall happily consume all my Disney movies while fighting for a change in the system that will break their stranglehold over everything and allow their workers and everyone's to be treated justly and fairly.

[@Dawnemperor1]

It's weird because I'm no fan of Walt's politics, and the 1941 strike was a big turning point. But I still respect him as an artist and the innovations he and his studio brought to animation, though we can't ignore the contributions of the artists who worked for him(ranging from story people, animators, ink and paint, designers, etc.).

[@sonofjafarreturns]

You don't have to reconcile anything. Everything Walt did was done through hard work and imagination, it's the people in charge now that are the real monsters

[@QuintessentialQs]

@@sonofjafarreturns Oh yeah, all that hard work Walt did in exploiting his friend Ub.

[@Channel9001]

Strange, if you asked me the same question "Did Disney make my life better", I'd come to a different conclusion than you did. I would say yes, in a lot of ways, it did. Not just from the lessons the films taught me, but from the experience of watching them and sharing them.

[@BretGammons]

"Disney is the opiate of the masses." ~Sergei Eisenstein

[@jdprettynails]

1. Congrats on whistling that entire section of Whistle While You Work. Everyone gives up after the first phrase. 2. I used to work for Cosgrove Hall as a teenager. It was my first ever job. I highly recommend Count Duckula, Danger Mouse, the BFG and any of the animated Terry Pratchett series' for some classic British humour. 3. Now I'm depressed and I'm stuck between wanting to resist the comforting nostalgia of Disney. . . While simultaneously being drawn to it.

[@archer1949]

Sometimes, “bearable” is all one has. Anyway, I’m off to finish The Clone Wars.

[@noticias6111]

Lew Archer 1949 17:30-17:48 Lovely __ ..’Nerdwriter1’ ‘Florida project’ video..’companion video’ ;|

[@Amaritudine]

Eisenstein's approach to Disney sounds like a textbook case of separating the art from the artist: examining the impact of Disney's work in its cultural context, without giving as much weight to Disney himself.

[@tjr930]

no he gave a lot of weight to Disney himself... as an artist

[@saintdane05]

Your comments about how people reduce Disney the man and Disney the brand to one person can be applied more broadly to the concept of auterism in general. How films, which often require dozens of people, are often attributed to one man's great vision. But you already did a video on that so I won't go into it

[@WikiAndi172]

You could make the argument that this phenomenon applies to Disney much more than most auteurs, given the scope of his empire.

[@ViveLRoi]

Walt Disney and Bob Kane are cut of the same cloth, in that regard.

[@RalphSnackshi]

1. It's good to see you back Kyle and again with another brilliant video. You've pretty much summed up all my feelings about Disney and my attempts to reconcile my love of the art AND the artists with my distaste for the company itself. 2. I need to track down that Cosgrove adaptation. The only other version of Pied Piper I've seen was a Czech adaptation released in 1986, also stop motion. 3. David Lynch had to have been inspired by Eisenstein when he made 'Eraserhead', just look at the man's hair!

[@ladyfrypan249]

Kind of late but for anyone hunting for the Cosgrove adaptation, this should do the trick kzbin.info/www/bejne/aKTVmnuOaLWVjtk&ab_channel=lvlagnetoIV

[@Lazurit8]

Never before I watched Disney's version of the Piper, and it weirdly reminded me of Soviet version of Pinnoccio, that has nothing to do with becoming a real boy and ends with Pinnoccio and other puppets leaving the circus where they are treated as objects, and starting their own puppet theatre, to be treated the same way as human actors. The imagery of them, rushing through the door towards the "paradise" is very reminicent.

[@QuintanaDS]

I have often been touched by various works of art, but I can't remember a work of non-fiction which touched me in the same way - except for some of your videos, Kyle. Thank you for that.

[@TolkienOtaku]

An early communist filmmaker trying to reconcile his view of the world with the fact that he liked Disney's animated shorts. I definitely did not see that coming. Reality truly is stranger than fiction. I can just imagine Eisenstein pacing a hotel room, muttering under his breath how it was possible for the art of a capitalist society to resonate with him.

[@cinemagraphymahivara2000]

Disney - it's art, and art haven't politics. I'm russian but social-democrate it is just left politics who got governance

[@tjr930]

Your imagination is misled. Eisenstein liked Disneys animation because of it being respite ("ecstasy") from the capitalist machine. The plasticity and ever-changing forms of the characters is what provides it rather than the escapist content that lies about what is possible in a society of chains. He compares Disneys animation with the movement of fire, and that boundless forms in art normally arise because of the limits placed on the population by the social order. Don't get it twisted - Eisensteins admiration for Disney did not exist as a conflict with the system that produced the animations. He felt only that system could have produced those animations.

[@themultifish]

I love the cursor hovering over Curiosity Stream at the end, and gliding straight on down to Disney+... Fantastic video, Kyle. How it was edited, the theme transitions, the pacing. Gorgeous work!

[@Foxpawed]

Criterion Collection, actually, but yes, same sentiment either way, and easy to miss.

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

@@Foxpawed totally unnecessary to make that correction

[@Foxpawed]

@@cthulhupthagn5771 It's much harder to see in the final version than the patron cut, sorry? I'm trying to figure out why you're calling me out(?) for clarifying what literally was shown in the video, behind the end credit slate effects.

[@ArthurCrane92]

I saw the rough cut and let me just say this Eisenstein character sure has... the hottest of takes about Disney.

[@tjr930]

I get it because he compares Disney animation to the movement of fire.... right?

[@thehopeofeden597]

Yes, the creators of all of my childhood wonders - “I’m Going To Build ME-land” and “Pity Him - He Went Through Life With The Name ‘Ub’.”

[@johnproctor5314]

YOU FOOL, THAT WILL NEVER WORK.

[@BuddyL]

When you mention at 15:19 that you saw a non-Disney version of _The Pied Piper_ story, it reminded me of being an '80s kid and first seeing a *very sad* (ie. accurate to the text) animé version of _The Little Mermaid_ that included, well, the 💀. When the Disney musical came out at the end of the decade, my young self tried resolve the dichotomy of the two. I'll likely never get Disney+, but I see what Eisenstein *thought* he was getting at. Humanity needs respite. Eisenstein just couldn't see that such was not a wanton thing for Walt, it was the goal.💵

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

Well, yeah. If he didnt make that evil dollar, he would have no money to make said cartoons

[@sophiathekitty]

I don't think the description of Disney as the people who provide suffering people with momentary obliviousness is the towing praise you implied it was at one point in the video. That's describing the sorts of people who do performative acts of kindness while refusing to do anything that might actually change the conditions causing the suffering.

[@allgodsnomasters2822]

yup that sums it up

[@darastarscream]

True, but the Disney Corporation is so *brazen* about it. Compare Walt Disney's statement about making movies for "the child in all of us," to Michael Eisner's open letter about how the primary concern was to make money, with art and greatness being happy accidents that sometimes occured along the way.

[@tjr930]

Eisenstein contrasts escapism in content with "escapism" in form. The former is the corporate machine lying to you that maybe you could have a perfect happy life and romance, etc. The point being you are in chains but the social order is giving you false hope you can trancend it. The latter however is more momentary ecstasy from those chains, in the case of Disney as if watching the ever changing forms of flames flicker on and on. Essentially mindfulness and being aware of the possibilities. And Eisenstein saw that only in a society of chains could such boundless form in the arts come through.

[@tjr930]

When people want to change their lives one of the most common paths is through meditation, but meditation is not actively really doing anything. But it works! You cannot expect to change the social order if you don't have that momentary respite from the social order, orherwise you will always be limited by that social order.

[@juliagoodwin3461]

Welcome back, Kyle! You have been missed... This video also reminded me of when I was a kid and visiting my grandparent’s house, there were a bunch of Classic Disney movies for me to watch. When we were clearing out their old house after my Grandfather passed away, I claimed some of them for myself, if only for the nostalgia. I would watch them but I would have to track down a player for VHS tapes (kids, ask your parents).

[@juliagoodwin3461]

James K. Gunn ... I wasn’t.

[@heeeyyy2947]

shoutout to Kyle for expanding my (and I’m sure many others’) knowledge and appreciation of film- you’re for real the best!!! :)

[@Denkriston]

I'm watching this now and I feel like Kyle's analysis of Eisenstein's argument that Disney provides a fleeting reprieve from capitalism is over broad. I haven't read the essay but it seems to me the argument Eisenstein is making is not that Disney animation is somehow revolutionary or anti-capitalist, but rather that it's recuperative; it takes the feelings of anxiety and discontent and channels them into a "safe" exercise of media consumption. The more anxiety of capitalist society you experience, the more Disney products you consume, so to speak. Capitalist production inflicts pain but it also sells you painkillers.

[@Hawdkoah]

Personally, I decided to cancel my Disney+ subscription and I have no interest in seeing anything else they have to offer, nostalgic or not. Not saying anyone should be expected to do the same, but I don't feel comfortable giving a titan my money.

[@gamestation2690]

Disney has always been a huge part of my life, and I will never let it leave.

[@SunshineNinja94]

Phenomenal as always Kyle. This one really hit home.

[@LadyofBakerStreet]

lying here with backpain and grateful to stimulate my brain with such an engaging essay as this- thank you, kyle, for this moment of oblivion

[@AndrewChalk88]

So glad that your channel is adding new content. I missed your thoughtful touch on art and film.

[@fantaghiro1389]

Does anyone else is wanting to cry right now? Good to know i'm not alone. PS: The Seven Dwarfs must form a union of mine workers.

[@Bluecho4]

Is...is Disney our collective abusive parent? At turns the cause of our suffering and the one providing comfort...so we are lulled into forgetting that same suffering? Never letting us grow up, so that we never leave it?

[@Galvion1980]

The story of the pied piper of Hamelin , according to some sources, was originally inspired by military recruiters, who would travel to towns in order to recruit i.e. bribe or coerce very young men or boys to go to war...maybe tangentially related?

[@astrocohorsclub]

There are hints that it could also mirror the (forced) colonisation of the eastern region of Germany (Brandenburg), where local Kings ordered children or young adults to go, settle and found new cities.

[@Galvion1980]

@@astrocohorsclub Fascinating! Not least because even these days, people are apparently leaving Brandenburg for greener pastures and some regions of it are so sparesely populated that they count as "uninhabited" by UN standards...

[@t.c.bramblett617]

This is much better criticism than KZbin usually rises to. Much appreciation

[@TheMightyPika]

WELCOME BACK, KYLE!! WE MISSED YOU!!!

[@CarelessFoolFallsFlat]

I'm glad to see you back with another captivating essay. It really is...troubling to see how many layers can be read into Sergei's statement that Disney's cartoons provided a much needed respite from capitalist drudgery.

[@heeeyyy2947]

such an amazing video covering a topic with so many complexities and complications - you’ll seriously always be one of my favorite youtubers Kyle!

[@KelciDComics]

And THIS has lit a fire under my ass for one reason: Because, as an artist, and someone who works within the fantasy genre, I think art as escapism is limiting to the audience. Disney as a company is very good at making escapism. But art, at its best, is about rekindling what makes us human. Art should not be the distraction that takes us away from other people, just to make ourselves feel good in the moment. Disney, and capitalism as a system, is very good at providing junk that makes us feel good in the moment, to distract us from the art and meaning that actually matters, waiting for us in between the garbage of everyday life.

[@williamfrancis5367]

What does actually matter? Who decides what does? The cultural commissar or the Bourgeois art world elite. Indeed, an ordinary factory worker might sneer at Adorno's dismissal of his favourite TV show, while the critical theorist enjoyed classical music which saw the same hallmarks of the very culture industry he fought against. The immense irony of such critics of capitalism, is that capitalism is actually very good at creating the very meaningful media said critics demand, it's just that its found in niche markets and made for a bourgeois audience, often by the very same critics. They struggle to give it to the proles and berate them as uneducated, stupid, brainwashed, and class traitors. No different from the New Left of the 1960s, who had little time for the proles, distracted by mass affluence, to appreciate more complex ideological thought that the growing student population would be interested in. No wonder so many of the so-called "respectable working class" embraced the rising New Right, who did not sneer at their culture, who offered them the concrete bourgeois staples of self-employment, homeownership, and shares ownership, through tax cuts and privatisation.

[@KelciDComics]

@@williamfrancis5367 I think there may be a misunderstanding here. Art and its meaning should be commented on, looked at, analyzed, written about, etc - and that should be available to EVERYONE to do. Classifications of "high" and "low" art are not only limiting, but are used by the upper classes to categorize what art THEY think is worth commentary, and what art is disposable. As I work in comics, I've seen the shift in my field of comics being regarded as disposable to, suddenly, more well-to-do and scholarly folks start talking about the artistic merits of comics. But even THIS causes a split in the field: comics like Maus are considered Art while superhero comics are still considered disposable (even with superhero films being as popular as they are. Because superheroes are intended for the populace at large, not for the "elite" to look at). For a lot of folks in comics now, though they wouldn't admit it, superhero comics are thought of as beneath them. And Capitalism just exacerbates the problem. By declaring some art as "good" and other art as "disposable," suddenly the people with money are declaring what art should be preserved and what art should be left to waste. Honestly, this is why I think the infamous banana duct-taped to a wall was a GREAT commentary on the art world and how it's been corrupted by capitalism. But the Art Assignment already did a video about that. It's worth a watch.

[@LetruneInedil]

I am happy you are back again... I am still a bit worried now and then for you. Can i help anyhow, mayhaps? And I doubt Eisenstein ever knew such horrid things Mr. Disney ever done... At all.

[@titojwonnie]

I am still sad that Ivan the Terrible part III was not completed. Damn you Stalin! Loved the overlay effect of the text and footage.

[@pezjunkie13]

Exact thoughts when this popped up in my KZbin feed: Kyle is back!!!! 👏👏👏 but then I waited. I saved the video to watch later and I waited. I waited for a day where I’d need a video of Kyles. For private reasons, today is one of those days. Thank you for your videos Kyle ❤️ edit: this was not intended as a guilt trip. I appreciate whatever content you’re able to give ❤️

[@astrocohorsclub]

Under this point of view it's interesting to see all these comments about "Star Wars becoming soooooo political since Disney". There is an audience who demands the "relieve from reality", completely forgetting that a story about some freedom fighters overthrowing a dictatorship is political per se.

[@zacharybutler5944]

holy hell he's back. Thanks for the video! WELL worth the wait!

[@sean9779]

Nice to see you back again, and really enjoyed this

[@bigkidsclubhq]

Can’t wait! Always love a video from Kyle. 😁

[@TheCommonGentry]

thank you for making thought provoking content. thank you for never stopping.

[@reannamckee43]

This was beautifully edited and wonderfully written!!!!!

[@LifeLineChronicles]

Good sir, you have, like a guru, given me the zen -- infinite clarity -- to spearhead the wrath within about this infernal company. Once more your brilliant research and eloquent words have detailed the fact that the beast -- the Mouse -- is a Lovecraftian siren meant to lure us into our own undoing and demise. I have been a long time watcher of your content, but this video has made me a forever-subscriber. Thank you, truly.

[@Ayavaron]

Obviously he means "respite from capitalism" in an "opiate of the masses" kind of way. (not actually obvious, just thought it was fun to start that way)

[@heeeyyy2947]

way to go Kyle!! can't wait!!

[@MylaMinoki]

It took me four years to realize the segway from plasticity using "bit of a stretch" was a pun. Thank you Kyle, thank you.

[@KaiserBeamz]

Critically examining classic animation and their place in a wider cultural context? Kyle, you're man after my own heart! I dream of making a video this good one day!

[@altromonte15]

Hypothesis: as an actual communist, from Eisenstein point of view, Disney was just a piece of the system. It didn't mater what he did as a person, Eisenstein expected Disney to be against striking workers and overwork them, it was the baseline he expected from a capitalist. His expectations were so low, even that little was enough to elevate Walt in his eyes. Just spitballing here.

[@locuas5601]

His last sentence seem to suggest that, claiming no proletariat would "build a statue" of him. I suspect him referring to "Disney" was more simplicity than necessarily referring to Disney the man or the brand.

[@TheNightstar86]

As horrible as the Disney company is at treating their workers fairly, I have to admit that their art is still worth valuing and educating others about. I can separate my admiration for the stories and disdain for the greedy capitalists. If I give in and purchase their products, I get the warming security blanket of a happy ending, a song to hum, and a fable to share with a friend. If I shun Disney, then i deny their impact on my early life. I can't say for certain that the Disney exposure made my life "better", but their adaptations of classical folklore helped me gain a sense of self identity. I had the same crisis of conscious you had with the "Beauty and the Beast" films. I had to reach a conclusion that if Disney still had a value or art worth saving, then the best thing to do would be to change their company policies from within for the betterment of their workforce and sanity.

[@LucasSampaioMaia]

Absolutely stunning video. You never ceases to amaze, Kyle

[@klisterklister2367]

can't wait for the premiere!!!!

[@thad7288]

Fantastic as always! Thank you for always sharing such good content with all of us!!

[@greypilgrim26]

thank god you're back - absolutely brilliant vid as always

[@JamessprinkleRsuknight]

Glad to see you're posting again missed your content hope you're in a good headspace

[@eggnogthespacecadet3392]

This is the best thing you’ve made in a while. Very good!

[@RothurThePaladin]

Always a good day when I can see one of Kyle videos.

[@jonathan_kidneystone_seagull]

This was worth the wait! Excellent video!

[@tatsuta20]

Thank you for the video Kyle. Awesome as ever!

[@Gandaleon]

Always happy to see a new video on this channel.

[@TheyCallHimWoody]

Irony. I would imagine he had an eye for it. Whenever a question like this happens to me for example, I'm often confounded by what would usually be fairly contradictory. Maybe that's WHY he put so much emphasis on it and WHY it seemed to bother him so much. I can relate to this since my brain works roughly the same way, with tangents. Until you really have a grasp on an idea, it haunts you. And maybe it was like that for Eisenstein. Maybe for him he was trying to see the small glimmer of respite not only in American culture through Disney, but in Disney himself. And I would also point you towards your own commentary on separating the art, from the artist. Maybe Disney was every bit of the capitalist mogul he presented (he was of course), but that doesn't also mean he was incapable of seeing the true value of what it was he was bringing forth to people. Maybe, even for him, it was a form of escapism. And mayhaps Eisenstein related to him on that level. A purely artist level. And when your brain works that way, that kind of thought truly is and can be a comfort (trust me I know)

[@tjr930]

I don't think it bothered Eisenstein too much. He put so much emphasis on it because he viewed Disney animations as some of the highest of art. Literally his final film Ivan the Terrible was greatly inspired by Disney. Look at his drawings too. The reason I say he wasn't conflicted about his love for Disney was simply because he saw that only a society of chains could produce such limitless artistic form - viewed this way it's not only not really ironic, but also not contradictory in the slightest - it's a prerequisite.

[@biscuitbadger6214]

I really got a kick out of that split-second hover over the Criterion Channel at the end. Great essay, as always!

[@thomasbrown9422]

I’d honestly never though I’d see this guy again. I had taken to constantly searching, looking at least weekly and being slight disappointed with no updates, for months. I eventually stopped looking, figuring he had quit...then one day, I typed “Brows Held High” into the search bar, purely out of habit, and then this showed up!

[@thehopeofeden597]

Oh hey Kyle! Though you died! And, thanks for the Disney. This video perfectly illustrates why nostalgia is one of the best and worst feelings in the world.

[@nomercyforswine]

The home video is a nice touch! Keep up the amazing work.

[@EmissionSpectrumBand]

Glad to see you are back. Great Video. Hope you do more

[@potrelviewer9536]

I can't thank you enough for highlighting this side of cinema history in this video essay, Kyle. It helped me garnish enough willpower to redact a memoir not based on that same subject, but something similar related to Eisenstein: his collaboration with Sergei Prokofiev for his last two movies, and how music can influence any scene (both directly and indirectly). It wasn't an easy feat for sure, but it made me discover and learn the art of analyzing movies and adding to it musical analysis, which I have more knowledge and experience of. Now, being a memoir of my first year of Music Master, I'm planning to expand this same theme but either on the following main Soviet movies ("Solaris" and "White Nights"), or even on the filmography of Miyazaki (and his duet with Hisaishi). Wish me luck for my memoir defense next week.

[@sataprescott7588]

"Is Sergei Eisenstein full of shit?" -- Me after two years of film crit theory classes. But in all seriousness, there's a fine line to examine between the good work of making hell bearable, and the evil of keeping the underclasses docile.

[@jacquiecotillard9699]

The first work I saw of yours was on Pi, that was great. This was number two. It gave me chills throughout. I think your stuff is brilliant and I can’t wait to explore your channel. Merci

[@rachelburns5264]

Sometimes an error occurs in my brain mid-thought and Sergei's cactus phallus flashes across my mind. It's accursed and glorious

[@nicholashurst780]

You give me obliviousness in between good cause to ponder Kyle. It's a nice combination

[@williamwong1982]

Welcome back Kyle. Missed you and your videos.

[@Crusader1089]

We are a similar age, and must have gone to Disney at a similar age. Its so strange to think we could have been at the same park, at the same time, and never known.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

15:23 I saw the Faerie Tale theater version. Though I think I was read to it first. There was also an animated Saturday Morning special in the 90s.

[@falconJB]

Disney did not erect his own statue, he paid the proletariat to.

[@Bluecho4]

And probably far less than they should have earned.

[@williamfrancis5367]

With the help of the bourgeois masses.

[@kyr58]

I thought they were meant to erect it out of reverence based on the context, not out of a dispassionate need for income.

[@TarantulaJonez]

This is stunning, stunning work. Really incredible.

[@JG-kk1mr]

i've missed your content so much!

[@Shivwuffy]

Welcome back!

[@lordultimus559]

Glad you're still making videos, Kyle.

[@marinalopez4978]

OMFG THANK YOU SO MUCH, I remembered an old Russian documentary about the day of the dead but couldn’t find it anywhere. As soon as I saw the brief footage ‘Viva Mexico’ you show I knew it was it! Thank you thank you thank you thank you

[@EL-jq1sq]

Beautiful, thought provoking and touching as always! Also wow how the Kallgren men look similar

[@alicek5178]

another fantastic essay and video!

[@TheSpookyTuna]

You talking about the Disney monopoly has got me thinking about something that's been on my mind for a while - the creative industry is essentially a wild, unregulated land. I mean, how in the hell do you regulate art and entertainment? As such, exploitation runs rampant and creativity is stifled - Disney's monopoly on the film industry genuinely petrifies me. But the myth of the arts as liberal and just is so far-reaching and Disney films are entertaining enough that no one has done anything about it. Also the money and political power wielded by Disney and other giant corporations of the art world. That helps.

[@mynameisjack0618]

You’re back!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also you should reupload the Cinema Antics videos. I loved them)

[@gamestation2690]

Unfortunately, the comments were too toxic.

[@Foxpawed]

@@gamestation2690 Anyone who complained deserved offending imo.

[@kayeplaguedoc9054]

Brows Held High! I miss this series. Good to see it back :)

[@ClaireActually]

Terrific. There's a lot about this video that I find illuminating and articulate. In particular I enjoyed how you managed to intellectually codify the endings of both the pied piper cartoons, but in a way that didn't diminish, but enriched their emotional impact.

[@venus_as_a_b0y]

amazing work as always kyle

[@mayaklast6334]

Great video, once again. You're really good at that 'teaching you things while making you kind of sad' shtick!

[@Romanticideitzcoatl]

Oh the version of the flautist of Hamelin looks quite straight to one of the versions of the story, except the child who cannot walk well is still able to join the others into the paradise looking place beyond the mountains, where in the version not animated he ends behind and that is how they got a description to where the children went. I know Disney has been capable of doing straight retellings of stories but we are so used for them to not that is always interesting to see when they do.

[@AlexanderSternbergReviews]

Great work Kyle, perhaps your best video!

[@troublesomezorua]

Hearing all this, I can't help but think of Paranoia Agent. Avoiding any spoilers or anything, this is pretty much it's plot. I really should get a Maromi plush one of these days. I can't believe I forgot Merbabies, that was my favorite short when I was little, and I somehow totally forgot it until seeing it here. And it's not like I've forgotten a lot of shorts or obscure stuff from back then (I spent a long time hunting down "George and the Christmas Star" for example). So the fact I forgot Merbabies when it was my absolute favorite is just kinda weird.

[@elliottbronstein1214]

Another thing often not mentioned about Walt Disney is that that despite what he said and a huge chunk of what he did, in his statements about "American Liberalism" and his own father's history as a supporter of non other then Eugene Debs, you find advocacy for a kind of free market socialism both he and the company that bear his name would forsake and abandon. The man may have railed against communism and unions publicly, but he was in many ways a secret socialist, and wouldn't admit it. Even to himself. That does put some of what Sergei Eisenstein was trying to say into perspective.

[@richardwilliams2808]

YESSSSS. So worth the wait.

[@alejoparedes2388]

Excellent as always!

[@tyrongkojy]

Missed your stuff SO much!

[@allgodsnomasters2822]

this may be my new favorite man thank you bicon

[@trevorwilliams8353]

Funny you bring up fire in this video. Earlier last week, I reminisced on disney in the silver age, Robin hood, jungle book,fox and the hound, black cauldron, (bambi too); and what those films really enticed me as a child was how fire is pivotal those film's climax.