James Dean & The Curse of Little B*****d

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James Byron Dean, American actor (1931-1955) starred in movies such as Rebel without a Cause, East of Eden and Giant. He had a cult following and after his death his headstone was stolen twice and had to be replaced in 1985 due to vandalism.

Dean had a passion for car racing and he came second in the Palm Springs road racing in 1956. He was banned from racing under his contract whilst making the film Giant. Whilst working on the set of Rebel without a Cause he traded in his Porsche speedster for the infamous silver  Porsche  550 Spider which came to be known as ‘Little B*****d’.

Many People had reservations about the car, including fellow actor Alec Guinness, who reportedly told Dean, ‘never get that car!’

Car designer of the Batmobile, George Barris or Kustomizer King said that the car gave him ‘a weird feeling of impending doom.’

Despite warnings Dean drove the car to the races at Salinas CA. It was on this journey that people’s anxieties about the sports car were proven legitimate. It was to be Dean’s last drive. The Porsche was involved in a head on collision with a 1950’s Ford Custom Coupe killing the young actor. Dean was taken to Paso Robles War Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

The curse of Little B*****d continued when a young kid tried to steal the car’s steering wheel and slipped, severely lacerating his arm.

Barris bought the shell of the car for $2,500 after Dean’s Death; it had been stripped of parts by two doctors Eschrid and McHenry. The physicians both owned Spyders and it is said that McHenry’s car containing the engine of Little B*****d when it went out of control and hit a tree during a race in 1956.

Barris’ mechanic broke both his legs when the Porsche fell on him. Barris also sold two of the car’s tyres and in less than a week the tyres had simultaneously exploded. Barris then loaned the wrecked car to California Highway Patrol and whilst housed in a garage in Fresno the garage burnt to the ground. Remarkably the Spyder survived unscathed.

When the car was at an exhibition in Sacramento it fell from its display causing injury and then George Barkuis was killed whilst hauling the Spyder. Accidents went on until 1960 when the Porsche went to Miami for a safety exhibition. En route to LA the Spyder mysteriously disappeared. It is said that the whereabouts of the car is still a mystery today. There have been claims of ghostly sightings of the car on the road where Dean was killed.

What Are Your Children Really Watching (Looking For Controversy In Disney Movies

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Subliminal messages are those given out which pass by our conscious perception. There are different types such as visual and audio. The media influences us through advertising and films. The moral messages in movies for children are usually obvious. They seem wholesome enough such as the triumph of good over evil; beauty is only skin deep and money isn’t everything.

The topic of subliminal messages in Disney came up as a topic in a Triond search. I wanted to know what it was all about so I followed the links. Next thing I know I am seeing videos of The Wizard of Oz where a Munchkin allegedly hangs himself. After that I am seeing the Little Mermaid priest getting a little too excited at the wedding. Aladdin apparently asks teenagers to take off their clothes and some dust disturbed by the Lion King Spells the word SEX.

Freud defined sex as the driving force behind human existence, so it should be unsurprising then to see subtle sexual references in everything we see and do and that includes Disney films. The word SEX is said to be visible in elements such as water fire and smoke in numerous occasions. I prefer to think that it is actually SFX (for special effects)

Secret messages could be down to a number of things

1. Coincidental human error
2. Something which could be mistaken for a phallic image, etc. and is yet innocent.
3. Genuine intent.

The hanged Munchkin

There is a lot of talk about the Munchkin who allegedly hangs himself on the set of The Wizard of OZ though no evidence I have seen in conclusive. What people have mistaken for a hanging is actually a bird flapping its wings. The incident may have happened or it may not, whatever the case I am sure it sold movies!

Why would Disney have allowed artists to include inappropriate or controversial goings on in movie backgrounds, misinterpretable dialogue or sexual images?

It is true that modern movies such as Shrek contain double entendres which young children will not understand, in order that the films appeal to a wider audience. The same could be true of old Disney films.

It has been said that Walt Disney was not a pleasant man to work for. Apparently on one of Walt’s birthdays his employees got together and made a movie sketch for him as a gift. He allegedly sacked the lot of them. With this in mind is it not possible that a disgruntled worker would draw something in a movie frame as a protest? Take a look at cover of The Little mermaid and decide for yourself.

Satanic Symbolism

If you look at the Prince’s eyes as he falls from the castle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’, you will be able to see

All in the (perverted) mind?

A look at a few more examples of subliminal messages.

1. In The Rescuers there is a very naughty image in a window. Disney took responsibility and the movie was recalled.
2. Somebody has drawn a phallic shape as part of the Castle in The Little Mermaid.