This week in history: 2nd – 8th December

Olaf the snowman looking at a flower growing out of the snow

Image via: ksl.com

On the 5th of December, 1901, Walt Disney was born in Hermosa, Chicago. As we all know, he would grow up to be one of the most successful animated film figures of all time, with a multi-billion dollar media corporation carrying his name.

The Walt Disney Company now owns five holiday resorts, eleven theme parks, thirty nine hotels, two water parks, eight motion picture studios, six record labels, eleven cable television networks and one terrestrial television network. In 2007, the company had an annual revenue of over U.S. $35 billion. Talk about a legacy. This year, the Disney Film Frozen won an Oscar for Best Animated Film. The legacy of Walt Disney clearly lives on.

Skip forward to 1957. On the 5th of December a film named Sayonara was released. This film dealt with issues of racism and prejudice towards Asian-American women, a large problem at the time.

It received widespread critical acclaim at the time, particularly for its writing and cinematography, in addition to the acting ability of its cast. It won four Academy Awards; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Red Buttons), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Miyoshi Umeki), Best Art Direction/Set Direction (Ted Haworth and Robert Priestley) and Best Sound (George Groves).

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