Actual quote from Floyd Norman (the first African American animator at Disney): “When I came to Disney, even though it was the 1950s, and a lot of things hadn’t changed, and a lot of old attitudes were still in place, I was never aware of anybody or, you know, any kind of racism or anything of that sort at the Disney Studio… Walt really didn’t care who or what you were. He cared about your talent and ability.”
“Let me tell you something, a lot of people talk about Walt in negative ways. There was nothing negative
about Walt Disney,” he says. “He was dedicated to doing great things. He
reached for the stars all the time. He was a wonderful, wonderful
boss.”
“Walt was sensitive to people’s feelings… He hated to see people mistreated or discriminated against. One time, Richard and I overheard a discussion between Walt and one of his lawyers. This attorney was a real bad guy, didn’t like minorities. He said something about Richard and me, and he called us ‘these Jew boys writing these songs.’ Well, Walt defended us, and he fired the lawyer. Walt was unbelievably great to us.”
From the same book, a quote from Artist Joe Grant (also Jewish) “Walt was not anti-Semetic… Some of the most influential people at the studio were Jewish. It’s much ado about nothing. I never once had a problem with him in that way. That myth should be laid to rest.”
Given the sudden interest for the color of dresses and vision, here some of the fascinating findings we did recently.
The color nuances we see depend on the number and distribution of cones (=color receptors) in our eye. You can check this rainbow: how many
color nuances do you count?
You see less than 20 color nuances: you are a dichromats, like dogs, which means you have 2 types of cones only. You are likely to wear
black, beige, and blue. 25% of the population is dichromat.
You
see between 20 and 32 color nuances: you are a trichromat, you have 3
types of cones (in the purple/blue, green and red area). You enjoy
different colors as you can appreciate them. 50% of the population is
trichromat.
You see between 33 and 39 colors: you are a
tetrachromat, like bees, and have 4 types of cones (in the purple/blue,
green, red plus yellow area). You are irritated by yellow, so this color
will be nowhere to be found in your wardrobe. 25% of the population is
tetrachromat.
You see more than 39 color nuances: come on, you are
making up things! there are only 39 different colors in the test and
probably only 35 are properly translated by your computer screen anyway
:)
It is highly probable that people who have an additional 4th
cone do not get tricked by blue/black or white/gold dresses, no matter
the background light ;)
