Disney Rejection Letter, 1938: No Girls Allowed
Is this letter for real?
New York Magazine's linked to this astonishing rejection letter to a Mary V. Ford, who'd applied for a job as an apprentice animator in 1938. Answer: No. Because women don't do that kind of thing.
Typed on pretty Snow White stationery.
New York Mag archly points out how things are different now. Or are they? Searching the credits for Disney's RATATOUILLE, not a single female name appears among the credited animators.
Comments
It's true that the top animators at Pixar are men, but it's not as simple as that. I think the vast majority of people who are into animation from early childhood are male - just look at who the comic book freaks are.
Instead of looking at the end result, you should look at who is actually trying to get into animation. At a talk by Pete Docter I asked him about this scarcity, and he said that he'd love to have more top creative women at Pixar, but, compared to men, there are just so much fewer women to choose from. (I would add that they DO have women in top production positions.)
Perhaps it's like engineering - women just don't tend to gravitate toward it. I personally could not believe that Pixar would discriminate against ANYONE with talent.
Posted by: KN Sato | July 11, 2007 11:24 PM