Disney Shutters "Star Wars" Video Game Franchise

George Lucas
(photo: Wikipedia)

Five months ago, Disney made Star Wars owner George Lucas an offer only a lunatic would have refused. Mouse Ears waved over $4 billion in cash and stock to Lucas in exchange for ownership rights to Lucasfilm, Skywalker Sound, Industrial Light and Magic, and Lucas' video game enterprise. Lucas, who has a well-deserved rep as a shrewd, ruthless businessman, signed the agreement.

The sharpies in Burbank appear to have been outsmarted by the sly fox from Marin County. According to a report in today's siliconvalley.com, Disney announced in a statement that the firm was closing the doors on the Star Wars video game franchise. The statement was initially released to the Game Informer blog. There was no mention in it of Darth Vader's impact or of a break in the Force.

Disney's English Language Schools

As a former ESL (or ELL) teacher, the Financial Times story about Disney's English language learning schools in China caught my eye.

According to the article, Mouse Ears' instructional tools include using its repertoire of Diz characters, such as Mickey and Goofy. The use of in-house symbols is nothing new in English language training. Missionaries, for instance, have typically leveraged Biblical figures in their religious-linguistic educational hybrid. The new religion of brand management has simply lifted these teaching techniques to achieve greater market share. The goal of the religionists and capitalists are the same -- conversion.