Disney Needs a Geography Lesson

Perhaps Disney should stick to what it does best--children's entertainment. It seems that one of its latest endeavors seems to have fallen slightly short of its mark.

In an effort to boost tourist travel to the United States, the departments of State and Homeland Security released a Disney-produced promotional video last week. In order to give credit where credit is due, it should be noted that Disney produced the film at no charge, and donated it to aid the Bush Administration's initiative to dispel the worldwide perception that America is hostile toward foreigners.

The video is entitled "Welcome: Portraits of America" and will be shown at certain American airports, as well as United States embassies abroad. There is an impressive soundtrack which serves as a backdrop for pictures of Americans, representing our cultural and religious diversity. The film highlights many of America's most majestic images: the crashing surf on Hawaii's shores, the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and the fall foliage of the New England states, just to name a few. Then, of course, there is Niagara Falls.

Three waterfalls comprise Niagara Falls--American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (which are within U.S. territory) and Horseshoe Falls (within Canadian territory). Disney producers chose to feature Horseshoe Falls in the video. One might offer the argument, then, that the producers' intent was to offer the perspective a tourist would have while standing on the American side of the Falls. Not so, according to a Niagara Falls, New York historian, Paul Gromosiak, who says that the shot in the video could only have been taken from a vantage point in Canada.

Which leads one to ponder: If the purpose of the video is to improve our image abroad, how is that purpose served by "annexing" another nation's territory?

The entertaining seven-minute video can be viewed at www.discoveramerica.com. The Niagara Falls shot in question is approximately four minutes into the video.