What Disney Character Are You?

All signs suggest I'm Mickey Mouse :) Try it yourself!

http://www.allthetests.com/quiz16/quiz/1128287731/What-Disney-Character-are-You-Most-Like

http://www.brainfall.com/quizzes/which-disney-character-are-you/

Reflection on Giroux Essay “The Disneyfication of Children’s Culture”

It hasn’t yet been three full weeks in my writing 101 course Decoding Disney – yet I am already starting to reshape my attitudes towards the Disney Corporation. This is not to say I have a revolutionized outlook of the enterprise, but I am beginning to see the need to critically approach Disney films and the importance of recognizing the global implications of the values and ideals that Disney conveys. These ideas were most profoundly communicated in Henry Giroux’s essay ‘Animating Youth: The Disneyfication of Children’s Culture’. Giroux’s essay presents a convincing argument on the need to avoid passively absorbing the content of Disney’s entertainment. Rather he calls us to associate the Disney enterprise within a context of specific values and ideology that must be critically assessed. Most importantly however, he justifies this thesis by exposing Disney as a media mogul whose influence on children’s culture is profound – ranging from the ideas of conservative views, distorted utopic facades, commercialism and its status as a cultural institution.

Giroux’s essay acutely recognizes the pervasive power and influence of the Disney Company on society and in particular children’s culture. To begin, Giroux notes the power of Disney to transcend ‘the boundaries of entertainment’ and operate as ‘teaching machines’. Disney’s unique representation of values make it difficult to critically analyse, however Giroux notes that ‘Disney films combine an ideology of enchantment and aura of innocence in narrating stories that help children understand who they are, what societies are about, and what it means to construct a world of play’. Giroux is able to articulate why Disney operates as such a unique brand and why it requires critical analysis. I agree that Disney mediums are able to usurp traditional sites of learning and inform its audience, particularly children, of a ‘dreamlike world of security, coherence and childhood innocence where kids find a place to situate themselves’. Giroux argues that given Disney’s power and ability to expose children to select conservative values and ideals, their diverse representations and messages must be critiqued. The irony of Disney is that while its mission is to portray a ‘world of enchantment… free from the dynamics of ideology, politics and power’, it readily imposes certain conservative values of race, gender and wealth. I have come to the same conclusion as Giroux, that classrooms, teachers and parents must understand the implications of children uncritically absorbing the Disney’s ideology.

I would also like to share my personal opinion on the piece and analyse Giroux’s writing technique – which after all is the objective of this course. Giroux has expelled many of the myths of persuasive writing, foremost the use of personal pronoun. Giroux uses the personal pronoun ‘I’ to great effect to communicate his voice throughout the piece and engage with both the material he is discussing and also to the audience. For example when Giroux writes, “I recognized that any attempt to take up Disney films critically rubs against the grain of American popular opinion”, Giroux not only reveals an underlying assumption held by the public but also recognizes his audience, signposting that the arguments he is about to discuss might conflict with popular opinion. Another facet of Giroux’s writing is his textual analysis and support for his arguments (something that was crucial missing in the Wasko article). Upon discussing commercialism and Disney’s ‘marketplace of culture’, Giroux discloses both statistical and monetary values to endorse and evidence his point – “Disney theme parks… made over $3.4 billion dollars in revenue in 1993”. Lastly, Giroux’s essay is persuasive and profound due its synthesizing conclusion that calls on direct measures to critically evaluate the cultural force of Disney. The tone is purposeful but not scathing and Giroux addresses specific psychological transformations that society must adopt in order to understand the cultural implications of Disney. On account of these points, I find Giroux’s essay valid and extremely thought provoking. This has been the perfect text to position me to approach further readings and adopt my own critical analysis in this course.

Taste of Disney

Along with the likes of Thanksgiving and Christmas - Marketplace finds it important to put on a special meal to celebrate Disney!

Nom, nom, nom - I'm looking forward to trying Elsa's Frozen Gelato Bar :)

                                                           Did someone say gelato?

Response to Janet Wasko: Challenging Disney Myths

Hmmm… Where do I begin? I guess an overall impression is a good place to start. Then I guess I would have to say that I found Janet Wasko’s essay frustrating, repetitive and not very insightful. While reading, I tried to annotate the text and note where I found strong or weak arguments. However I never felt invested in the text and struggled to identify compelling arguments. While I can now claim to know more about Disney, both the man and the corporation, I feel that Wasko’s essay leaves me with more questions than answers. I don’t agree with much of what Wasko is saying and I’d like to consider some counter-arguments in this blog post.

I’ll begin with the tone of the essay. The introduction presented to me a new fusion of academic disciplines, ‘the integration of political economy and critical cultural analysis’. While the names drifted completely over my head, it did become evident that the points to follow would be presented through an anti-Disney lens. This made me consider the intention Wasko in writing this piece, to which the title helped immensely, “Challenging Disney Myths”. What I was expecting then was an objective analysis of the perception of the Disney brand against the reality of the Disney Corporation. However, I never found a discussion on the existing perception of Disney and why the Disney Corporation is so unique. Was it assumed? In any case, I find this omission immense and thus any point made by Wasko hard to qualify.

To demonstrate this omission, one need look no further than myth 2: ‘Disney as a Unique and Different Company’. Wasko makes the generalized and unsupported statement that the Disney Company is ‘somehow different and special’ and that it is hard to visualize Disney as a ‘profit-motivated company’. I find that even the least cynical individual would content with such a remark. Are we serious to consider that one of the world’s largest media companies, product manufacturers and entertainment conglomerate is operating as a non-profit? I don’t think we have challenged any myth in saying that Disney’s primary goal is to ‘generate income for its stockholders’, are we to say that Disney launches new lines of Winnie the Pooh without considering profits? When a company has a market share like Disney’s and investments across countless business sectors, how can Disney not operate as a capitalist enterprise? (As I said, I was left with a lot of questions). My critique however does end here. Wasko provides no support of why Disney is such a ‘special case’. The only qualifying statement that Wasko gives is ‘many think of Disney as something sacred and special and not as a commercial, profit based endeavor’ – to which I ask why? Just because Disney primarily operates in a sector of fantasy and imagination doesn’t mean that real world commercial objectives cannot determine its business practices.

My second objection to Wasko’s essay is her approach to Disney Products being wholesome and unbiased. Before I divulge into my critique however, I would agree with fragments of Wasko’s analysis. I readily agree that Disney products are ‘assumed to be wholesome, safe, pure…ethical, virtuous and unbiased’ which is consistent with Disney’s intent to be associated with such values and ideology. Furthermore, I was compelled to learn the gender disparity of Disney characters. Yet I must again concern myself with the subjectivity of Wasko to identify only one side of an argument. While Wasko proceeds to describe Disney’s brand of fantasy, imagination and pleasure as directly connected with a specific set of values, she fails to recognize how existing values and social norms influence the curation of Disney. In other words, Wasko concerns herself with how Disney influences culture but she completely ignores how existing culture influences Disney. Any argument discussing how Disney heroes are predominately male and aggressive while women are stereotypically portrayed as weak or pristine must be understood in context. While such observations reveal unmistakable themes and values, they must also be understood as a reflection of society. The portrayal of Snow White as motherly and pristine reflects the typically domestic perception of women in the 1930s, while modern heroines like Merida from Brave and Elsa of Frozen reflect the portrayal of women in a third-wave feminism world. While I do not contest that Disney’s values are very conservative and biased, I think they are as much tied to societal values as they are to Disney’s ideology. After all, society is the consumers of Disney products and the Disney brand, whom without, Disney ceases to exist.

My ambivalence about Wasko’s essay is manifest in her discussion on the myth that Disney is universally adored. Wasko attributes the universality and prosperity of Disney to its ‘carefully nurtured and controlled’ nature. I certainly agree with Wasko. Disney has been intentionally marketed and globally distributed to capture the interests of children and families around the world. However when Wasko states ‘that its brand recognition has been built and zealously protected’, I question what distinguishes Disney from any other company. Brand recognition and reputation is fundamental to any corporation and is carefully marketed and promoted to its audience. It is this repeated theme in Wasko’s essay that leaves me begging for more. Wasko writes that the ‘Disney Company consistently and emphatically insists on in its own self-definition and in its incessant promotion and marketing’. I unequivocally agree with these statements, yet they are broad and unsubstantiated. I am constantly left to consider why this applies exclusively to Disney. Wasko leads me to believe that just because Disney is founded on the themes of imagination, fantasy and family entertainment that it is immediately unlike any other corporation, yet I content that this is too simple of an answer and that for Wasko’s arguments to be valid, she must explicitly address why Disney transcends its existence as a capitalist enterprise.   

Introduction

G'day! Welcome to my blog for my freshman writing course at Duke: Decoding Disney. First a little bit about myself. My name is Andrew Bouffler and I hail from the land down under in the beautiful city of Sydney. I have decided to make the United States my home for the next 4 years (and probably longer) while I pursue my undergraduate degree at Duke. I am undecided on what major I wish to pursue but current contenders include mathematics, computer science and environmental science. Outside the classroom I have enjoyed immersing myself in the student life at Duke. I love Duke athletics - making it to every home football game and now bundling up for a month in k-ville. Elsewhere I enjoy being an active member of the Duke Catholic Centre, I've had a blast engaging in intramural flag football and soccer, I am a representative of house council in my dorm and I help coordinate events with Devils After Dark. What I have undoubtedly loved most in this, my freshman year, is the time I have spent with my friends in my dorm - Brown. I am always going to remember our midnight conversations, study parties and dorm dinners at marketplace. This semester I am excited to rush SLGs, try some new classes and enjoy another year with the best friends I could ever imagine.

Of the many classes I am taking this semester, I am most intrigued by this writing course. I never thought I would have the opportunity to take a class where I could explore the conventions of influential writing alongside an exploration of the Disney Empire. I look forward to expanding my critical thinking, reading and writing skills whilst simultaneously learning about the life of Walt Disney, the global brand of the Disney corporation and the more nuanced undertones of Disney films. I am keen to bring an academic lens to what I have always considered to be the entertainment of my childhood (and indeed still today), yet I do hold some reservation of what analyses we will draw from these films that I have come to love purely for their imaginative childhood charm.

I grew up saturated by Disney films and the Disney brand - I still have many VCR tapes of the older Disney movies. My favourite Disney movie is 'Up' (the opening montage makes me cry everytime) and my favourite Disney character is Simba from the Lion King. There is nothing that allures me to the cinema more than a new Pixar film! Whilst Disney films formed an immense part of my childhood - I didn't ride the same nostalgic torrent that seemed to drag many teenagers back to their childhood fantasies and to Disney movies of old. Thus, I look forward to revisiting some of these films that I haven't seen in decades and others that I have never seen before.

I chose this course because it sounded entertaining, engaging and eye opening. I hope to challenge my previous perceptions, I hope to debate and analyse the unique perspectives of my classmates and of scholars and I hope to build upon my existing foundation of academic writing.

Let's get up and away!!!