Disney

I am going to begin by saying this was a very difficult read. It was interesting to see the portrayal of disney in this light, but it also makes for a very controversial piece. I think one of the main points that the author is trying to portray encompasses the idea that even seemingly harmless aspects of our world can be evil. Its harsh and is usually met with much rebuttal, but I applaud the author for essentially breaking apart Disney and its movies. My personal experience with the disney classics is just like most others' in this class. This excerpt takes somewhat of a harsh tug on our childhood but it is interesting to say the least. The word choice that the author uses to describe disney allows for a whole different perspective. The author claims Disney is a machine and almost personifies Disney as a human who makes mistakes.

Response to Giroux's "Children's Culture and Disney's Animated Films"

I absolutely hated this reading. Of course, growing up in the 90s, I, too, was a beloved fan if Disney movies- animated ones in particular. I have heard some of the theories mentioned in this chapter from Giroux’s The Mouse That Roared before, but have never considered any of them to be true. I do not believe that the Disney writers and producers intentionally created the stereotypes that Giroux scrutinized so harshly and even further, I feel like theories such as these could be made about many other children’s films or shows that are not affiliated with Disney when looking at them the way that he did. The characters created on the Disney films that were mentioned were created with their time-period and location in mind; for example, Mulan, Pocahontas, Aladdin, Hercules, etc. Also, Giroux focus largely on the films in which the main character was a woman (The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, etc…) saying that these women were “ultimately subordinate to males”. He neglects to realize that these women were all portrayed as strong, ambitious women who, yes, fell in love in the end, but how is that a bad thing? They found love because of their strength and determination and there is nothing wrong with that. What these movies actually show is that there is always hope for a better, happier future and to never let those who put you down stand in the way of your dreams.

One of the worst examples that I found in Giroux’s reading was on page 580 regarding Ariel from The Little Mermaid. He begins by calling her “a slightly anorexic Barbie doll”- Ariel lives under the sea and probably eats seaweed so, yeah, of course she’s skinny. And she does eat in the movie so I don’t believe that Disney is trying to influence children to develop eating disorders. Of course she is subordinate to a male because the main male figure in the movie is her father who is also a KING. She is not portrayed as being subordinate to Prince Eric; in fact, he is a gentleman to her and helps her throughout the movie as she learns the ways of the ‘land’. Giroux also talks about how Eric kisses Ariel before she gains back her voice as if it is a ungentlemanly action, but disregards the fact that he did not just randomly kiss her, he waited until he had been around her for a while and had gotten to know her and the way that she acted. How would that be any different if Ariel was permanently deaf?

The second example that I thought was completely ridiculous was on page 582 when Giroux criticized Mulan for being a cross dresser. She dressed as a male warrior in an attempt to save her father’s life. In those times, a woman would never have been allowed to fight but the men that were drafted were required to. Her father was much too old and weak to fight, so she went in on her own instead to save him.

Personally, I find Giroux’s claims completely foolish. I couldn’t stand reading it, but I found myself locked into it wondering what ridiculous thing he would say next. I just feel like he tore every piece of these movies apart when they were never intended to be seen in a negative light.

Disney Movies

Like most other kids of the '90s I grew up watching Disney movies. They were magical and spectacular to watch, but I never noticed any of the underlying themes Giroux talks about. It seems like the themes of racism and sexism are things one does not really notice in Disney movies until someone points it out, and once that happens you can not help but notice. While I do not think the Disney creators intentionally made racist and sexist films, I have to say there is no denying the fact that some of the films are a bit racist and sexist. I also do not believe that watching Disney movies corrupts children. We all grew up watching these movies and we are not more inclined to racism and sexism than those that did not. The examples from Aladdin are the most obvious examples of racism in Disney movies. The theme song lyrics are a bit ridiculous and making the bad guy look like the typical Arab does sort of cast Arabs in a bad light. I think that a lot of the messages are more for adults to pick up on. No 6 year old is going to watch the Little Mermaid and realize that Ariel gave up everything for a man, and realize that that is both unrealistic and wrong. It is up to the parents to watch these movies, realize the underlying themes and make sure to show alternatives of those views to their children.

Mr. Walt Disney

To me, one of the greatest men that has ever lived. There are few better examples of living the American dream than of Walt turning a Florida swampland into a multi-billion dollar company that owns Theme Parks, Radios stations, and even multiple tv channels. Giroux's main arguments are petty and an one of the multiple attempts to tear down the powerful and dominant legacy that Walt has left behind. In one of Giroux's points he asserts how racist the movies he made are because antagonists in the story will typically have an accent or be foreign in one way or another. Keeping in mind that almost all of Disney's work is aimed at children, it is absurd to think that consciously or subconsciously children are led to believe that foreigners are the bad guys or have evil intentions. Children are very impressionable at a young age but, they could not possibly have the cognitive abilities to process and understand that because they are not white males that they are automatically evil. I have been to Disneyland seven times in my life and have seen or own just about every Disney movie ever created but do not feel more racist or predisposed to racism as any other average kid my age. Real racism is what we see in some middle east countries in this day and age. Radios that must be permanently kept on, school systems with mandatory curriculum and posters all lining the streets, all condemning the west(especially America). These children are brought up to HATE Americans without any just cause other than the fact we are American. Walt Disney has not created a generation of racists. Hating Jafar just because he is Indian would make me and Walt racist. Children dislike him and other villains in the story because we see the message they are trying to promote. One of either a dark world, world domination, or other negative notions that children identify as bad. Not the villain him or herself.

Disney Article

I had heard from friends about the symbolism occurring within Disney films before, but never researched the actual legisitics and details of what Walt Disney was thinking when creating the animations. It was a real shock factor when Giroux listed explicit examples from some of the most classic Disney films we all know and grew up watching. I feel that since the movies (on the surface) are still lighthearted, fun, and even (in some cases) lesson-teaching, they aren't doing much harm, especially since the younger audiences that tend to watch them the most aren't able to comprehend the racist, sexist, and other harsh metaphors added in his films. The innocent eyes and ears of children (from our own childhood, and kids in present day) aren't being soiled from watching their beloved cartoon movies. Sure, what Walt Disney conspired and placed in the films is highly frowned upon and essentially unethical to do, but these films are still enjoyable to the mind of a child ..and heck, even some bored college students with too much time to kill...

Disney

As a kid, I was a huge fan of Disney movies. Even today, I still enjoy taking a break every now and then by watching a Disney movie. As a child, I never considered any of these movies to be sexist or racist. Giroux says that these movies are racist because the protagonists sound American while the antagonists have some sort of accent. As a child, although I had noticed these accents, they really didn't mean anything to me. I never stopped to think about whether or not these characters were portraying non-Americans as inferior or evil. Giroux says that many Disney movies are sexist because they show men as being dominant over women. He also points out a few inappropriate things in movies or on their cases. Again, things like this did not even cross my mind when I was a child. When it comes down to it, I do believe that some Disney movies have some racist, sexist, and inappropriate parts within them. I also believe, however, that Giroux exaggerates their effects on children. I never noticed any of these things when I watched the movies, and things that I did notice (such as accents or portrayal of male dominance) did not generate much thought. I think that Disney is only trying to antagonize adults while providing entertainment for children. Subtle things thrown into movies are not going to influence children in any way. These things are so subtle that the only way to find them is if you are really concentrating and looking hard for them. Although these things are present, I still believe that Disney's main goal is to provide entertainment for children.

Disney

I have always been a sucker for animated movies, especially ones that are aimed for a younger audience. I don't know what it is, but they are just fun and entertaining to watch, especially Disney. Disney World isn't called "the happiest place on earth" without any reason. My personal favorite Disney movies were Pinocchio, Lion King, Aladdin, and Fox and the Hound. Giroux argues that the Disney corporation has these hidden messages through each movie. Aladdin is racist through the voices of the villains having accents, while Aladdin, Jasmin, and the Genie all have American sounding voices. Other movies are sexist because men play a considerably more dominant role in the movies compared to the women. Also, there are numerous times where the word "sex" can be seen on screen. Do I agree these things are in the Disney movies and these kinds of things are wrong to be in a movie made for kids? Yes I do agree they are there and that they are wrong, but seriously you can only find this stuff if you are looking for it. I have seen Lion King many times and the only time I've seen the word sex is when you slow down the picture. If you do not look for these things, the magic of Disney movies remains to all kids and prior generations. Regardless of what Giroux says about how the films are racist and sexist I will always enjoy them because the clear meanings of the films are what is most important, not the hidden messages.

Disney

Disney movies were something I always looked forward when I was younger and went to the movies. I would just watch the movies and just love the story. It never really crossed my mind, especially as a young kid, that any of the movies I loved and cherished were racist, sexist, or antidemocratic. Nowadays, I knew that Walt Disney was not very fond of the US government and was racist against many groups of people. I just never thought it took it to that point. Especially that every bad or evil character in a Disney Movie was darker and depicted with a African American or Hispanic voice. It is kind of sad especially since Lion King was my favorite one. I definitely agree with the author about Aladdin. I watch Aladdin not too long ago and wondered why the two protagonists had normal voices and the bad guys had accents. I saw it as kind of racist. Also, the sexism shown throughout the movies is vivid. The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Lion King all show men as superior and you can definitely tell that is the way Walt Disney wants it. The one that struck me as the most suprising comment in this article was the anti democratic views shown by the Disney corporation. I never realized it but I can see some of that in the movies but not so much. It is not as prevelant as racism or sexism. The only movies I can remember that did not really show any of these views were Hercules, Mulan and Beauty and the Beast. I could watch those again and still not see anything wrong with them. This article really struck me and I was suprised at many of the issues brought up, and I agree with most of them.

Disney Article

Disney was a huge part of my childhood and still is today. I have been to disney world five times and I love it more and more every time I go. I have pretty much watched all of the disney movies, however I forget a lot of them because the last time I watched them was when I was a child. Since I was very young, I did not catch all of the references that Henry A. Giroux is talking about in his story. However, as I read about the arguments that he makes, I understood what he was trying to say. Most of his arguments make sense, and for a while I thought it was Walt Disney who had a lot to do with what appears in the movies, but after reading the story, I realize that it is just the Disney corporation in general. One of his main arguments is that most of the movies are racist. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but after reading more in depth, I began to agree with what he was saying. The theme song to Aladdin is a great example as to how the movie is racist towards Arabs. Being a child, most people will not catch on to the racism slurs that are presented in the movies, but if parents were to watch it with them, they might be very offended. I also agree with his statement about children learning from exposure to popular cultural forms. If children watch these movies enough times, they might fall into the idea of what the movie is trying to show within racism. This will not benefit them in the future, because they will look at certain people in negative ways. Another point that Giroux brings up, is that the movies are sexist as well. I agree with this to an extent, but I also think that when the girl does things for the guy in her life, it is out of love and not because of the males power over the woman. When I watched these movies as a child, I thought of them as love stories or comedic stories. I did not look in between the lines as to what was really happening. When I went to Disney World, I enjoyed every minute of it, and the movies had no influence on the way I felt about the characters or souveneirs that were being sold. All of the points that Giroux brings up are more for the parents to encounter, rather than their children. I also have heard about inappropriate gestures that were in the cover of movies and in the movies themselves. However, as a child I didn't pay attention to those things, because I didn't really know what they meant. As I grew older, I began to look for these inappropriate things, because I found it interesting that Walt Disney would want to do such a thing. It just shows a lot about who Walt Disney was as a person and how the Disney corporation is run. However, no matter how many offensive things that are shown in the movies, they are still one of the largest corporations there is and they benefit from everything that they produce.