Wrestling with Disney

How can something like Disney, loved throughout all society, not be good? How can something that we have all grow up with, can all relate to, and can all find magic in be anything less innocent than its outer appearance? Is it possible that this "innocence" is all a facade that needs to be investigated? It comes down to the idea that the big brand of Disney is much more than a corporation for children entertainment. Disney is a corporation with political, educational, and ethic undertones that have much more power in influencing young kids than what we may naively think at first glance. Without a doubt, Disney has been a moral compass in countless young children's lives, and, on the surface, their movies instill some great messages. However, when these films are looked at with a much more critical eye than that of a six year old, it is clear there are some other messages being depicted that are not quite as universally accepted as the ones children grasp onto. Specifically when we start to evaluate the way Disney often displays gender roles.

When one starts to question the integrity of Disney, a majority of us do not take the topic seriously enough. Disney is passed down from generation to generation; we see it as part of the family in a way. It has worked its way into our hearts through our upbringing and we find it hard to inspect it with any sort of scrutiny when we have developed such fond personal relationships with the brand. Admittedly, I am wrestling to do so myself, however I do see the pressing need for such inquiry. We cannot simply argue that it is pointless to overanalyze such contexts because Disney is the best we've got or that we will never have the power to change its ways. In doing so we allow ourselves to use a scapegoat to not further challenge our  intellectual capabilities and  press forward and understand how media shapes culture. Dr. Crank describes this ability to not only consume media, but to understand the media we consume as a term called media literacy -- and those two words are the big "so what" of this blog.

Media literacy not only pertains to Disney, obviously, but to the world of consumerism. Disney, may be a person's first exposure into this world which makes it a prime example of study, especially because its target audience is the minds of children. Because they are the most susceptible to media influence it is our job to make sure what me set in front of them promotes an inclusive culture with positive messages. As the famous Henry Giroux explains, Disney is a "teaching machine" and while we are in the midst of this consumeristic culture, its main focus is business, which makes it our job to develop strong media literacy skills to make sure their business agenda aligns with the culture we want to promote in generations to come. Do not be oblivious to the shield of innocence Disney promotes, yes that is much of its identity as entertainment, but at the end of the day it is a powerful media conglomerate that needs to be read by society.