"Disney is the great supranational bridge across which all human beings may communicate with each other. And amidst so much sweetness and light, the registered trademark becomes invisible" (123)
Disney is a very complex and controversial issue that i never really understood until coming to college. When I was younger, my parents took my sisters and I to Disney World every year...it was just something we did--but I never really read into all of it's facades (of course I was too young at this point). But, even throughout high school I never heard one negative thing about Disney World, not once. Once in college I felt like Disney World was some sort of devil...every professor I had freshman year had negative things to say about it. It intrigued me so I wrote my research paper on this for CMC 200. Disney is one of the most powerful media conglomerates in the world, and its ability to reach consumers on a global level is impressive yet unsettling at the same time. I think this is one of Dorfman's main points in his writing. Disney takes on this imperialistic role with a worldwide mission and set of beliefs that it eventually profits off of by throwing it onto there biggest consumers...children. While researching I found on Disney's website the executive stating that Disney's primary financial goals were to maximize earnings and cash flow. This shows us that Disney will do whatever it takes to win over a group of people or sway a certain groups mentality to that of Disney's mentality.
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Aro0823, Dorfman and Mattelart
"Disney is the great supranational bridge across which all human beings may communicate with each other. And amidst so much sweetness and light, the registered trademark becomes invisible." (123)
Similar to “Happy Birthday,” I found the above quotation to be the most thought provoking in the article. Disney has so thoroughly penetrated our worldwide cultural realm of existence that we often fail to consider it as the profit-oriented multinational corporation it really is. By trademarking its primer attraction as “the happiest place on earth,” it automatically negates any oppositional sentiments. Dorfman and Mattelart correctly ascertain that, because Disney markets primarily toward children, anyone who opposes their marketing strategies is essentially labeled a blasphemer. They are accused of “daring to raise doubts about a child’s imagination,” which is a heinous crime (125). The fact of the matter is that it is unhealthy to teach children that life is rainbow sprinkles and unicorns for the majority of their adolescence and subsequently expect them to grow up and not be disillusioned with the cold realism of today’s world. Disney translates so well across cultures because it transports you into that world of colorful smiles where you can completely ignore reality. With that in mind, Disney dismisses the factual and markets solely to blissful ignorance.
In CMC 200, we discussed the political economy and some of the hidden truths behind the Disney image. For example, Disney recently announced 16% pay cuts to its employees, resulting in the city of Orlando draining its budget to subsidize the unnecessarily substandard wages. Since Disney is primarily a middle class attraction, it is able to neglect its marginalized work force and keep prices artificially high to maximize revenue while keeping expenses down. Even though Disney is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, it still fails to pay its employees livable wages. This invisible exploitation is only one type of “Disney realism” that projects perfection and masks reality.
Happy Birthday-
Interesting post. Your research paper from CMC 200 sounds very interesting and very relevant. Your post could have been longer though.
-Starfish
Aro0823-
Good post. Your connection to CMC 200 is great and relevant.
-Starfish
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