Juice 15, Dorfman and Mattelart

“In as much as the sweet and docile child can be sheltered effectively from the evils of existence, from the petty rancors, the hatreds, and the political or ideological contamination of his elders, any attempt to politicize the sacred domaine of childhood threatens to introduce perversity where there once reigned happiness, innocence and fantasy” (Dorfman,Mattelart 124).

This is a very strong quote provided by the authors and makes a lot of sense after the reading. To begin with this reading it is interesting to see how the authors view Walt Disney as more than a business man. At first glance it appears Walt Disney World is a place that accumulates tremendous profits and is a place that every child wants to go to. But due to his name recognition around the world many others things can come about.

The story about the propaganda experts in Chile deciding to ban Walt Disney was when I first really noticed how people view two sides of Walt Disney and all that is associated with Disney World. One woman felt that Disney deserved the Nobel Peace Prize and the government stated that “…Chilean children should not think, feel, love, or suffer through animals.” They then went on to discuss how some of the characters relate to human society. I have never been to Disney World, or even got into anything Disney but it is interesting to see two extremes of the view of Disney.
Parents today are trying to shelter their kids away from movies, television and videogames that include excessive sex, violence, drugs or anything that can be put under evils of existence, so now people are trying to hide things under this “domaine of childhood.” The next few pages deal with the adults relationships to children. The people who make comics or whatever devise them to put forth their idea of what child is or should be. This is used by the people to try and make their own redemption as an adult, or used as a means of self-gratification with the spectacle of their own dreams. I feel this is trying to say that parents are trying to relive their childhood through their own kids. One television show that reminds me of this is the one that is titled something like my kid is the next big star. These parents push their kids and make them do things the parents didn’t achieve in their childhood. I feel that this authoritarian relationship if pretty prevalent today, especially in academic and athletic endeavors.