Although it may be assumed the Disney culture has transcended boundaries and constructed young children in 
My knowledge of princess-like attitude and definition of beauty was shaped by literature. Consumerism had not made its way into the post-communist society, yet. The visual discourse was held to be less valid and more questionable than that of writing. Books prevailed and the cultural make-up of society was assembled through written material. Yet, somehow looking back I recall moments when I looked at Ariel thinking how beautiful she was, but never wanting to be like her, just wanting my prince – this in itself being presumed to be a construction of the happy ending American story. The truth is most cultures have happy ending stories. People in general are more prone to seek happiness rather than misery. We are interpersonally inclined to seek happy people and success, as part of our quest for love and appreciation.
Today’s discussion made me question everything about the influence of Disney and the cultural dissemination and construction of ideas on gender and gender expectations. Disney cannot attain the stature of Hans Christian Andersen, or Jules Verne. Both forms of cultural expression have transcended time, but the more responsibility for my ideas can be attributed to these authors. Your experience may be different: are you a reproduction of Disney?
Pondering further on the questions addressed, I wonder if we are not all products of the cultural discourses that surround us. This has been said in multiple ways over the course of history; we are the products of our communities.
“Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.” (Mexican Proverb)
“A stream cannot rise higher than its fountain.” (American Proverb)
If community, friends, books and visual materials along with our environments and the people and experiences we live influence us, then who really shaped or formed us? Was it books or was it Disney? Somehow I find myself yet again returning to Hardt and Negri’s Empire and the loss of the source of change due to the web of influence. The empire of the entrepreneurial self’s formation is one tangled web of untraceable influence.
I think that our culture has certainly changed (especially within Canada) over the past twenty years. Growing up the influence of Disney in my life was well shaped by the movies i watched, but the commodities (t-shirts, games, mugs, plates, hair accessories) were not quite at their selling hiatus. Today children have their own On Demand channel through Rogers and pretty much any toy you buy for a little girl has a Disney princess graphic on it. I think much of the discourse of what influences us falls into our previous discussions of print versus electronic media. Where my childhood included books and imaginative games outside, much of a child's life today is spent with mediated technologies. Where you once had to rent a movie or video game, you now have instant access to these media texts online. I think the availability and convergence of Disney characters with everyday items - even toothpaste - has not only perpetuated the dangerous ideologies of Disney, but also encouraged a more dramatic consumerist mentality for children.
ReplyDeleteUltimately I think we are all products of our culture's ideology. While we do learn to recognize and even decode these messages, they are there nonetheless. Perhaps, as you mentioned at the end, we can look at Disney as part of the Empire. While the Empire is not one country, not one corporation or one entity, I think we can see Disney as part of the fabric of the Empire in the way it constructs and maintains Westernized ideals and presentations of the other.
ReplyDeleteAlso in our every striving quest to be modern, we often long for nostalgic elements of the past. I think in this case, Disney serves that purpose. Whether we grew up with Disney or not, we can all recognize the themes and characters presented in the Disney narratives. They remind us of the simpler times of being a kid and sometimes I think it is hard not to long to remember and romanticize those "simple times".
I agree with all statements that have been raised. As Sophie mentioned, I definitely grew up on Disney but the consumerist aspect wasn't as closely related to the films as in contemporary society. I do think as the years went by, the Disney "empire" expanded its product line by creating action figures and other toys related to their movies. The only connection I can really think of is Barbie dolls and happy meal toys at McDonalds. I knew they existed, but I never thought of it as media imperialism or of any link to empire. So many observations this week - my whole life is being turned upside down!
ReplyDeleteChristina, I agree with you that it is more a tangled network than a single source that force the cultural influences on us. And this makes it impossible to trace back to the origin.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one thing I think we should notice is that: the ratio of influence of each knot in the network differs from case to case. Maybe we can discern the source that influences certain group of people the most.
In this case of Disney, I personally think that the intensity of influence is proportional to the extent of capitalism of the political environment. Communist countries are more immune to capitalism/consumerism due to the diffeerent political/economic regime. That's why Christina and I might have a quite different version of feeling of Disney compared with those who grew up in Canada. What Disney conveys to people in communist countries are not necessarily impulses of consuming, but happy endings and the universal emotions...(We don't have access to those Disney commodities.)
However, as a result of the dominant trend of globalization, communist countries have to compromise with capitalism to some extent. Situations might be different for younger generations now.
Christina, we might have to include another element into consideration. As well-educated young women, we are actually more informed from various sources of information than our peers. Books, instead of television programs, create more reliable sources and impact us more.
But in general, I appreciate your honesty and genuine words!!
I think growing up as a Disney Kid meant you were intrinsically linked with consumerism. I mean, consider Disney world. In the most recent study (2008) Magic Kingdom at Disney World Orlando was the #1 visited attraction in the world. Why is this? Because kids want to consume the characters they seem. Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, whoever... they are all celebrities to children and if they have the opportunity to see (read: consume them) they will.
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