Disney's effect on childhood

A couple weeks ago, my mom sent me all of my Winnie the Pooh books in the mail that I loved when I was a kid.  Immediately I knew that she was missing me, and also wishing I was back to being a little kid again.  The Winnie the Pooh books were always my favorite, so receiving them in the mail automatically brought a smile to my face.  This feeling took me away from being an overly stressed college kid, and back to a carefree child. Disney offers a sense of youth and childhood to many throughout their entire lives.  The memories that Disney books and movies bring back are forever in the minds of many.  And on the other side, my mom also created memories by reading those stories to me when I was young.  The impact that Disney has had on my childhood never seizes to amaze me.

Mental Disability in Disney

In “Dopey’s Legacy: Sterotypical Portrayals of Intellectual Disability in the Classic Animated Films,” Karen Schwartz, Zana Lutfiyya and Nancy Hansen discuss the presence of negative stereotypes of mental disabilities in Disney films.  Focusing on the films Snow White, Cinderella, and the Beauty and the Beast, Schwartz uses contextual evidence to show examples of several characters who are considered to be mentally limited.  These characters face many hardships throughout all of the films, and are constantly laughed at, isolated and seen as different from the rest. 

“Dopey’s Legacy” is led with the strongest example of the argument, Dopey from Snow White.  Swartz comments on the fact that in the Grimms’ original version of Snow White, the dwarfs did not have as definite individual personalities, but in the Disney version they do.  “The seventh dwarf, Dopey, is characterized as an ‘idiot,’ ‘mentally retarded,’ and with ‘Down’s syndrome- like features,’ and was entirely a Disney fabrication? (179).  At first, I thought that this argument was absurd and over critical of Disney.  However, after considering Swartz’s evidence of this argument, I believe that she has a valid point.  Dopey is portrayed as being very incapable and “slow at figuring things out” (183).  Physically, he is different from the other dwarfs.  He looks childish, with some animalistic qualities, and also has blue eyes instead of brown like the rest.  These comparisons might seem minor, but when Schwartz brings in more examples, her argument is very well supported.  Gus, one of the mice from Cinderella, is also physically different from the other mice and often singled out for being slow and incapable.  These physical characteristics are very similar to Dopey’s.  “Like Dopey, Gus is presented as the ‘other.’  He is a chubby mouse, whose t-shirt fails to cover his belly, whereas the other mice are lean and wearing clothing that fits” (185).  In Cinderella, Gus is portrayed as being very incompetent, such as in the scene where he is trying to pick up all the rice he can even though the cat is about to eat him.  He needs to be saved by the other mice, which shows his dependency.  LeFou is the third example that Swartz uses.  He also has the same qualities as Dopey and Gus, which further supports the argument that mental disabilities are stereotyped in Disney films. 

It is clear that Swartz has some valid examples, however, what is more important is to understand the effect these examples actually have on the movie.  Disney’s use of mentally limited characters as a source of humor is very unethical.  Audiences find themselves laughing at the intellectually disabled character as he/she struggles to do basic tasks.  This is a negative way to teach children how to treat the intellectually disabled. 

Reading response to "Challenging Disney Myths"

Janet Wasko expresses her thoughts about five common misconceptions in the article “Challenging Disney Myths”.  Although her views offer a different perspective on Disney, both the man and the company, I believe that her main ideas are too radical and assumption based.  Wasko is very critical of Disney’s business decisions and motives.  She is very negative when referring to the way that Disney ran his business.  Accusing Disney of over exaggerating his past and upbringing seems rather ridiculous and unrelated to his success as a businessman.  She discounts his reflections of living on a farm because it was only for two years instead of longer which seems overly analytical to me.  It was not really made clear why this argument matters in the first place.  Also Wasko lacks sources in many instances, which make many of her arguments not credible.  In regard to Disney’s demeanor as a businessman, Wasko mentions that Disney was “praised for his masterful and inspirational leadership” and known as a “rare charismatic leader” (241).  However, Wasko continues by adding that “some of his employees called him a “benevolent dictator” and he was known for being “authoritative, moody and demanding” (241).  Personally, I believe that a good leader needs to be authoritative and serious in order to be successful.  If you consider all of the other powerful business leaders I am sure they are strict and demanding. I do not believe that Walt Disney should be held to a different standard simply because he managed a company that appeals greatly (but not exclusively) to children and families.  Disney (the company) is known around the world for its theme parks, products, movies, etc.  Clearly it would not have been possible for Walt Disney to accomplish this if he was not hard on his employees.  When I think about all the leaders of major corporations, I think of powerful and demanding individuals.  The amount of income that Disney has made is unbelievable; it is not shocking to me that Walt Disney was a demanding and ruthless boss.  There are certain points that Wasko make that I believe are valid and interesting.  Her thoughts on how the products of Disney, from movies to merchandise, target people off all ages.  When commenting how Disney appeals to multiple age groups, Wasko uses Eeyore as an example of how Disney can relate to teens.  Eeyore “is most popular with teens, possibly because he is a little different from the others” (Hirsch 1999, 38).  I thought this was an interesting point because Disney is present in almost everyone’s lives.  By the time you are a teenager, chances are that you are familiar with the story of “Winnie the Pooh”.  Eeyore represented the outcast, which can be related to by people of any age group, teenagers in specific.  This allows people of all ages to relate to Disney.  In addition, many Disney movies and shows have characters of all ages, so it is possible for almost anyone to relate to someone in the show or movie.   This reminded me of the story of Cinderella because she was a teenage girl who was treated horribly by her stepsisters and stepmother and ended up turning into a princess.  Many young girls who watch this can relate to certain aspects of the story, such as fighting with parents or siblings.  Wasko offers many controversial points in “Challenging Disney Myths”.  She does touch on many aspects of Disney that could be considered “myths,” but in my opinion her points do not change the way I view Disney as a man.  Her ideas and critiques on Walt Disney and his company are widely debated and will never be universally agreed upon.  

Introduction

The creation of Disney has made a clear impact on our society.  Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or any other factor, most people in our generation are familiar with Disney.  As soon as I was aware that Decoding Disney was an option for my freshmen 101 writing class, I was intrigued.  Disney has been a part of my life since I was young, but I never expected to be studying it as a freshman in college.  Just like any other young girl, I loved the Disney princesses when I was a kid.  Growing up The Little Mermaid was my favorite Disney movie and I wanted to be just like Ariel.  Although I loved the princesses, Winnie the Pooh has always been my favorite Disney character.  I had the whole book collection, as well as every Winnie the Pooh themed stuffed animal that was made.  In addition, I loved watching Disney channel and all the new series that would come out.  Although it is a soft spot, I have still never been to Disney World or Disney Land.  Hopefully one day soon I will go, but my parents never wanted to wait in the lines.  Often young kids have the most exposure to Disney themed products, however, the more I think about it the more I realize how present Disney still is in my life as a 18 year old.  The amount of Disney merchandise I see around is astounding.  Since the beginning of Writing 101, I have already noticed aspects of Disney in many more places.  As an example, I have noticed that I have Disney Princess band aids in my dorm room and my roommate has a cereal box with Disney characters on it.  From Disney band aids, to clothes, to stuffed animals, it is hard to think of a product that doesn’t have a Disney themed version.