Final blog

        So this is the final blog. There is a lot we have done this semester in Decoding Disney. Villainy and heroism, gender and racial equality are the major topics in the Disney Academia. Starting from the beginning of the semester, I enjoyed readings of Giroux and Haasen which presented unseen aspects of Disney for most of its consumers. Although I expected certain criticism of Disney, but the depth of research and the magnitude of Disney’s impact were out of my expectation.

        Disney is a power empire and it is getting stronger as we speak. It provides children entertainment which seems so pure and impeccable, but under close examination it is full of culture heritage that can be either beneficial or create prejudice in their opinions, claimed by majority of critics of Disney.

                                      

      Consumerism was also discussed in class. Being a major result of capitalistic society, critics argues that Disney is turning future generations of American into product of consumerism. This statement was interesting to me because it is hard to imagine any other life-styles besides consuming through money purchasing in society nowadays.

      We watched a series of Disney animation films ranging from the Beauty and the Beast to Frozen. The time lapse between these movies shows not only progression of Disney animation skills, but also of the ideologies that lie behind the movies. Racial equality, gender equality and ambiguity of villainy are certainly improvements presented in recent Disney films. It is hard to believe how much Disney improved in the past decades, and how much American society has been looking forward into diversity and equality.

       Disney is an enterprise that focuses on the interests of the majority. It is to their interest to maximize revenue by creating films that reinforces public opinions. As time passes, it is clear to see through Disney’s films that they follow the trend of society instead of breaking it. Its first South African princess film Moana, is a result of gradual equalization between races in US. Disney produces entertainment by creating a world of perfection and magic, will it gain as much success by challenging the currents of society? Definitely not. Disney is not the representation of righteousness, because neither is society. Everything in society is a mixed production of nature that consist unique characteristics.

        Equality is pursued by our society because we deem it a desirable quality; however, under different social structures people might have completely different opinions about equality. Some might argue that our democratic society is the best in the world, statistically speaking it certainly earns a lot of its fame; that is not saying it come without its own flaws.

                                  

           Disney has massive cultural power considering its impact toward children, and our course provided me with many information of it. Disney as a childhood memory might not seem so pure after all, but with a new layer of capitalism and social injustice. I appreciate all the scholars’ efforts in claiming their opinions on Disney which can result in positive progress in society and raise awareness of the existence of this film giant, that seems to become part of our identity long ago.
         Some of the Giroux article can be find here.