Disney documentary notes PDF

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• Mickey Mouse Monopoly! ◦ "Why is the dark people always doing bad things?"! • Disney is the merger of corporate power, entertainment, politics! • Part of childhood/american culture! • Disney has made a spectacle of innocence! ◦ Romance! ◦ Intimate form of fantasy! • Disney owns much of the media we consume! ◦ Presented w limited world view! ◦ Dominated by corporate interests! • Disneyworld is the first copyrighted urban environment in history! • We live in a media based system! ◦ Media makes us have certain belief systems! • Gender representations! ◦ Female! ‣ Highly sexualized female body! ‣ Even have seductive female animals! ‣ What should a girl look like?! • children don't make comparisons about what they see in the movies vs in real life! ‣ seductress (i.e. jasmine)! • Gives young girls the idea that thats how you get what you want! • Use your body to manipulate people! ‣ Women need to be rescued by a male no matter what! ‣ The little mermaid! • Gives up the voice, all she has left to get the man is her body! ‣ Mulan! • Independent female! • Goes home after the war and everything the same as if nothing happened! ‣ Beauty and the beast! • Belle is strong and powerful because she reads a book! • Beast is "frankly and horrifically abusive"! • Belle "excuses him" and "reinterprets his rage and abuse as temper"! • And then she falls in love w him! • Tells children to overlook abuse and violence bc there is a tender prince underneath and you need to kiss him to bring that out ! ◦ Male! ‣ Aggressor! ‣ The heroes! ‣ Strong! • Racism/"The Others"! ◦ "Indians" in Peter Pan! ◦ Scripts are written by real people, not Mickey Mouse! ‣ They internalize the society they grew up in! ◦ Character playing the "Latino" does things you shouldn't do! ‣ Usually characterized as chihuahuas ! ‣ "Whats this thing with latinos being dogs"! ◦ "Black" characters ! ‣ doing jive/hip hop/break dancing! ‣ Slurred speech pattern!

‣ Crows, orangutans, gorillas! • Just want to be like humans! ‣ Tarzan! • Black people eliminated in Africa and their presence ! • White man in Africa who's superior! • Black children relate to the gorillas! ‣ The hyenas in lion king! • "Inner city minorities" - particularly black people! • The sound of the hyenas related to the sound/image of black children playing! ◦ Asian! ‣ Siamese cats in lady and the tramp! • Sterotypical again features! • Heavy accent! • Depicted as cunning, sneaky, sinister, and manipulative! ‣ Comparing cats to Mulan! • Improvement! ‣ China is portrayed as the most sexist and oppressive society ! • Women should follow mens orders instead of standing up/speaking their minds! ◦ Middle East! ‣ Aladdin! • Arabian nights! ◦ Two versions of the song were written but chose the raicist one! ◦ song lyrics are racist! ◦ "Its barbaric, but hey its home"! ◦ Merchants portrayed as mischievous and brutal, try to chop of jasmine's hand! ‣ Islam doesn't teach that! • Should feed the hungry! ◦ "Its racist, but hey, its Disney"! ◦ "Indians"/Natives! ‣ Cross legged! ‣ Saying "ugh"! ‣ Doing the hand over the mouth "woo woo woo" thing! ‣ Disney rewrites history in a way that eliminates the most controversial/political conflicts! • Pocahontas ! ◦ john smith and her were never a thing! ◦ Pocahontas ! ‣ We want to deny our history of genocide, our own American holocaust, erasing almost a whole race of people! • Want to show that we got along w the natives! • Native woman and European man falling in love! ◦ Peaceful joining of two worlds! ‣ Propaganda ! ‣ "Savages" song! • Savages, savages, barely even human! • Commercializing children culture! ◦ Market toys to children through movies, tv shows, video games! ◦ Playing comes natural to children! ‣ By telling the child how to play, you're depriving the child of whats necessary for their

development! ‣ "Kids, when u play, you're supposed to replicate the movie, heres toys to help u"! • Do we want to live in a society where seven global corporations control our culture! ! ! !...