Walt Disney

I was never a big Disney fan. I always felt that most of the movies (and products) represented patriarchal views; very white patriarchal views. I could never help but wonder, “Where are the mothers? Why don’t the bad-guys have color?” The female characters are either unrealistically beautiful or unbelievably mean bitches out to get everybody. The good characters have bright colors on while the evil-doers are dark and dreary. I have a hard time watching my niece dress-up like Cinderella as both her mother and my mother watch gleefully.
I will say that Walt Disney was a remarkable man. He took the idea of the American Dream and ran with it! He did not start off rich nor was he a city slicker hot-shot. He was just a regular guy with an amazing talent. Not only did he build an empire on entertainment for children of all ages, but he basically convinced the parents of Middle America that their parenting skills were not going to destroy them.
What I find most interesting is that the public picture houses were frowned upon. They were considered dirty and crowded and could spread infectious disease. They were also “…concerned about controlling the moral and behavioral effects of movies upon the poor and ignorant, particularly children,” (page 39 Babes in Tomorrowland). The Puritans wanted to close the playhouses for the same reasons in the early 1600s. They feared they were corruptive. City administrators of that time were bothered by the fact that anyone could go, including the poor. Doesn’t that sound familiar?
I do have to get off my high pessimistic horse right now and say that I really did like Disney World. I took myself away from the characters and outside the plots of the movies and was transported to a place that was extremely culturally diverse. Not only were the employees from all over the world, but the patrons were from all walks of life. Here we were, all together enjoying the same thing for similar reasons. It truly was an amazing experience to see the vision of one man through the eyes of my eleven-year-old son.
It is still a disappointment to see my niece walk around in those outfits when she could be learning how to fish and use tools like I did when I was a kid. I roll my eyes as she tries to get one of my nine nephews or one of my three sons to be her Prince Charming. All is not lost. The boys would much rather be WWF wrestlers than saving damsels in distress!