Disney and Discrimination

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Disney and Discrimination “When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.” Disney uses this slogan as well as many others to surround society with a world of happiness, where dreams come true and anything is possible. However, there are some of you who believe that this thought process is subliminal and Disney is therefore hiding certain race, gender, and sex issues. Now, you Disney fanatics may be thinking that Disney captivates, enthralls through song and animation; criticizing “questioning Disney is like questioning motherhood” (Snow whitey). Yet, as author Janet Wasko puts it: “There is the super fan, who doesn’t question Disney, and then there is the rejecter who wants nothing to do with Disney. The goal that you as the reader will hopefully attain, is to lie somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. Therefore all of you “happy go-lucky” Disney fans all the way down to the “negative nellies” of Disney, my hope is that you will gain a new bit of knowledge through this and open your mind to a variety of opinions. Let me first start of by saying, that although I myself may be one of those “happy go-lucky” Disney fans, this letter remains strictly unbiased. It is not my intention to persuade you to one side or to have you fall completely in love with the Disney Corporation; it is merely my goal to bring to you a source of new knowledge and insight into one of the largest corporations on the face of the planet. This is certainly true; Disney owns Capital Cities/ABC radio and television network, along with film and record companies, book publishing, newspapers, home videos, theme parks, magazines, hundreds of Disney retail stores, as well as a num... ... middle of paper ... ...e on society? Well, both sides have been laid out for you, so the only thing left to do is to decide whether or not you believe in the magic. Works Cited Carma, Matti and Lisosky, Joanne. “In search of sandbox dreams: Examining the decision-making of Disney’s female and male animated heroes.” Women and Language. Fall 1999: 66. Jackson, Kathy Merlock. “ Walt Disney: its persuasive products and cultural contexts.” Journal of Popular Film and Television. 1996: 24. Robertson, Gail. “Snow Whitey? Stereotyping in the Magical Kingdom.” Canadian Dimension. Winnipeg. 1998 Stuever, Hank. “America Loves to Hate the Mouse.” The Washington Post. Dec. 5, 2001, Final Edition: C.01 http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/disney. Accessed through AOL 19, February 2005. http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/ Accessed through AOL 18, February 2005.

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