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Critical Essay on Pinocchio
Disney's Pinocchio has been a long time favorite of American culture. However, time has changed and so has our culture. We are no longer described or categorized by being white, European, primarily heterosexual, Protestant, and bourgeois. I have to argue that that stereotype is still in effect. As times have changed so have our people and their values. Now, we are described as "The Melting Pot" of religions, race, sex, and class. Pinocchio was fitting for the culture of 1940 but as for now it not so appropriate. Industrialism, Capitalism, and the ruling bourgeoisie are the themes in this movie not only because they probably reflect Walt's own life but American life as well. Americans were thrust into the Capitalist ideal in the Post War years and I feel Pinocchio reflects that ideal.
After WWII Americans wanted to boost the economy. One of the ways of doing this was by propaganda. Pinocchio is a prime example of such propaganda. The economy was ghastly, buildings were flattened in Europe, and the process of "rebuilding" was daunting because Europe was demolished. In 1946 Pinocchio was playing in Europe but “no revenue was coming in due to the damaged economy,”(). The ideal was to be white, heterosexual, masculine, Protestant, bourgeois, young, and American as listed in the "Text Book" on page 186. To drive society into this ideal mass media was utilized. In Classical Marxist terms, "The mass media are a 'means of production', which in capitalist society are in ownership of the ruling class. According to this stance, the mass media functioned to produce 'false consciousness' in the working-classes," (
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...g and racism is looked upon as ignorant and politically incorrect. We no longer have separate water fountains and schools for whites or blacks, which is a great accomplishment, and we no longer find "No Irish Need Apply" signs hanging in employing restaurants. Pinocchio is a confirmation to the many changes that have taken place in today's society. Yet, if it were played now instead of then I know the film would never make it in the theatres. We have grown far beyond the ideals that Walt Disney portrayed in his Pinocchio movie and I am proud of that accomplishment. Instead of viewing the film with the innocent mind of a child unknowing and trusting I viewed the film as a scholar. I saw the film as abrasive and obviously its motive to me was full of propaganda to get our nation to work harder. It is a shame that our children had to be used to subject us to that model.
In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the United States government applied several forms of propaganda in order to receive support from the American citizens. Film, radio and government posters contained forms of propaganda that appealed to the emotions of American citizens. Quotes from President Franklin Roosevelt “Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger..” (Navarro) fueled the American citizen...
The overall appeal of the cinema to the masses was particularly evident during the interwar era. Audiences worldwide wanted to watch the variety of films, particularly American produced films, and they always went back. The visibly attractive and glamorous Hollywood movies often depicted the success of the underdog over unjust authority. Values of cash over culture were often a theme in the early American films and societies with restricted social mobility, such as those in Europe, could dream of such a triumph. The working class and unemployed could fantasise about wealth, fame and freedom which America as a country was portrayed as offering.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many saw alcohol as a cause of instability among communities. To counteract the effects of alcohol on American society, The Temperance Movement, Prohibition Party and many others sought to enact anti-liquor laws that would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. On January 19, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had taken effect and a nationwide ban on alcohol was enacted. This was thought of as a solution to the many problems that America had at the time, but it only made matters worse. The American society had been greatly affected by the Eighteenth Amendment in many negative aspects such as increasing crime and violence, worsening the economy, and much more.
Presently, Disney known for its mass media entertainment and amusement parks technically bring warm feelings to many children and some adults. Personally, Disney elicits magical fantasies that children enjoy and further encourages imagination and creativity. For decades Disney has exist as an unavoidable entity with its famous global sensation and reach. Furthermore, Disney is a multibillion dollar empire with an unlimited grasp on individuals and territories. An empire per se, since they own many media outlets, markets, shops, etc., you name it they got it. However, the film Mickey Mouse Monopoly presents an entirely new perspective on the presumed innocence projected in Disney films. This film exposes certain traits Disney employs and exclusively portrays through its media productions, specifically cartoons for directing and nurturing influence beginning with children. Mickey Mouse Monopoly points out camouflaged messages of class, race, and gender issues in Disney films that occur behind the scenes intended to sway viewers towards adopting Disney values.
Prohibition was designed to rid the country of businesses that manufactured, sold, and or distributed alcoholic beverages. The eighteenth amendment made it a violation of the constitution to do and of the before mentioned. This was a crime punishable up to the Supreme Court. The original idea was that Americans as a whole were unhealthy, there was too much crime and corruption, and that people were being burdened by excess taxes that poorhouses and prisons were creating. What happened? The cheap alcohol being illegally produced killed more Americans, crime and corruption went up, taxes were raised to fund the law enforcement needed to enforce prohibition, and the prisons became overcrowded.
Sixteen years after premiering as Disney’s thirty-third animated film, Pocahontas still incites excitement and wonder within those who wish for nothing more than to be a Disney princess. As Disney’s most notable attempt at political correctness, Pocahontas was created to entertain while attempting to maintain authenticity in regards to historical accuracy and in its fairness of depicting Native American culture. Jacquelyn Kilpatrick, the author of “Disney’s ‘Politically Correct’ Pocahontas”, feels the movie not only failed at being historically accurate but that it fell far short of being politically correct. The article, which appeared in the Fall, 1995 issue of Cineaste, contends the Disney production was duty bound in preserving the integrity of the Pocahontas legend and being both multiculturally and socially inoffensive. However, if being politically correct and constantly factual within any version of media made for entertainment were the standard, we would be left with documentaries and non-fiction. Artistic license allows for a literal account of events to become an engaging, accessible production.
“Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty, death rates, and improve both the economy, and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The prohibition amendment of the 1920's was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased liquor consumption, massive murder rates and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government wasn’t collecting taxes on the multi-billion dollar a year industry.
They then use those components as a framework to analyze the specific mechanisms that are causing this change. In this framework they include typology of categories, which is the agreed upon boundaries that divide society by race, and as the means to measure the growing heterogeneity in this category they use survey data’s to analyze the shift in typology over time. The survey data’s show which racial categories individuals identify with while filling out these surveys, and by analyzing these data’s the authors were able to find out that over time people started to check multiple boxes/categories while identifying with their race. Secondly, the authors used classification of individuals, which is grouping people based on shared attributes. This is when individuals become part of a group by having shared or similar attributes that other members of the group identify with. The authors turned to science in order to identify the changes in this category. It was seen that over time the genetic makeup of individuals in different groups started to change, this can be due to reasons like interatrial marriages which allow the offspring’s to identify with multiple racial & ethnic categories. Then the authors use the relative position of groups, which is the social hierarchy of groups
Prohibition made plethora of people furious at the government for passing the Eighteenth Amendment. Not only people were mad but also beer companies were mad. In this time of Prohibition citizens did not want to follow the governments laws. They wanted to drink alcohol. The citizens rebelled and they started buying it illegally. However, The Eighteenth Amendment did not directly state it was illegal to consume or have private possession Alcohol .
Fyne, Robert. The Hollywood propaganda of World War II. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994. Print.
For many years, the dispute concerning racism in Disney movies has been ongoing. Many people argue that Walt Disney himself was a racist; therefore the movies he created were filled with racial remarks. Ever since though Disney has evolved, racism is still present in its films to this day. Most of the animated cartoons deal with the idea that people of color are inferior, and also face problems that they do not really overcome in the end of the
Ideology is “a system of meaning that helps define and explain the world and that makes value judgments about that world.” (Croteau & Hoynes, 2014). According to Sturken (2001), the system of meaning is based on the use of language and images or representation. Therefore, media texts come along and select what is “normal” and what is “deviant” to the extent that this hegemony of constructed meanings in the viewer’s head becomes “common-sense” (Gramsci in Croteau & Hoynes, 2014). From this standpoint, what America claims to be pop culture which is omnipresent in media internationally, is a representation, through “politics of signification” of what is right or wrong (Kooijman, 2008). An example of America’s cultural ‘manifestation’ is Mean Girls,
For decades Disney has been the source of happy endings, fairytales, and family friendly stories for children of all ages. These stories range from realistic and familiar, to the eye-catching magical fairytale. The key to each of these stories are the happy endings brought about by each of the characters unique personalities and dreams. Disney’s films are attempted to provide children with the basic understanding of wrong versus right, but instead influences our society’s beliefs and awareness. Although Disney’s efforts to provide the basic morals to our children are misleading and affect our society strongly, they also contain the use of racism in a form which shows the major differences between characters. The once admired and well-known characters are seemed to be recognized by their species, ethnicity and even their social class. Disney films have taken out of context and have persuaded their viewers understanding of racial stereotyping, which is thoroughly explained in Henry Giroux and Grace Pollock’s novel, The Mouse that Roared. They bring awareness to the underlying racial stereotyping in Disney films, which deeply affect our societies understanding today. Giroux and Pollock bring into perception these admired and regularly watched films through precise examples and racist rendering of the specific characters species and ethnicities which strongly influence our society and lead children to intake these negative influences.
Pop culture outlets such as film and song can be used to push political agendas onto consumers. Most often we see music artist put in their two cents on global current events. For instance, Michael Jackson produced the song "Heal the World" during the Gulf War. In short, Jackson’s song is about making the world a better place and loving your neighbors, but this must start by loving yourself. This song made individuals appreciate what they had and altered their mindset. Another impactful way to present a message with the intention of impacting the way you perceive yourself is through film. In Yenerall study, he mentions how Walt Disney Productions was approached by the government to produce an animated propaganda short film that was anti-nazi. This film was entitled Education for Death. This was a very impactful title because of its implicit meaning, it made you anticipate what the film is about before watching it. The film more or less perceives the Nazi’s as brainwashed infidels, who have no morals what so ever and are raised to do horrible things. People saw this film and it influenced them in their political standing during this war. This film was created to bring nations together and fight a common enemy. Walt Disney was not only involved in making WWII short films but, also films that would encourage Americans to join the US Army and Navy (Yenerall pg. 98 - 2). Other well know anti-nazi / anti-fascist movies include: Casablanca, Julia and Pan’s Labyrinth. Film is a productive way of getting your political ideas to a wide range of people. All of these films, no matter what the message is, has a significant impact on how people perceive
Gender stereotyping has been ongoing throughout history. The media has been distorting views by representing gender unrealistically and inaccurately. It created an image of what "masculinity" or "femininity" should be like and this leads to the image being "naturalized" in a way (Gail and Humez 2014). The media also attempts to shape their viewers into something ‘desirable’ to the norm. This essay will focus on the negative impacts of gender-related media stereotypes by looking at the pressures the media sets on both women and men, and also considering the impacts on children.