After reading Ariel Dorfman and Mattelart's piece, I found many sociological concepts and similarities that made me think of my sociology of the family class that I am currently taking. One of the major concepts that we are beginning to unpack is the relationship between parent and child and the power constructs that are present. I never really thought before reading this work that these "fantasylands" and fictions stories that children immerse themselves in are completely constructed by adults and the ideologies and values directly reflect "the past and future utopia of the adult" (Dorfman 113).
It makes me think back to my childhood and recollect all of the children's fiction books I had read over and over again just to make them feel real in my life. Specifically, the Disney books were always a favorite in my younger years and contain some details and characters that I will never forget. The imaginating state of mind that I fell into while reading and seeing these picture books was magical. Nothing could come in between the image I could paint in my head from the words and the dreams that I would have of this fantasy world.
Looking back, it is crazy to see how even children at the youngest ages are affected by the same mass media techniques used on adults. Though children are the ones being the most heavily influenced, it just seems wrong to enforce values and discipline on them that parents are doing as well. Dorfman and Mattelart state, "The Disney world is sustained by rewards and punishments; it hides an iron hand with the velvet glove" (Dorfman 113). Just as parents raise their children on rewards and punishments to influence actions and consequences, so do the authors of these books. The adults writing these fiction books are creating a "desirable" type of child, one that is easily disciplined through the imagination. These authors inflict the same power relations that parents have on children, but by using their creative minds to do the work instead of constructive upbringing within the home. This.... creeps me out.
It makes me think back to my childhood and recollect all of the children's fiction books I had read over and over again just to make them feel real in my life. Specifically, the Disney books were always a favorite in my younger years and contain some details and characters that I will never forget. The imaginating state of mind that I fell into while reading and seeing these picture books was magical. Nothing could come in between the image I could paint in my head from the words and the dreams that I would have of this fantasy world. 
Looking back, it is crazy to see how even children at the youngest ages are affected by the same mass media techniques used on adults. Though children are the ones being the most heavily influenced, it just seems wrong to enforce values and discipline on them that parents are doing as well. Dorfman and Mattelart state, "The Disney world is sustained by rewards and punishments; it hides an iron hand with the velvet glove" (Dorfman 113). Just as parents raise their children on rewards and punishments to influence actions and consequences, so do the authors of these books. The adults writing these fiction books are creating a "desirable" type of child, one that is easily disciplined through the imagination. These authors inflict the same power relations that parents have on children, but by using their creative minds to do the work instead of constructive upbringing within the home. This.... creeps me out.
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