Dorfman Post

In Dorfman and Mattelart's piece about Disney, they focus on the idea that this corporation, well really brand, has been completely capitalized all over the world. Going to school so close to the Orlando area, we definitely see proof of this - via advertisements, billboards, commercials, even buses and signs at the Orlando Airport; Disney's stories and characters are everywhere! Dorfman and Mattelart talk about how Disney goes after certain audiences to capitalize off of. For example, they create movies, shows, theme parks, etc for children, mainly younger children, however, the way they make their money is off of adults. These adults or parents are the ones who buy into Disney, wanting their kids to experience all it has to offer. Many times parents take their young children to Disney World and the parents end up getting more out of the costly trip because the children are too young to understand. Disney is not a reality, it is solely a fantasy, thus people try to escape to it to forget about all of the real aspects of their life - which in this case is mostly adults who bring their families there. As the authors state, the movies and shows that Disney creates try to set “a moral background which draws the child down the proper ethical and aesthetic path (111)." Some argue that they teach children positive life lessons. However, there is a ton of criticism today that states that many Disney fils are racist and highlight negative stereotypes and societal tropes. Over Fall Break I was babysitting and the little girl was so happy that her mom had finally gotten her the "The Little Mermaid" DVD to watch. I was surprised that she had never seen it or owned it before - the mom then preceded to tell me that Disney only releases classics out of "the vault" every few years - it amazed me. She paid almost seventy dollars just for the little mermaid dvd and it goes back into the vault in a few weeks, it's only out for a very short amount of time so people will rush to pay a ridiculous price to get it for their children to see. This whole vault concept was sickening to me and especially after reading this article it made me realize how much power Disney as a corporation has over our society - we all fall into their trap, me included.