I found Thursday's past class very interesting in the aspect of when we were talking about Disney and how it "is hard to enjoy it now that we are CMC majors." I find this to be a ridiculous statement. Disney's idea is all about "imagination" and we are imagining that we live in this perfect world. Everyone knows that it is not like that because in the real world there is violence, racism, and social hierarchy. Disney masks all of those, and everyone is made equal. Money doesn't matter. The rich and the poor are treated the same, as they all have to wait in the same line for the same enjoyment. I go a few times a month, because i enjoy the idea of escaping the reality of the real world. I do not find it to be a negative thing. It brings us past memories from when i was a child, and the last thing that i am thinking about when i am there is looking at Disney through a Critical Lens, but rather enjoying my surrounds, and not criticizing this world, that is changing the world.
As far as Disney movies i feel the same way. I think that looking at them through a CMC lens, ruins them, and i don't understand why we need to be so negative. We all have great memories, and no matter how much i learn about the so called negatives, i will always look positively at Disney and support everything from the movies, to its a small world.
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| The World Famous, and Beloved |
I can understand where you are coming from. However, I do not think that Thursday's class was bashing Disney or its movies and theme parks in any way, I think it was challenging us to see Disney in a different light. I think that when you declare your major as Critical Media and Cultural Studies you know what you are getting into; it does change and challenge the way we view society and the media because of how we are taught to critically analyze things. You are right though, sometimes it does take the "fun" out things because we notice aspects that we didn't before. For me, I will never be able to read a magazine the same way again after learning all about photoshopped advertisements and critically analyzing them in CMC 100 and 200. Tying this back to Disney and what Jenkins theorizes, he believes that Disney performs propaganda, but he does highlight Disney's uniqueness. That uniqueness could be seen as something positive, just like you said Disney allows poor and rich to experience the same magical world. Finally, one thing I do agree with you on is when it comes to the "It's A Small World" ride I viewed it as a ride in which all cultures and races of the world come together and live happily together - although I know its unrealistic- it was nice to retreat from reality for 5 minutes and think it was possible. Until Thursday's class I had never viewed the ride as creepy, so the next time I ride it I will unfortunately view it differently- especially after learning about how they cut the hair off of the characters in the ride because it grows naturally due to humidity. I think I could have gone the rest of my life without knowing that!
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