A recent lecture by Hamid van Koten looked at Disneyfication and Disneyization. In general I found the background behind the creation of Disney very interesting. I also learnt that there is a Disney cruise ship and a town in Florida built by Disney called Celebration. If you live in Celebration you cannot have a camper van, you have to paint your house only one of the colours from the set colour palette, your lawn has to be kept at a specific length and you can only hang your washing out in your back garden on certain days of the week.
Disneyfication describes a global phenomenon that affects a whole range of things from retail to entertainment and travel. Disneyization refers to structural changes in society as exemplified by principles associated with the Disney themeparks.
The 5 principles are:
Merchandising: Branded souvenirs, gifts, toys, games etc (Mickey Mouse monopoly)
Theme: Importing ‘else-where’ and ‘else-when’ looks
Performative labour: Staff convey emotions as part of a job. For example set vocabulary has to be used by the staff at Disneyland The staff are also known as ‘cast members’, this seems a bit strange, being paid to behave in a specific manner.
Control + Surveillance: Applies to people, products and environments
Hybrid consumption: Bringing together retail and leisure
The main part of the lecture focused on the Disney movies and the hidden meanings behind some of the aspects of the films for example it was suggested that perhaps the movies are sexist as female characters are continuously rescued by a male characters for example in Sleeping Beauty. In this film Aurora is rescued by Prince Philip, he breaks the spell with a kiss. Again in Snow White and Cinderella, the male character rescues the female character. The women are to some extent portrayed to be quite pathetic and dependant on male characters. This could be interpreted to be sexist however I certainly don’t think it is offensive to women and I think it is simply a theme that is present in many films whether Disney created them or not.
The appearance of the leading female characters was also discussed, the women all have big breasts and a small waist and that this could have a negative affect on children who aspire to look like this when they are older. Similar to Barbie this unrealistic image of ‘beauty’ could add greater pressure to ‘how women should look’. I think how the women in the films look will have little affect on children watching them. I think its not until children get older that they start to want to look a certain way, I think this is more likely to be because of celebrities, models etc which are beautiful, successful and wealthy than films they watch as children.
Another film, which was mentioned, was Beauty and the Beast. Does Beauty and the Beast promote domestic violence? I understand why this could be suggested although I doubt that young children will grow up to be violent as a result of the film, as a child I don’t think I was affected by the film and I don’t think I would even of thought of such implications of Disney movies had they not been highlighted to me in this lecture. I can see the concerns that some people may have however I think children are more likely to be violent or alcoholics for example if their parents are, rather than as a cause of watching a Disney movie.
After the lecture I watched Bambi with my flat mate and was surprised that even though I have never watched the film in a very very long time I could of said most of the words before they were spoken, so may be the film is more influential than I think since it is actually a lot more memorable than I realized. Despite all the negative aspects of Disney that were highlighted in the lecture in Bambi children are encouraged to eat their greens, "Eating greens is a special treat, It makes long ears and great big feet. But it sure is awful stuff to eat" and it is also said that ‘if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all’ which teaches against bullying. Bambi is also told to respect his elders as they are very old and wise. On the other hand the female characters definitely chase the male characters and seem much more confident than the males. Feline the female deer, the female skunk and rabbit all blush, preen, giggle and flutter their eyelashes. The female characters to some extent appear to be over sexualized and quite pathetic. How the characters are portrayed are perhaps unrealistic and could potentially be offensive to some people if interpreted in a particular manner but I doubt children see this when they watch the films or are influenced by the negative hidden meanings within the films.
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