The Oppressive Nature of the Disney Conglomerate
By Feliz Moreno
America has something of a love-hate relationship with the Disney company. In terms of revenue, the company is the largest media conglomerate in the world and has its fingers in just about every realm of entertainment with ESPN, ABC family, Touchstone pictures, Hollywood records, The History Channel, at least 27 radio stations, US Weekly and 14 theme parks around the world, just to name a few.
With that amount of ownership over the American media networks, nobody can debate that Disney has a huge impact on social trends in the United States. This might help explain why when Disney decided to package nine of its leading female animations under the name "Disney Princess'" there was a huge demand for crowns and the color pink among the most recent generation of little girls as Peggy Orenstein indignantly points out in a recent New York Times article.
Disney's princess movies perpetuate the traditional "damsel in distress and waiting for her prince" plot-line, maintaining adherence to an-out-of-fashion, 1950s era, idea of the relationship between men and women. Sure, many of these princess tales were based on the stories first published by the Brothers Grimm, but not all of them were. The story of Pocahontas was taken straight from history books — except the part where she is taken captive, stripped of her culture and renamed Rebecca.
Not only are Disney movies reminiscent of ‘50s era sexism, but they are undoubtedly racist as well.
In the Cracked.com article titled "The 9 Most Racist Disney Characters," the author points out that Aladdin makes the Middle East look like a lawless land of hell. The crows in Dumbo act stereotypically black, and the leader of the crows is named Jim Crow — how much more racist can it get?
Oh, it can get more racist, just watch the Peter Pan number "What makes the Red man Red?" for a well-adjusted perspective on Native Americans.
I am well aware that all of these movies were released in a time when the general acceptance of foreign cultures was not something the U.S. strived for, but the problem is that little kids still watch these movies. Since they are directed at young children, they become an early form of socialization for later generations, making it difficult for us to get away from these demeaning stereotypes.
The company has also been found to be one of the biggest violators of proper working conditions in the Southern Chinese sweatshops that produce their toys and clothing products. According to a study reported by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, Disney consistently failed to notify workers of the rights they were entitled to in the workplace and consistently underpaid their primarily migrant-female workforce.
All of this on top of the fact that the Disneyland park itself is as well-known for its extensively long lines to board rides, overcrowding and over-priced merchandise and food, as it is known for being "The Happiest Place on Earth." I think Disney has successfully pulled off the largest marketing scam in American history — selling happiness built on the backs of laborers and minorities for 90 bucks a pop.
Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.