Response to “The Disneyfication of Children’s Culture” by Henry A. Giroux

While reading this piece, I was exposed to a new phrase, “children’s culture,” something I had never heard of or thought about before.  Children’s culture, which can play a large role in the development of a child, is something that is truly overlooked, and something that many people either forget or just don’t believe exists.  After all, children do grow up, and many turn into adults that are very different from how they were as children.

Both of my parents have PhD’s, and were university professors at different points in their careers, so I grew up being taught to look at everything with a critical eye.  They also encourage my brother and I to look at different issues from a variety of angles before making informed decisions about something.  Despite all of this, I don’t ever remember either of them explaining to us how sexist or racist Disney movies, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs or Aladdin really were.  They didn’t tell us that while it might be ok to watch the movies, we should be aware of some of the really messed up parts of these films.  It is especially interesting considering that both of my parents are fairly liberal, and would not endorse the conservative America that Walt Disney loved so much and tried to portray in many of his films.  Whether they did not realize these undertones, or did not see the harm in letting my brother and I watch these films, I am not sure.  But, as Giroux is trying to explain in his piece, there are some not so subtle messages being portrayed over and over again in Disney films, and it is something that should no longer be taken lightly.

To be honest, I also did not pay much attention to how sexist or racist some of the classic Disney films were.  Giroux’s point that the female characters in The Lion King are always “subordinate to males and define their sense of power and desire almost exclusively in terms of dominant male narratives” hit me in an unexpected way.  Even though The Lion King was always one of my favorite movies, and I have seen it many times, I never thought twice about the fact that the only characters with power in the film were male.  Or that Aladdin, the good guy, basically had the characteristics and voice of a white person, except for the fact his skin is a little (just a little) bit darker than that of a white person.  It’s interesting to think of all of the subtle undertones I will begin to see as I rewatch Disney films with a critical eye.