Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Online Assignment #3_O'Brien

Erin O'Brien
Section 310

Mickey Mouse Monopoly was a documentary discussing the criticisms in which always seemingly positive and innocent Walt Disney films have had negative implications. In class we have been discussing the Five Perspectives on Media Effects that are the Magic Bullet, Two-Step Flow, Cultural Studies, Cultivated Research, and Agenda Setting effects. Of the five, the Magic Bullet, Cultural Studies, and Cultivated Research effects are of extreme takeaway from these children films.
            The Magic Bullet effect alludes to the idea that media effects are powerful, direct, and able to incite action on its audiences. Throughout the documentary it was not the experts who exhibited this effect, it was the commentary from the children themselves. Children were used to respond to a critique regarding how the Beast in Beauty and the Beast is physically and mentally abusive to Belle who, as the film goes on, forgives the Beast for his negative abuses. The children’s responses to questions regarding domestic violence and the allowance of abuse were directly correlated with what they had seen on screen. The children thought that it’s okay for men to abuse women as long as they eventually stop and can be forgiven. Jacqueline Maloney pointed out another direct and powerful effect from the Disney movie The Lion King. In the film, the hyenas, representing the enemy, had voiceovers done by African Americans who talked in ways that our society perceives inner-city children to talk. In an example, Maloney discussed how a family friend’s child was terrified at a mall because they overheard African American children talking and was convinced that the hyenas from the movie were a reality.
            This last example can be related to the effect of Cumulated Research as well. In class we discussed how impressions of the world could be cultivated through long-term media exposure as well as the fact that heavy viewer likely to believe that the real world is a dangerous place. Though not a severely extreme example, the story about media’s influence over the perception of African American voices serves a powerful one if it can inhibit fear among audiences in the outside world.
            The Cultural Studies effect was shown to be the most prominent seen throughout the Disney franchise. Dr. Henry Giroux goes into great detail and passion about how Disney has used its global renown and money to exhibit power over the commercialization of products and its influence over the entire news entertainment industry. He says that Disney is extremely political in the ways in which it legitimizes which news can be relayed, which products will be sold, and what content their films can instill on audiences. The content itself in these films as discussed by Gail Dives implements strong cultural stereotypes that further reinforce and give representation to people in society. These cultural representations are exemplified through the feminist portrayal of the leads in Snow White, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast. Dives give meaning and understanding of the creation of these cultural stereotypes by saying that scriptwriters are people present in society that hold their own cultural stereotypes that inadvertently make their way into the script; therefore further reinforcing and strengthening stereotypes already present in our society.

            I found this assignment very interesting because I myself am an avid lover of Disney classics. It was difficult though to uncover all of the negativity that comes through this positive idea of film and entertainment. Though I do agree that there are many unhealthy representations in these films, I support Dives in saying that they are not intentionally placed in these films. However from here on out, Disney should work to diminish these stereotypes as a more multicultural, and gender equal world is evolving.


  1. Erin, I completely agree with your ideas. I also am a huge fan of Disney’s films, and it is difficult for me to think about them in critical ways since they are such a dear part of my childhood. Until this assignment, I had not considered how Disney’s representations of different races, cultures, and women are extremely stereotypical and caused me to associate these ideas into my conceptions at such a young and vulnerable age. I also agree that Disney does not have mal-intentions when creating these films of portraying white, male, Americans as superior to other. I think this idea is hypercritical of Disney and gives too much consideration to the power stereotypes in mass media.
    On another note, I found it interesting that you mentioned the cultural studies effect when discussing Dr. Henry Giroux’s thoughts on how Disney’s global power structure exhibits power over the media industry. I think an application of the agenda setting perspective would be more supportive of your claim here. This perspective involves the concept that actual reality and the media’s realty affect each other and affect the public’s perception of reality. It seemed to me like Dr. Henry Giroux was more directly talking about how Disney’s power in the media system allows them to set the agenda of realty and ideologies in society like the distinctions between races and cultures and roles of men and women. Overall, great arguments and great use of support and quality evidence.

  2. Great job Erin! I think you really come up with some interesting points in your analysis, ones that I have not thought of before. I think your first example for the magic bullet is very effective and proves your point adequately. The second example you use, however, may also be seen as a cultural studies effect and could also be connected to that class concept. You then go on to relate cultivation research to the same example. I think realizing that three different course concepts can be pulled from the same example is important and also interesting at the same time because we get to see the example from multiple perspectives. When you do go on to talk about cultural studies, I think your examples you use here are great as well, and I used some of the same ones. FInally, I enjoyed that in your concluding paragraph that you say you are an avid lover of Disney and it is hard to hear about all of this negativity form such a positive thing we have grown up with. I think that is a very relevant claim, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. Great job overall!

  3. Erin, I believe you had some really good points in your analysis. I completely agree with the view of the children reacting to Beauty and the Beast. The way those kids were directly affected by the positive messages they were perceiving is exactly what the Magic Bullet perspective is saying. I think it’s also very scary to see how easy it is to trick young kids into believing things that they would normally perceive as bad as good. I thought this was especially interesting because I think that this was a pretty harming message for a young child to interpret incorrectly as it could be very bad for them later on in life. I also agree with the point of the poor feminist portrayals of female characters in Disney movies. I also used the example of these representations in my analysis like the way women are portrayed sexually in movies like Aladdin. I do think that the point of the African-American actors voicing the hyenas in the Lion King is actually more fitting in the Cultural Studies perspective only because the media is used in this perspective to delegitimize someone or something. The point is still correct and well written, just in the wrong spot. Overall I enjoyed your analysis and thought you had some great points.