FREE ESSAY ON DISNEY'S EFFECT ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE

DISNEY'S EFFECT ON SOCIETY AND CULTURE

Team Rodent
For nearly seven decades Corporate Disney has dazzled its audiences; generation after
generation have been entertained through avenues ranging from movies to elaborate theme
parks. While many find this massive establishment to be a significant part of American
culture and welcome the Disney spirit with open arms, one man in particular looks past
the hype and into his own theory of the Disney Corporation. Carl Hiaasen, a journalist
for the Miami Herald, paints a witty and sarcastic portrait in this nonfiction account of
a company. Hiaasen critizises the company for manifesting evil, enveloping perfection to
a sickening extent, and who's sole purpose is to inhale as much money as feasibly
possible.
The book opens with Times Square-an area home to many things: MTV, Morgan Stanley, the
worlds largest Mariot Hotel, the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, and Peep Land, as
well as the glittering new Disney Store. Hiaasen provides an interesting perspective,
claiming Disney is out to "vanquish sleaze in its unholiest fountainhead, Times
Square."(2) While to some this intrusion of the new Disney Store is obtrusive, to many it
is the beginning of a turn around for this otherwise less than clean, corrupt area within
our society called Times Square. Hiaasen continues his bleak opinion of the company by
claiming, "Disney is so good at being good that it manifests an evil…" (37) Carl
Hiaasen is searching in every avenue possible to find fault in the impressive empire.
Manifesting his own conceptual evil from within the company.
In the same way that Hiaasen criticizes good versus evil, or the conglomeration of the
two, he also condemns the way Disney envelops perfection. He writes,
…so uniformly efficient and courteous, so dependably clean and conscientious, so
unfailingly entertaining that it's unreal, and therefore is an agent of pure wickedness.
Imagine promoting a universe in which raw Nature doesn't fit because it doesn't measure
up; isn't safe enough, accessible enough, predictable enough for company standards.
Disney isn't in the business of exploiting nature so much as striving to improve upon it,
constantly fine tuning God's work. (37)
The interesting thing here is that these days not too many corporations are criticized
for striving too high. Furthermore, wanting to improve on God's work is a charge that has
been made against art and artists throughout history.
Hiaasen also claims that Disney will likely soon devour the world; the very same way it
has devoured this country, beginning with the children. Yet, targeting the youth of the
world is a very popular and obviously effective marketing tool, used by many
corporations. Hiaasen says, "snag the children and everybody else follows-parents,
politicians even the press."(10) Well what's wrong with that? That's how the marketing
world works. Hiaasen continues his accusations by claiming Disney to be "a money-grubbing
corporation."(12) Larry Peterson, publisher for the FSCC, responds by saying, "No kidding
Carl [Hiaasen]! But a money-grubbing corporation is not an outrage; it is a redundancy.
That's what corporations do." 
Peterson continues by claiming that "Hiaasen follows a kind of faux 'investigative'
pattern throughout the book, slamming the corporation for being too good, too successful,
then posing as the all-to-human curmudgeon." Hiaasen is acting very much like a
wet-blanket. He is whining while using an arrogantly sophisticated vocabulary about
anything and everything possible. One could never be too good or too successful, a person
must always strive for excellence. Success is the name of the game and the Disney
Corporation has won. 
Peterson also claim "Hiaasen has hit one of America's raw nerves with his new book." This
is most definitely true. Disney has been as much a part of American culture for the past
seven decades as a summer barbeque, or the World Series. It gets inside of a person
whether in a negative way or more commonly than not in an extremely positive manner. 
In conclusion, Disney does not "devour the world. Disney may have swept America of her
feet seven decades ago but as individuals in society, we have a choice to turn away from
Disney, eyes wide shut, complaining about yet another "issue." On the other hand people
can turn towards Disney, eyes wide open, allowing a smile to envelop our faces.