Eco and Dorfman
“Disney has been exalted as the inviolable common cultural heritage of contemporary man; his characters have been incorporated into every home, they hang on every wall, they decorate objects of every kind; they constitute a little less than a social environment inviting us all to join the great universal Disney family.... Disney is the great supranational bridge which all human beings may communicate with each other” (Dorfman, 110)
Though Dorfman wrote this quote in a cynical way, this is actually how I’ve thought about Disney in the past. Disney has always been a part of my life; I can’t think of a time in my life where Disney was around or I didn't think about a Disney property. As an avid Disney fan, Dorfman’s thoughts hurt to read a little bit. But as Disney grows bigger and bigger (almost a monopoly on itself), It is scary to think how big Disney has gotten. They own many cultural landmarks that mass audiences love, like star wars, marvel, Pixar, and the muppets. Lyotard talks about “meta-narratives” in his writings. In essence, I think Disney has made itself a meta-narrative
Last year, I asked my grandmother at one point what it was like to grow up without Disney. I’ve thought about it several times and about how Disney saturates many children's lives. I could not separate my own childhood from Disney because Disney (the parks, the films, the merchandise) was and IS an important part of my life. My grandmother said that it was just normal for her, no thoughts of Disney needed. However, my grandmother is now an avid Disney fan. Though she grew up away from Disney’s meta-narrative, she loves it now. I do argue that, as Disney fans, people should be more critical of what they’re buying/ consuming. I think Disney does offer good to people, it’s finding the balance between the mega-corporation and the humanity behind it.
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