A Day in the Life

Today, our class took the first step in the post-AP exam world. And although past events are no indication of future probabilities, the home stretch promises to be a wild and invigorating ride. First period opened today with the whimper of cautious peer to peer term paper advice and ended with the roar of gold coins jingling in the pockets of Disney executives and the innocent squeals of children as they are brainwashed by corporate America. Indeed, today may have been the first time in history that staying in school was more fun than going to a theme park. Yes, those theme parks. The same ones that millions of young American families flock to after the insidious themes and images of animated fairy tales are firmly instilled in their minds. Which brings us to the subject of today's discussion.



DISNEY! This evil conglomerate appears harmless and even trustworthy to the untrained eye, but a determined intellectual look allows us to see past the corporate mask and into the not so wonderful world of sexism, racism, and ruthless capitalism. If this formidable array of -isms overwhelms you, that is quite normal. This very morning, our class received a sort of "Disney enlightenment" that had a profound effect on everyone present. Some members of our class were resistant to change and offered counterexamples to the theory of Disney iniquitousness. Just like Beauty's initial attempts to change the Beast, however, they were rebuffed time after time right up until the bell sounded. The following is a sampling of Disney movies suggested as counterexamples and a brief explanation of their sin(s).



Peter Pan- Tinker Bell is a stereotypically vain woman, and Wendy is an idealized domestic mother figure. Sexist ideas which attempt to marginalize women and keep them in their places permeate the film.



Mulan- The movie whose poster hangs ominously from our classroom's ceiling modifies a Chinese legend and transforms it into a sexist tale in which the heroine is made weak and does not achieve final victory over the dragon.



Little Mermaid- The mermaid is the archetypal damsel in distress that has to be rescued by a heroic prince, and she has to give up everything to be with her lover. Just as Beauty and the Beast does, the film gives women misguided ideas about their relationships with men.



Aida Musical- While only produced by Disney, this musical presents racist stereotypes of the Middle East that are unsuitable for today's racially charged society. While the musical seems like an innocuous choice for our high school production, it leads to a slippery slope. Next year, for example, someone might use Islam and terrorism in the same sentence. The year after that, we're looking at the possibility of metal detectors. Just something to think about.



Hopefully, our in-depth discussion of animated films is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope that we can extend our topic area to include all corporations, with the notable exceptions of Apple and Whole Foods. Classmates of AP English III, unite! We have nothing to lose but our ignorance to the innate wickedness of corporations.