Controversial Disney Topics for a Paper

[~Kik-Kik~]

I don't know that an English professor would consider the mom thing controversial.

There is actaully a very good reason the moms are so unfortunate in the Disney movies. AS others have stated Disney movies are often based on classic fairy tales. In the times when these tails were written, motherhood was considered a sacred institution. It was also belived that a woman who became a stepmother could not possibly love or care for her stepchildren the same way their biological mother would. There was an almost, "how dare she usurp the mother's place" attitude. That is where the wicked stepmother comes in. Because this is a patriarchal society, men were not seen as being able to do these kinds of things, but a woman who dared to take the mother's place was. You will also notice that there is little to no mention of fathers in any of these stories either.

This brings me to the second reason: normal, well adjusted young people don't have adventures. That is why in the literary world, so many of our heroes come from broken families. The family dynamics help to provide a catalyst for the stories. So while an interesting topic, that would be more along the lines of looking at genre stereotypes than an actual controversy.

ding ding ding WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Finally someone else sees these things are not all that controversial, just based on the tales.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Not really controversial, but I did a paper on "Feminism in Disney Music: From 'Someday My Prince Will Come' to 'I Won't Say I'm In Love.'"

It was interesting research, especially Walt's opinions and quotes regarding the growth in the female characters from Snow White to Cinderella alone (there's a quote from him that states where Snow was a very young vulnerable girl, Cinderella made her own story by going to the ball and getting her prince). By today's standards, Cinderella is really a weak character who happened to luck out with a Fairy Godmother. Especially when you compare her to the more current Heroines such as Jasmine, Belle or Esmeralda.

 

[SAHDad]

ding ding ding WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Finally someone else sees these things are not all that controversial, just based on the tales.

Ah, but the allegation that Disney films are sexist etc is controversial - and therefore a valid topic, per the initial request. Certainly not everyone would agree with it, but there are a lot of articles out there about the heteronormative nature of Disney films, the sexism of the princesses, etc.

Regarding the class structure - if you think about it, you could easily argue that the parks are inherently classist. Unless you are very close to a Disney park, if your family income is too far below the average income for the country, the odds are great that you will not visit the parks. (I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of ways to do Disney without spending a lot of money, but I suspect that if you polled the guests, you would find that the average income is higher than the natrional average).

Realistically, I'd bet that most English papers (and history, for that matter ) are going to be mainly opinion and bunk, choosing facts and research which support the authors preferences and downplay any contradiction. (Thus, the saying when I was in college - if you can't dazzle them with design, baffle them with ********.)

 

[LukenDC]

I don't know that an English professor would consider the mom thing controversial.

An English professor would probably love the anti-Mom angle because it ties in with the absence of mothers in classic Gothic lit, a subject of many papers and journal articles in English and literature.

 

[LukenDC]

How about Disney films and parks as American cultural imperialism? Most of the material in the early Disney films was taken from European fairy tales and cleaned up for an American audience. There were many protests against Disneyland Paris when it was being built. All over the world, cultural and government leaders have expressed concern that their native culture is being displaced by a slickly packaged American icon whose ultimate goal is to sell merchandise and earn money for Disney shareholders.

A counterpoint to these accusations is that everyone has the right to be a consumer of culture and to decide how to spend their time and money. If someone does not care for Disney, then they need not bother with it but other people should have the choice to partake in Disney culture and products.

 

[spacemountain]

Not really controversial, but I did a paper on "Feminism in Disney Music: From 'Someday My Prince Will Come' to 'I Won't Say I'm In Love.'"

It was interesting research, especially Walt's opinions and quotes regarding the growth in the female characters from Snow White to Cinderella alone (there's a quote from him that states where Snow was a very young vulnerable girl, Cinderella made her own story by going to the ball and getting her prince). By today's standards, Cinderella is really a weak character who happened to luck out with a Fairy Godmother. Especially when you compare her to the more current Heroines such as Jasmine, Belle or Esmeralda.

I like this idea Maybe to make it more controversial you can talk about it from the perspective of young girls idolizing these princesses and if the "older" or "newer" princesses are better role models for them?

 

[dare2dream]

I can't believe no one has suggested the first topic that popped into my mind.

Inferior wages at Disney. Why do CMs go on strike so much? Is the Disney College Program just a way to get cheap slave labor? After a friend completed her CP she wanted to stay with Disney. Unfortunately she could not afford to live on her salary with out the CP perks. The Dis has a CP board. I'm sure you could get some real life experiences there.

Good luck with your paper and let us know what topic you choose, how the research goes, and what your final grade is.

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

How about Disney and the impact to Orlando? Lots of controversy there.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

How about Disney films are antiMom. Bambi ~ Mom killed, Snow White Evil Step Mom, Ariel ~ No Mom, Jasmine~ No Mom, Cinderella Evil Step Mom, Belle~ no Mom, Lilo~ Dead Mom

Nemo, eaten mom.

 

[wdw4us2]

How about Disney and the impact to Orlando? Lots of controversy there.

I second this idea.

There is a great book that delves deeply into this subject that you can sometimes find in your local library: Florida's Disney World: Promises and Problems by Leonard E. Zehnder copyright 1975. I own a copy of this book and learned quite a bit about what went on behind the scenes and the problems encountered within a few years of WDW's opening.
Finding information on what has occurred since this is easily found in The Orlando Sentinel's archives.

 

[Disneyland Princess]

Thank you guys so much! There are so many ideas to look at now and I'm going back and forth between a few of them. I have until Friday to pick one so tonight I plan on doing some light research on some of the topics you guys have mentioned and see if I can find enough information to make a paper out of it. Ill let you know what I decide and if you have any other ideas let me know, so far these have been a lot better then internet searches! So many different ones to think about!

 

[Lisa_M]

I can't believe no one has suggested the first topic that popped into my mind.

Inferior wages at Disney. Why do CMs go on strike so much? Is the Disney College Program just a way to get cheap slave labor? After a friend completed her CP she wanted to stay with Disney. Unfortunately she could not afford to live on her salary with out the CP perks. The Dis has a CP board. I'm sure you could get some real life experiences there.

Good luck with your paper and let us know what topic you choose, how the research goes, and what your final grade is.

Most definitely an excellent topic. I know when I was there for CP, I couldn't even stay because my job assignment didn't give me enough hours to pay for my $77 a week housing to disney (I lived with 5 other girls), or I might have $5-$10 left over.

I think the ethics involved in these "internships" would be a wonderful topic to research. I'm not sure how much you find on it, but I bet it would be of interest to a college professor considering Disney recruits at colleges and probably at the OP's.

 

[LUCiD]

I can't believe no one's mentioned this yet, but what about the so-called subliminal messages in certain Disney movies? I, personally, believe that they're bogus and invented by people with really perverted minds.

 

[DawnCt1]

There were a lot of issues raised in the book by Peter and Rochelle Schweizer, "The Mouse Betrayed". A lot of it had to do with the criminal activity that was covered up by the WDW corp. It used to be that 911 calls never went any further than the Disney security Dept. The ownership of Hollywood Records and Miramax films. The book is a bit dated but it was timely when it was written in 1998. http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Mouse-Betrayed-Peter-Schweizer/dp/0895263874 I don't think its a surprise that pedophiles would find a way to get a job at WDW; Like Willy Sutton who said, "I rob banks because that's where the money is". Pedophiles go where there are children. I think that they do a better job of weeding them out than perhaps 10 years ago, but you may get a controversial paper out of that line of thought. The book is worth the used book price on Amazon of around $1. It makes an interesting read.

 

[~Kik-Kik~]

Ah, but the allegation that Disney films are sexist etc is controversial - and therefore a valid topic, per the initial request. Certainly not everyone would agree with it, but there are a lot of articles out there about the heteronormative nature of Disney films, the sexism of the princesses, etc.

Regarding the class structure - if you think about it, you could easily argue that the parks are inherently classist. Unless you are very close to a Disney park, if your family income is too far below the average income for the country, the odds are great that you will not visit the parks. (I'm not saying that there aren't plenty of ways to do Disney without spending a lot of money, but I suspect that if you polled the guests, you would find that the average income is higher than the natrional average).

Realistically, I'd bet that most English papers (and history, for that matter ) are going to be mainly opinion and bunk, choosing facts and research which support the authors preferences and downplay any contradiction. (Thus, the saying when I was in college - if you can't dazzle them with design, baffle them with ********.)

The allegations come from people who think Disney invented the characters or that they build the stories, so no, it's not a valid argument as the argument revolves around Disney making these stories, which they did not. Also, look at the movies from the 90's where the princesses saved the princesses? Is that pushing a feminist message on young impressionable minds?

 

[Cindy B]

I second this idea.

There is a great book that delves deeply into this subject that you can sometimes find in your local library: Florida's Disney World: Promises and Problems by Leonard E. Zehnder copyright 1975. I own a copy of this book and learned quite a bit about what went on behind the scenes and the problems encountered within a few years of WDW's opening.
Finding information on what has occurred since this is easily found in The Orlando Sentinel's archives.

Carl Hiassen actually wrote an Anti-Disney book as well. The title is Team Rodent : How Disney Devours the World .

Since Hiassen is a native Floridian, he gives an interesting perspective on pre Disney Florida and post Disney Florida.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

The wage thing is an interesting one. Like another poster, I was a CP (3x) and was planning on going full time. I was looking at apartments, and I realized that the wage did not keep pace with the cost of living. I would be struggling greatly to make ends meet. My dream is to end up there one day, teaching full time and performing part time or seasonally. Actually, a lot of the people I worked with in Spectromagic do that because they love the job but can't afford just the job. God bless the full timers, I don't know how they do it.

 

[SAHDad]

The allegations come from people who think Disney invented the characters or that they build the stories, so no, it's not a valid argument as the argument revolves around Disney making these stories, which they did not. Also, look at the movies from the 90's where the princesses saved the princesses? Is that pushing a feminist message on young impressionable minds?

Yes, Disney did not invent Snow White, nor Cinderella, nor Lion King. But, Disney has also shown that they are not exactly strict followers of history or legend, so the argument that the interpretation of the original myth or any original Disney story is sexist would still be a valid one.

(For that matter, there is the controversy that Pixar is sexist, since they have as yet to have any lead female characters in a movie. THey have strong supporting female characters, but the first female lead in a Pixar film won't be until The Bear and The Bow.)

The original criteria was to aruge both sides - the allegation that Disney films are sexist is one which can be argued from both sides. (It might be easier to expand the field to include all Disney/Touchstone/Miramax/Pixar, but that's beside the point.)

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

How about Walt Disneys testimony at the HUAC hearings. I believe he ratted out some who he believed were communists. Most people don't equate Walt with politics, and the McCarthy witch hunt was very facinating, IMO.

 

[D. Crockett]

The wage thing is an interesting one. Like another poster, I was a CP (3x) and was planning on going full time. I was looking at apartments, and I realized that the wage did not keep pace with the cost of living. I would be struggling greatly to make ends meet. My dream is to end up there one day, teaching full time and performing part time or seasonally. Actually, a lot of the people I worked with in Spectromagic do that because they love the job but can't afford just the job. God bless the full timers, I don't know how they do it.

That would be my pick for a topic. One one side you could argue that Disney doesn't pay wages to match the high cost of living for Central Fla. But on the other hand, you could argue that rents are out of control and should be adjusted to match wages in an area. That's a hot topic for me, and I've actually written the President (both former & current) regarding "greed-lords" shooting rents through the roof, and how there needs to be a rent-cap on what is charged per month in certain areas. What got me boiling on this was hearing the story of the woman in California who worked 60+ hours a week waiting tables (and did a good job), yet still couldn't even find an affordable efficiency apartment.

You could easily get a long paper out of this topic. Is it WDW being too cheap? or Landlords being too greedy?