Why We Poke Shit at Disney

We’ve all seen the media's take on our once beloved tales...

http://hellogiggles.com/heres-disney-princesses-look-like-wore-realistic-makeup/

https://youtu.be/eT2R3E7vDUc 

https://youtu.be/ct-CdyT4HkM

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/20/arts/banksy-dismaland-art-exhibition/

https://youtu.be/diU70KshcjA

Do you laugh at this? Does it make you angry? Can you commiserate? Can you relate to any of it?

Are we roasting Disney or Burning it? Why do we hate it so much? Or do we…?

Has anyone else questioned any of this?

I have, and I think I know the answer!

Storytime!

About a year ago, after many months and countless hours of pouring my innermost frustrations into the keyboard of my computer and clawing and prying into my brain in a desperate attempt to turn my jungle of conflicting paradoxical thoughts into something relatable and interesting, I wrote a single paragraph on a small sheet of paper and I left it be. The paper read…

The paragraph sounds a bit like a less-than-happy fairy tale, a theme I had been playing with quite a bit in the months past. I didn’t really see much potential in it right away.

I was standing in the shower later that day when it hit me. Not only HAD I written a fairy tale, but it was a fairy tale that already existed as a very well-known classic. More specifically, a Disney movie, only I had written it in REVERSE! *gasp*

Denver, we have a novel! 

But I digress. I’ll drop the shameless self-promotion for now and <NOT> plug my book just yet to focus in the subject at hand. 

Why did I do write the synopsis to a Disney movie that day and why did I write in in reverse? Did I do it on purpose? What does it mean?

It’s a known fact that artists of all kinds create from what they know. Painters, sculptors, writers, photographers, musicians, etc… ALL of us create from what is familiar. What we love or hate, enjoy or despise, memories or dreams, aspirations or regrets. Whatever makes us feel STRONGLY.

So why Disney?

Keep in mind that the generation that has the most influence in the media scene right now is part of the tail end of Generation X to the beginning of the Millennial Generation. We were the first generation to grow up with VHS and the first to have the capability to binge watch videos 7000 times.

And what videos did we have? Eh... mostly just Disney videos in those fabulous puffy cases.

We’d watch this crap after school, at our friend’s houses on the weekends, and with our siblings whenever it was too cold to play outside. Each sick day home from school was spent watching 101 Dalmatians followed by The Little Mermaid and then maybe some DuckTales on regular TV if we weren’t passed out by then. 

We had toys, books, dolls, cassette tapes, and stuffed animals modeled after our favorite Disney Characters. We cuddled with Simba and made Ariel fight with Barbie. We LOVED this shit!

So why do we pick on it now? Why do we poke shit at Disney? 

What did Disney ever do to us besides entertain us and lull us to sleep with the everfamous sound of...

Seriously though, if you've never played this clip for a room full of 4 year olds I highly recommend it. It's like a dog whistle for toddlers. Stand to attention, please! 

Exciting our tiny minds and sparking our interests while occasionally providing us with ill informed messages like "be pretty so a man will love you don't forget to change everything about yourself for him. Oh, and don't write out any kind of explanation to him because men don't like it when girls are smart...even though you are clearly able and literate as you so beautifully demonstrated while signing that contract when the evil sea witch took your voice..."

So....do we secretly still love this Disney crap and are in denial? Are we just looking for a more mature and creative way to relive our childhoods? Do we finally see the gaps and inconsistencies and terrible messages some of these movies put forth?

The answer is… ALL OF THE ABOVE. The psychological explanations behind the Alternative Disney ReCraze are not entirely important. The fact is that we KNOW it, we once LOVED it, and whether or not any of the themes and ideas in Disney movies transfer to any aspect of everyday adult life, there’s no denying that we can RELATE to it.

So whether you love or hate the fact that the entertainment world can so easily and enjoyably rip apart, diss, recreate, overanalyze, or psychoanalyze the beloved works of Walt Disney, it’s really all just good nostalgic fun, so sit back and ENJOY a slice of your childhood as it’s shown to you in a completely new and fucked up manner…. Because it’s awesome and you know it!