Nazi Disney

I very much enjoyed Dorfman’s perspective on the Disney phenomena from a cultural perspective.  We all grew up on Disney so we become desensitized to the fact that Walt Disney was far more than “merely a business man” (110).  History does not hide Walt Disney’s political views and the fact that he was an avid supporter of the Hitler and the Nazi movement, yet that reality is consistently brushed under the matt. If one is able to strip away the cuteness factor from Disney films there are distinct ideological consistencies prevalent in almost every film, such as unrealistic portrayals of gender roles.

Disney perfected what Hitler aspired to do with the use of film and media in regards to promoted ideologies. In Nazi Germany, Hitler relied heavily on media propaganda to help spread his ideologies. He placed great emphasis on the power of film as it related to cultural perception. Disney took that model and mindset and applied it to promoting ideologies to children.

“Disney has been exalted as the inviolable common cultural heritage of contemporary man; his characters have been incorporated into every home… they constitute a little less than a social environment inviting us all to join the great universal Disney family…” (110).

In Hitler’s time of power, he presented a similar ideology of the perfect society in Nazi Germany. Much like in Disney’s work, Hitler used film and art to inspire community and patriotism. Furthermore, both Disney films and the parks themselves promote an unobtainable interpretation of what reality “should be.” However, Dorfman brings up the point that despite all of the apparent ideologies Disney consistently promotes, his legacy is engrained in our culture and therefore to say “anything against Walt [Disney] is to undermine the happy and innocent palace of childhood, for which he is both guardian and guide” (110).

I find it almost unfathomable that we as a society still see Walt Disney as somewhat of a guardian of childhood dreams. I think Dorfman’s instructions on expelling someone from the Disneyland Club is genius; sometimes the only way to get someone to see the truth is smack them in the face with the facts. If someone is a diehard Disney fan, “ACCUSE HIM [or her] OF REPEATEDLY OF TRYING TO BRAINWASH CHILDREN WITH THE DOCTRINE OF COLORLESSNESS SOCIAL RACISM, IMPOSED BY POLITICAL COMPARISON.”

The best example of taking a stand against Disneyfication through calling attention to Walt Disney’s Nazi affiliation is from an old Family Guy episode. The clip can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAcIzPmOhBQ