The Disney Empire is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. What do they own? Besides the hearts of every little kid who would stand in line for hours just to take a picture with a man in a mouse suit (source: wikipedia):
- The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group
- ABC broadcast television network
- Cable television networks (Disney Channel, ESPN, ABC Family)
- 11 theme parks around the world
- much more
Now if this is not cultural imperialism, I don't know what else you would call it.
There is Disney everything, ranging from Disney toys to Disney clothing. Each and every product that they sell stamped and approved by Disney (except for the the Disney wannabe products that you can find in Chinatown for cheaper).
Their movies are sold all over the world and voices dubbed so Aladdin now sounds like a pubescent little boy in Guatemala. They even have food products, stamped with Disney.
"When the cartoon Popeye the Sailor Man emerged in the United States in the 1920s, sales of his signature food, spinach, rose by one-third. Today, Disney is hoping that Zac Efron can do the same for avocados. And Mickey Mouse for eggs. And Tinker Bell for corn on the cob" (source: Washington Post)
The title of this article by the Washington Post is called "A Hannah Montana Banana? Disney's Brand Goes Healthy." I literally laughed out loud after reading that. In order to up sales to the umpth degree, Disney will try anything and everything.
I'm not going to lie. I am a fan of Disney movies - the way they move hearts and can make a grown man cry intrigues me. But, when will the triumph subside? They want to take over the world. I know it. And why use children as bait? It's wrong.
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