Reading Response #1: Giroux's "Animating Youth" and "Shape Youth Identity"

After reading Giroux's "Animating Youth: The Disneyfication of Children's Culture," I was super on board with him anti-Disney sentiments.  I agree with Giroux that Disney movies have the ability to negatively impact children from a very young age, indoctrinating them with ideas of racism, sexism, and classism.  Some of his claims took the issue a little bit too far for me, like when he seemed to suggest that government regulation on many facets of Disney would be beneficial.  That being said, I felt that "How Disney Magic and the Corporate Media Shape Youth Identity in the Digital Age" had its merits but was overall a very extreme argument.  

While many scholarly arguments start off more mild and palatable, this one hit the ground running with some wildly aggressive claims.  One of these claims that struck me as far-fetched and beyond exaggerated was that the "massive multimedia corporations" shape children "every waking moment of children's daily lives."  While I definitely agree that these corporations have large impact on children, it is unreasonable to say that it is happening the entire day.  Additionally, had Giroux started out more mild, I may have been able to get on board with his ideas.  He must have so much credibility in this field that he was able to attack such a beloved company with so much force.

The most compelling part of Giroux's argument was when he addressed the marketing to very young children and continued with evidence against "baby DVDs" (that Disney demanded was redacted!!!!). Although three months old can be influenced, I was shocked to see that there is a $4.8 billion and expanding market just for marketing to infants as young as three months old.  Three month olds can't even talk or ask for a product, so this must just be considered a long term investment.  It still seems ridiculous to be that a company would target children that young.  Just let them be!  I also always thought that shows like "Baby Einstein" were educational and exposed young children to new scenes (or in the case of that show, new music).  I was shocked when I read that these sort of videos caused kids to have slower language development.  And then that Disney tried to get that study redacted?!?! Their basis that, "the study did not differentiate between brands" was relatively fair, but that just seems like an excuse.  

Later in the article, Giroux opened my eyes to products that I never would have thought existed to strengthen consumerism and materialism, like Club Penguin.  I always thought of Club Penguin as just a interactive game for kids to have fun on.  I understand his point, but wonder if that was a main intent of the game producers.

When Giroux claimed that the option in Disney stores for children to "customize their identities" is negative, all my doubts that had been festering throughout reading the article came together and I think he is taking his argument too far and making every single aspect of Disney's marketing strategy seem negative.  Giroux claimed that the customizable identities ultimately confine the imagination without explaining how it could possibly do that, so I was not able to understand his reasoning and it seemed very far-fetched.

My doubts continued onto the next page when Giroux asserted that, "self-expression is once again reduced to what a young person can afford to buy."  While some aspects of self-expression are tied to fashion, this is an example of a blanket, over-the-top statement that doesn't have enough basis to contribute to his argument.  Later in this paragraph, I became almost mad at Giroux when he bashed "retail therapy."  No one is ever in a place to judge what makes other people happy and calm and relaxed.  

I agree with Giroux that Disney has sacrificed some of its morality for profit, but it is also unreasonable to hold them to an incredibly high standard.  While Disney does deal with children, and thus it would be great if they followed a slightly stricter moral code, they are just a corporation trying to make a profit.  I disagree with Giroux that Disney has had the effect on consumerist values that he suggests it does.