Giroux, Mickey Mouse, and Capt. Crunch

Giroux’s article puts into prospective the immense power behind mass marketing and communications. The sad fact is that Disney uses this powerful tool for the pursuit of power and money, which may or may not be a societal virtue. However, he fails in his writing to reveal the power which mass marketing and demographics have in the classroom. The intrinsic value of “hip” is something that cannot be calculated because it is both post modern and primitive. The idea of objects and media being at face value, more in demand and precious than something similar is a very modern and complicated concept. However the idea of uniting many people under an icon be it religion, a flag or a tag on the back of some jeans, is something we have seen over and over since the dawn of human history. It is in our most basic instincts to come together around something that represents all that we stand for. The seductive power of these icons is something that can be used for the creation of a more enlightened and aware society. However, the survival instinct turns people on each other. Disney will look for money any way it can. I don’t really think this is outside their rights. But fortunately the more money they make, the more market research they do. This is an incredible tool because it allows people without the funds or the time to do this to figure out how to more adequately identify with the most open and malleable of our society. Ads aren’t ruining our children’s capacity to think, they are communicating with them in a language and a dialect that is their own. This is why kids can rattle off more than 200 brands at any given time. The ad agencies speak to children in a way that is easily digestible and strangely familiar. When the power of this approach is fully harnessed elsewhere in society, for purposes unrelated to presenting ideals or products, we have the power to move people to greatness.