Big Daddy Disney!

I don't think I realized how much of an impact cartoons, movies, musical theatre and other media productions have had on me till now. In other words, I don't think I realized how much of an impact Walt Disney has had on me. Confused yet? Of course you are. I was the same way when I found out that almost every source of media I've consumed throughout my life, and that has influenced me has been the result of "Big Daddy's", the Walt Disney Company's upbringing all along.

I'll let you in on a summary of my upbringing with television. From the time I could start interpreting images and understanding words, I'd tell my mom to turn on the TV and switch to Toon Disney (I never lived in Canada, so I had no Tree House if you're questioning me at this point). My favourite shows were Tom and Jerry, Sailor Moon, Mickey Mouse and even a foreign cartoon named Captain Majid. As I grew older, I'd watch Disney movies, "Buena Vista productions, Miramax productions, Touchstone Pictures movies"(The Nation, 2001). All these companies provided me with movies like Cinderella, The Lion King, Snow White, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty etc."Early cartoons were with knock-offs - slight variations on winning themes; retellings of ancient stories…Disney took these stories and retold them in a way that carried them into a new age"(Lessig 23). During holiday's we'd tune into Fox Family to watch Christmas or Halloween movies. ABC was that channel I watched everyday after dinner with the family. We watched Seventh Heaven, Full House, Family Matters and Fresh Prince of BelAir every time we had the opportunity.  Watching these shows helped me shape my opinions about people. It helped me recognize traits, characters and personality. After my craze for Steve Urkel  and Michelle Tanner blurred, I became closely intrigued with musical theatre when The Beauty and the Beast and Lion King production was first introduced to me when it came out on broadway. Till now, I have tried to watch watch and participate in as many musicals as I could. Now, I watch Soap Net. where I can tune into at least 90210, Gossip Girl, Glee or The City at all times. I have also become very attracted to A&E, the History Channel, Biography Channel and especially E! and Style since it provides me with reality television and and the trends of reality itself.

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Being the musical and media oriented girl that I am, I've always told my friends that I want to a part of the media industry. No matter what I do, I want to be on television, being a part of the world that has influenced me. I also want to influence others and shape the thoughts of many (in a good way of course). I've been a part of many musicals and other productions in the hope to one day speak about the forms of media that have influenced me. Now when I think about it, I should have always said, "I want to host for the Walt Disney Company". You must be thinking, why should a 19 year old girl would want to host for the Disney company? Well I can back up my argument and make this more clear for you by saying, Disney owns more than just its name. It has owned everything that I've grown up watching and encountering including all the productions. The Walt Disney Company owns every company I have listed above, and those companies have provided me with the shows I like, and probably more things that I consume, or that I have consumed in the past. Disney is an example of a company that started out with just its name, and branched out to other companies throughout the years. I am sure there are many more media companies that work the same way because "never in our history have fewer had a legal right to control more of the development of our culture then now"(Lessig, 168).

Works Cited

The Nation. "Walt Disney Company". The Ten. 20th December 2001. 20th November 2009.

Lessig, Lawrence. Free Culture. United States of America: Penguin Books, 2004.