Disney is EEEEEEvil

I know it's somewhat hypocritical of me to say this, considering Sofia and I just got back from Disney World, but I've always felt that Disney is evil. Don't get me wrong: I have no problem with corporations generally, even those that charge me an arm and a leg for gas or software or whatever.  Disney isn't evil because it's a multinational corporation or because it doesn't pay as much as it should in taxes; Disney is evil because it exploits and shapes the dreams and desires of little children for profit. You want to manufacture my shoes in some third world country for five cents or sell my internet history to advertisers who will spam me until I bash my face into my computer screen? Fine, but don't mess with my kid. I know what you're thinking: "But Lee, Disney makes a lot of children happy." It certainly does, but it charges a premium because it knows that parents will pay through the nose to make their kids smile, even for just a minute.

Also, have you seen a Disney movie lately? I have, and more than I'd like to admit. If you go back and watch a couple of their flicks, you'll find a disturbing amount of underage rebellion depicted and/or encouraged. Almost all of the princesses in Disney movies are less than 18, almost all of them leave home or otherwise disobey their parents, and that's when they're rewarded with their "true love". Want some examples? Sleeping Beauty is not even 16 for most of the movie (she touches a distinctly phallic spindle on her 16th birthday); Cinderella disobeys her stepmother and sneaks out of the house to go to a dance; Rapunzel disobeys her (assumed) mother and sneaks out of the house with a complete stranger to go into town on her 18th birthday; the Little Mermaid disobeys her father, runs away from home and has the aquatic equivalent of plastic surgery before she turns 18 to "land" her man. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

For children's movies, Disney films also reference, if not directly depict, a startling amount of parental death. Cinderella is an orphan forced to slave away for her wicked stepmother. Snow White's father is a widower who remarries a wicked queen who wants her dead. The Lion King's father is savagely murdered by his own brother. Belle (of Beauty and the Beast), Ariel (of The Little Mermaid) and Jasmine (of Aladdin) are depicted as only having one parent, their father. And who could forget Bambi?  BLAM! These are hardly ideal plotlines for small children, especially those who have actually lost a parent.

So why did I take Sofia to Disney World? Why do I continue to buy her Disney toys and stickers and outfits and let her watch Disney movies? Because it makes her happy. It might make me a terrible parent, but at least I get to watch her have fun for a while before she's old enough to sneak out of the house.