Disney and The Ryder Cup

 

This week is the single biggest week on the golfing calender. Every two years, the best 24 golfers from both sides of the Atlantic take each other on for the biggest prize in golf, The Ryder Cup. 12 players from Europe and 12 from the USA will battle it out to be crowned champions, putting everything on the line. No money will exchange hands with the prize simply being bragging rights for the next two years. This biennial event will be watched by millions of golf fans all over the world and it’s no wonder that Disney is keen to get in on the action. This week Disney announced that the golf course at Disneyland Paris will host the Junior Ryder Cup in 2018 during the few days leading up to the 2018 Ryder Cup in France. Mickey Mouse's iconic hands are truly in so many pies. I personally played on the European team in 2008 in Kentucky and had an unbelievable time but playing in Disneyland would be even more magical.  I wonder which side Mickey and Minnie will be cheering for??? 

Walt the Businessman

What is the key to running a successful business? Wouldn’t we all like to know the magic formula? For Walt Disney it was creating an environment for his workers in which talking and socialising were frowned upon, doors were nailed shut and people were expected to obey without question. “Waltitarianism” is the term coined by Kevin Shortsleeve to describe Disney’s management style. I could not help but be a little shocked when I read that Disney ruled with a heavy hand, instilling fear among his employees, leaving them paranoid and afraid to even put a step out of line for fear of what Walt might do. Surely an environment like this would stifle creativity not inspire it, but Walt Disney clearly knew what he was doing and Disney ran like a well-oiled machine under his leadership. Appearance versus reality is a very common theme in Disney movies and it appears that the company itself is no different. Although DisneyWorld is supposed to be “The happiest place on Earth” for tourists, this sentiment doesn’t seem to be shared by the Disney staff if Shortsleeve is to be believed. Perhaps Disney was somewhat of a dictator who had a no nonsense approach to business but why does Disney always seem to be held to a higher standard than everyone else? Measuring the success of the Disney Empire doesn’t just seem to cut it for a lot of people. Perhaps its because we have all grown up surrounded by Disney. We feel emotionally connected and invested in the company and would hate to have anything shatter the idyllic image of magic that it represents.

Walt Disney may have prided himself on being first and foremost an outstanding entertainer and artist, but for me, he was an incredible businessman. Although Shortsleeve may have criticised his leadership approach, very few men could have created such a dynasty like Disney. Shortsleeve claims that Disney is still stuck in the past, trying to relive its glory days of the 1930’s but I beg to differ. Some of Disney’s best and most successful movies have been released in the past few years, Frozen being the most recent example. The Depression was definitely a very bleak time in American history but Disney managed to use is as a platform to transform his company. Disney gave his audience what they so badly craved back then; hope and a much needed escape from the harsh realities of life. Disney movies may be overflowing with utopian ideas and idealistic endings but can we honestly say we would enjoy them as much if they all ended in catastrophe? I know I wouldn’t.

In the Mick of time

There was the waiting, the wondering and the wishing and then finally on Tuesday the day we had all been waiting for, with baited breath finally arrived. Unless you have been living under a rock or perhaps spending every last second you have camped out in the library then you know what I’m talking about. “The launch of the year”, some called it. In case you are wondering, I’m not talking about a new rocket that NASA has just launched into space. No, I’m talking about Apple’s BIG announcement and launch of their iphone6, 6+ and Apple pay. While some of my friends on were busy pre-ordering these latest magical devices and debating whether to get the gold, silver or black, it was another one of Apple’s new devices that caught my attention. The iWatch. As I was watching some footage from the launch, I was reminded of Elizabeth Lawrence’s article, “In the Mick of Time”. I was fascinated when she descried how Mickey Mouse watches have become an “American Institution” and that the watches are one of the many examples of Disney’s unique ability to transcend time. Although I think that her concept of his four fingers being a symbol of eternal youth and incomplete development may be a little bit far-fetched, essentially she is right. Mickey is able to unite young and old, opening a world of enhancement and excitement for all. Personally, I don’t own a “Mickey” watch, but maybe they allow those that do to have a piece of magic and enchantment with them wherever they go. It’s no surprise then that Apple decided to include a Mickey iWatch in its new collection. Apple is quickly becoming one of the biggest and most iconic brands on the planet and together with a partnership like this with Disney, who knows what else will we have in the future? In the next few weeks and months, Disney lovers all of the world will be able to purchase tickets and other merchandise at any Disney theme park using their mobile device, thanks to Apple pay.  Perhaps in the future we will see Ipads in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head and signature ears, which I’m sure, would definitely be a hit.

Although Apple’s Mickey Mouse iWatch may be very different to the iconic timepieces originally sold in 1935, they ultimately represent the same thing. The enduring powers of the Disney Empire’s influence over society and Disney’s ability to captivate millions.  A watch transcends time and is not inhibited by language or cultural boundaries, just like Disney. Despite all the critics who suggest that Disney is old fashioned and still stuck in the 1930’s, these new watches are resounding proof that Mickey is still very much alive and ticking in the twenty first century.

 

Introduction

Everyone likes to dream. Hoping and wishing for our dreams to come true is something we all have in common, myself included. Disneyland and the Disney brand prizes itself on making "dreams come true" so its no wonder that we all cannot help but be captivated by its magical charm. As young kids we all had our favorite Disney characters that we idolized. We dressed like them, talked like them and acted like them, sometimes even refusing to respond to any other name than "Buzz" or "Mulan". Road trips always seemed to go that much quicker when "The Little Mermaid" soundtrack was playing in the car, all it took was my dad to read the Lion King story at bedtimes and I was out like a light and watching Santa Clause the movie on Christmas Eve was always a given.  However, the sparkly tiaras, the pink dresses and Minnie mouse bows were just not for me. I preferred to be outdoors, kicking around a soccer ball or playing any sort of game that involved competition for that matter, climbing trees and going on adventures with my brother and sister. It's no surprise then that "Cool Runnings" and "Finding Nemo" are two of my favorite Disney movies, both full of adventure and excitement. Despite watching my fair share of Disney movies growing up, I never seemed to be able to find a strong female character that I could relate to. Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty both seemed so passive and helpless and even Mulan had to pretend to be something she wasn't.  Like any young kid, I was curious and inquisitive, always wondering why all the strong heroic characters were guys, Buzz in Toy Story, Simba in the Lion King, Peter Pan, Robin Hood,....the list goes on.All I wanted was for one strong Female protagonist to rise up and make her mark, seizing the day with both hands.That said, there is one Disney movie that I can especially relate to, The Parent Trap. Having an identical twin sister, like Annie and Hallie, we always were getting up to mischief and confusing people as kids. Needless to say that this movie and also the TV show "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody" provided us with even more inspiration to the previous tricks we had up our sleeves, much to our parents dismay.
But why Decoding Disney? I guess as I begin this new chapter of my life at Duke, now is as good a time as any to remove my rose-tinted glasses and look at Disney from a new perspective. In my senior year at high school we looked at how the stories behind Up and Pinocchio both had so much more to tell than what originally appeared ,when we delved beneath their sugar coated centers. Picking classes for my fall semester during the summer was a fairly daunting and stressful task that involved a lot of to-ing and fro-ing of emails back and forth between my athletic adviser Kenny and I but I can definitely say choosing this writing101 class was the easiest decision I had to make. Its likely that all the ideological perceptions that I have of Disney movies will be shattered in this process but I'm excited for the whirlwind journey ahead.