Down With Disney

[poliphilo]

I wanted a rag doll- like Granny used to make- but the big toy store didn't have any. What it mostly had was merchandise from the entertainment giants- and I try not  to buy that stuff. I want kids to have toys that stimulate the imagination, not toys that slip them into a ready-made fantasy world. A rag doll is its own thing. It comes without a back-story and its owner has to invent a voice for it, invent its character and adventures.  A Disney Princess, on the other hand- or a Star Wars play set-  arrives with all that character and world building already done. It puts the imagination to sleep.

The entertainment giants (meaning Disney mainly) have colonized the culture of childhood. They are turning our children into clients, consumers, fans...

Comments

[artkouros.livejournal.com]

Have you tried etsy or similar crafty sites?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I haven't. I should take a look.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

I have, well worth a visit for the non-standard and hence non-mainstream craft, clothing, and other stuff, etc.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I took a look last night. So much to choose from!

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I don't like it either... but then, I remember playing with My Little Ponies when I was little, and despite those Ponies coming with pre-made personalities and stories and a Magical Pink World they inhabited in tv and movies, I ignored it all and made my ponies soldiers and captains of industry and had them fight wars across the swimming pool, dispose of alligators, and make trade alliances with ponies and other toys from various other enterprises across the "sea."

I don't know if other kids merrily ignore "canon" the way I did, but I suspect many of them do. :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they do. There will always be kids who want- and need- to create their own worlds.