The Mouse that Roared

Rating:
Summary: Academic, but spectacular in that regard.
Review: The negative reviews of this book here have been fairly typical: It's apparently enough to call Giroux "leftist" and to point out his concern with class, race, and gender inequality. That alone completely impugns his work for many people. If you are one of those people, don't pick up this book. But if you're not, you've got to read this. The book is academic, and is written that way: Giroux packs the ideas in, especially in the beginning. But it is also the best piece of cultural criticism I've yet read.

Contrary to what people have been saying here, Giroux does not simply scream "race class gender inequality" over and over again. In fact I was impressed by how seldom he did make direct appeal to those issues. Instead, he focuses largely on the "public pedagogy" (I love that phrase) at work behind a company like Disney (if in fact there is any other company like Disney). Giroux's central idea is that we need an intelligent, critical populace in order to have a true democracy, and his central claim is that Disney actively works against both intelligence and critical thinking in the populace at large. His claim is well argued, and well substantiated. The consistent move towards "security" in our society is a troubling symptom of the kind of worldview that Giroux ascribes to Disney. And if he's right, it is imperative that we all start to think a lot more critically about Disney and other, similar societal influences.

Rating:
Summary: Important information obscured by academic cant.
Review: You don't have to read this book to know how Disney capitalizes on it's image to sell, sell, sell to children and their parents. But if you think Disney's animated films are innocent fantasies, and Disney's non-animated features display what is "best" about America, read this, and think again. Giroux reveals how Disney hides behind it's image of innocent family oriented fun, while fighting to shape the minds of our children with a sexist, racist and anti-democratic ideology that is far from innocent. Micky Mouse meets 1984 as the Disney propaganda machine teaches us that women are less than men, the white shall inherit the earth, and history can be effectively re-written, packaged and sold, not just to children, but to adults as well. Giroux shows how a politically reactionary message escapes critical notice under the guise of children's entertainment because, "everyone knows" that Disney is "wholesome." Unfortunately, Giroux's message will never escape the white tower and reach the people who most need to hear it -the parents of the world- because of it's tortured, academic prose. If you use the word "pedagogy" in your daily conversation you may find this book readable. If you're like me you'll wish he would write it over in english.