Assignment on Mickey Mouse

Assignment on Mickey Mouse

Resources:

1. Mandatory Film (Available through Kanopy Video – Humber Library): “Mickey Mouse Monopoly: Disney, Childhood and Corporate Power”

http://humber.kanopystreaming.com/video/mickey-mouse-monopoly-disney-childhood-corpo

2. Animated Film of your choosing –

The Assignment:

The documentary, Mickey Mouse Monopoly, analyzes the transnational media conglomerate Walt Disney’s role in shaping children’s culture all over the world.

The film takes a critical look at the stories told by Disney films regarding race, gender, and ethnicity, suggesting dominant Western ideologies are propagated through the films under the guise of fun and innocence.

Having watched the documentary, your task is to watch an animated film of your choice that was not discussed in Mickey Mouse Monopoly and do a textual analysis that addresses and makes an argument regarding at least one of the following:

• Representations of Gender in animated films
• Representations of Race and/or Ethnicity in animated films
• The Propagation of Dominant Ideologies through Media directed at children

Assignment on Mickey Mouse

You MUST use the documentary and at least one additional course reading (from the options listed above) to support and/or formulate your argument regarding the animated film you are analyzing.

You must also include at least one specific, relevant citation from your chosen article (either a direct quote or your own paraphrasing) in support of your argument, and ensure that it is properly referenced in APA format.

Some questions to consider:

1. Do you think gender stereotyping in animated films is a problem? Why? Why not?
2. Do you think gender stereotyping in animated films is more prevalent in the depictions of male or female characters?
3. Is racial/ethnic or any other intersectional identity being stereotyped in animated films more pronounced in relation to any particular minority groups?

If your chosen film is not a Disney film, how do the representations of gender, race, and ethnicity compare with the Disney films discussed in the documentary? Are the representations similar?

Click this link to get tips on the Social Work Assignment.

Suggestions to get started:

1. Watch the documentary in full and take notes regarding the filmmakers’ arguments regarding gender, race, and ethnic stereotyping in Disney animated films.
2. Watch an animated film of your choice. Take note of similar and/or different representations of gender, race, and ethnicity in the film.
3. Choose the theme you want to discuss (gender, race, ethnicity) and choose the appropriate course reading to support your theme.

Assignment on Mickey Mouse

Some things to note:

1. Your professor has probably not seen the animated film you are analyzing, so be sure to include a brief summary of the film near the beginning of the essay (in the introduction or the second paragraph).
2. What you choose to argue in this assignment is up to you. You may, for example, argue that based on your analysis, representations of gender, race, and/or ethnicity are problematic, that they are improving, have gotten more overt, or that they have remained relatively static. You may also argue that media directed at children is a positive and/or negative influence. It really is up to you, just be sure to incorporate the article(s), discuss the documentary, and use the observations you make about your chosen animated film to support your argument.
3. You must include APA in-text citations and a Reference List at the end of the assignment.

IMPORTANT: This is a graded assignment and, therefore, all rules of academic honesty apply. This is to be done independently – you may not work together.

***You must also review the Liberal Studies Avoiding Plagiarism Reference Guide (below).

SUBMISSION: This assignment is to be submitted electronically through Safe Assign on your tutorial Blackboard Site.

Your professor will inform you if s/he requires a hard copy of the assignment for grading