Media Globalization Remix

When thinking of a media globalization, Disney is at the top of my mind. Their presence is truly global and they have reached that point because they constantly grew beyond national borders. Not only does every child know who Mickey Mouse is, but everyone knows the Disney name. The Disney franchise includes many different forms of media:

• Television Channels - Disney Channel, ABC, ESPN, Lifetime, Soap Net
• Movie Companies: Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Hollywood Pictures, Buena Vista, Pixar
  
• Theme Parks - Disneyland, Disneyworld, EuroDisney, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, California Adventure
  
• Record Label - Hollywood Records
• Vacation Destinations - Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, resorts worldwide
  
• Cell Phones - Disney Mobile
• Magazines - Discovery, Family Fun

These are just a few of the many assets owned by Disney. I chose to pick some of the most well known companies to be a part of the collage. Placing Mickey as the center of it all was significant in that it was with Mickey Mouse that the entire company started.

Media Globalization

Walt Disney’s famous characters are an example of media globalization. Disney is currently a global marketplace itself. The Disney Corporation produces movies, shows, merchandise, and has family vacation spots and theme parks throughout the world. Mickey Mouse is one of the most recognized icons in the world. His popularity stems to all age groups as the younger generation enjoys the current entertainment while parents and grandparents hold positive nostalgic feelings for him. People of all ages can go to a Disney theme park and get lost in the family friendly fun. Mickey’s global reach has grown primarily because of cartoons. While the characters and the storyline are the same, each country can dub their own language into the show. This has allowed Mickey to be loved by children throughout the world. Additionally, Mickey is lovable because he is human in respect to the fact that he makes mistakes and can goof up but has a sincere heart.

In terms of studying Mickey in a social context, it’s interesting to look at how much social power Mickey has. During elections, many times voters have the opportunity to write in a vote. When people feel as though there isn’t a good candidate to represent them, or if they are boycotting the election, Mickey has often been written in on ballots. Several other countries, most often in Europe, have used Mickey and Donald Duck to represent their negative feelings about elections. Mickey’s image has also been used by Islamic Extremists in Palestine. A television series entitled “Tomorrow’s Pioneers” had a character on it named Farfour that looked very much like Mickey Mouse. In the show, Farfour promoted a movement to a world led by Islamists. He also glorified violence and weaponry. By using a character similar to Mickey Mouse, the Islamists proved just how powerful Mickey is. Of all the characters in the world, they chose Mickey to be the one to use in order to reach kids of the younger generation. Young children are easily persuaded and Mickey being as popular as he is could certainly be used to reach kids at their level. Disney was very upset by the whole show as Mickey was never meant to be used to teach radicalism.

U2 & the Record Industry

When choosing an artist to compare and contrast to U2, I wanted one that would measure up to U2’s popularity and global reach. The first female artist I thought of was Madonna. I think she is similar to U2 in that she has been around for several decades and has a strong following throughout the world. Comparisons past that are pretty slim, however. Where as many U2 fans enjoy their songs because of the lyrics, I believe that many Madonna fans love her songs because they are entertaining. U2 has a strong following of both male and female listeners while the majority of Madonna’s fans are female. U2 has a specific sound that they have created and maintained. Madonna on the other hand seems to flow with the times. She’s talented at picking up what’s popular at the moment, whether it be a bit of a country twang or hip hop beat, but her songs continuously maintain top of chart status.

What type of demographic factors shape her fan base?
The bulk of Madonna’s fan base belongs to young women 16-30. Her songs are usually fun and upbeat making them good songs to play in the car with friends or out for a night on the town. She doesn’t necessarily have the same following with men. While I’m sure there are men that like her music, I think that most see her more as merely an entertainer and not as a respected musician. I feel as though she doesn’t have distinct class following but she has been known to reach out to bisexual and homosexual groups due to her speaking out on behalf of educating people about bisexuality (think of Madonna, Britney and Christina at the VMA’s). Madonna is certainly not known for being modest or meek, so I’d say she has few overly religious or pious fans. Much of her early work dealt with the irony of religion (thus her name being Madonna). She’s popular worldwide, the number one female artist of all time in the United Kingdom and has recently been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1). Her song “Hung Up” reached #1 in 45 countries (2).

Do Madonna fans constitute a specific subculture?
I don’t believe that current Madonna fans have created their own subculture. I think she had more of a cult following when she first became popular. She really epitomized the eighties and its sexual revolution. A lot of people started to follow her fashion trends. Now, I think she is seen more of a music artist and not necessarily a fashion icon. Additionally, she doesn’t have the same shock value as she did previously. Whereas many of her songs and videos had strong sexual themes in them, she has somewhat toned them down to be a little more subtle and has relatively stopped any religious themes. Currently, I don’t believe her fans are part of a subculture. While she’s still a popular female artist, I feel that her influence on society has diminished.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_(entertainer)
2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_records_has_Madonna_sold_world_wide

McLuhan Assignment

The image I put together has three pictures corresponding to McLuhan's idea that the medium is the message. The first section which has several cans of spray paint represents the medium. The spray paint is used to create the content seen in the second picture --the graffiti. Without the spray paint, there wouldn't be any graffiti, and thus no content. The content states "Obama 2008", which is an interesting thing to see tagged on a wall. I personally have never seen graffiti as a way to support presidential candidates before. The final picture contains several young people out supporting Obama. The message is that more and more young people are getting involved in politics and supporting the candidates they feel will lead America to a better place. When average young people see political graffiti on buildings and fences, they notice that it is a part of their lives at this moment and not necessarily something that only older people are paying attention to. It's interesting to think that a can of spray paint can have such a dramatic and lasting affect on people's political views. A simple can of spray paint has created a message that speaks to an entirely new group of people who previously felt alienated by or uninterested in politics.