Analyzing Disney's Sweatshop Labor

Walt Disney once said, “Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children.” Natural resources are controlled by various people. Our children are controlled by Disney. However, I don’t think society realized who they were entrusting their child’s innocence and minds with. In 2016, the Walt Disney Corporation grossed a whopping $55.6 billion, which is a 6% increase from the previous year. The power of Disney over children has only grown since its creation in 1923. But one can’t help but ask who is Walt Disney? Was he racist? If so, was it because of when he grew up or in response to when the company began? Furthermore, is the Walt Disney Corporation still racist today? Or is this just one of those over-analytical, outrageous

Since the 1930’s, the Walt Disney Company is known for producing characters, images, as well as stories which have created happiness for audiences around the world. This corporation has grown from a small cartoon studio run by famous Walt and Roy Disney to a million dollar business. In Janet Wasko’s novel, “Understanding Disney”, Wasko explains Disney as corporation calling it “The Disney Empire”. Throughout her novel, Wasko argues that Disney is set up like a typical profit seeking corporation, as well as creates and manufactures fantasy, and lastly re-invents folk tales by “Americanising” them.

Sweltering heat, long hours, and unfair working conditions are a few descriptive words that Americans use to describe a sweatshop. I believe our judgment is being misguided by the success of our nation, and it is imperative we redefine the word “sweatshop”. Individuals that endure life in third world countries know hardships that Americans could not imagine. If we were to recognize these economical differences it may shine a light on why these workers seek sweatshop jobs. In many of these cases, children must work to aid in the family’s survival. If these jobs are voluntary and both parties agree to work conditions, it results in a mutually beneficial arrangement. One of the worst things we can do as outsiders, to help these impoverished

Mattel, Inc is a billion-dollar corporation that designs, manufactures and markets a broad variety of toy products. Like many before and several after, Mattel lost their way for a short time and was caught off-guard by an investigative report aired by NBC’s news program (Sethi, Veral, Shapiro, & Emelianova, 2011, p. 486). This interview concluded that an Indonesian factory of Mattel’s was employing underage workers, who were working long hours and doing an extreme amount of overtime. Even though Mattel disputed these finding, they found it among themselves to come up with some corrective actions to make sure these types of misunderstandings don’t ever happen again (Sethi et al., 2011).

In these sweatshops, workers are generally offered low wages with little nonwage benefits. In certain factories, workers have been denied of a “living wage” as their take-home pay have been insufficient to satisfy basic standards of living. Typically, in these countries, the minimum wage laws were violated and workers were weakly unionised to bargain for higher wages. For example, a typical Chinese worker earns a wage of Rmb$250-$350 while the minimum wage was supposed to be Rmb$350.

Together with the low family income and the price of public education, which is about $150 dollars a month, without meals, schooling is out of the question for a large majority of people. (How much do schools cost in China?) Families are not in the financial situation to set school as a priority. Therefore, many children are recruited to assist the family in paying for needs. Americans see child labor as a barbaric act because we have been spoiled with a great system designed with public education being paid for by our taxes. While Chinese citizens do not get that privilege. Many sweatshops allow, against Chinese law, children to work as if they were an adult. Which means children can work very long shifts and often over time. If schooling is not a financially feasible option for a family. What is a child to do? While their family struggles to provide basic needs. The only reasonable option presented to them at the time is to work. While Americans, who do not realize their options are limited, and protest these children working to

Walt Disney Company for eighty years has captured the attentions of millions of people around the world, offering family entertainment at theme parks, resorts, recreations, movies, TV shows, radio programming, and memorabilia (David, 2009). Today, Walt Disney possesses four main business segments: Disney Consumer products, Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, and Media Networks. Each of Disney's business units increased profits apart from its interactive division, which was recently restructured (Garrahan, 2011). By combining Disney's long history with the commitment to quality, Disney Consumer Products has had a large and steady presence in the toy marketplace (Anonymous, 2010). Studio entertainment has been somewhat of

xxiii. Walt Disney is able to provide high-quality products and services to consumers while maintaining a relatively low price.

Everyone knows about The Walt Disney Company and The Lego Group. Whether it be The Walt Disney Company’s many theme parks (Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Shanghai Disney Resort), the different media networks (Disney Channel, Freeform, ABC), or the studio entertainment (Walt Disney Studios, Pixar), everyone has hear of Disney. The Lego Group is very popular as well. Aside from the colorful bricks that make amazing Lego sculptures, they also have theme parks called LEGOLAND. Many kids grow up playing with Legos, or have seen them in stores before. Both of these companies have an impact on children’s lives. While people may know about the companies

The Disney Corporation has had both positive and negative effects on American society. Disney has majorly affected both the youth and adults in America by way they interact with each other, what they expect from each other, and how parents bring up their youth in harsh and unrealistic expectations according to Disney. Disney has fostered a strong sense of imagination in the past, present and future youth of America. This sense of imagination is necessary to the development of children when it comes to success in life and self-confidence. The Disney Corporation knows how to work it’s audience for a profit and mastering that skill has allowed Disney to accumulated billions by advertising and selling fantasies to young children and their parents. It’s also these very ideas that influence what Americans believe our government and policies should be founded on. In “The Mouse That Roared” the author states “Education is never innocent, because it always presupposes a particular view of citizenship, culture, and society. And yet it is this very appeal to innocence, bleached of any semblance of politics, that has become a defining feature in Disney culture and pedagogy” (Giroux 31) This quote defines Disney at large. Disney has created the idea of ‘imagination’ in American society and perpetuates it in everything America does and influences everything America stands. In everyday American life, politics and business, The Disney Corporation has a hand in it.

ECS Gear was founded by Sam DuPree, Owner & Founder of Ebony Cleaning Service, in 2015 as a product and clothing line for the janitorial service. This company offers a wide range of miscellaneous retail and products such as t-shirts, candies, mugs, and more! ECS Gear wants everyone from ages 0-99 to be up-to-date and a part of Ebony Cleaning Service and in doing so we have a mobile application on Google Play and the Apple App Store, and a Youtube channel all named ECS Gear. So how many janitorial services can say that they have their own product and clothing

A young girl with black hair and brown eyes sees a beautiful princess named Cinderella who has blond hair, blue eyes, and flawless skin. She believes she will never be as radiant and beautiful as the princess because they don’t look alike. Like this girl, there are many cases of Disney films having lasting negative effects on children. Disney influences children more than any other age group since most merchandise and movies are geared toward younger audiences around thirteen or younger. Walt Disney Productions have a negative effect on children through stereotypes, violent actions, and sexism presented through its characters’ physical characteristics and actions. Disney has been

Background: The history of Walt Disney, and the Disney Corporation, is one shrouded in admiration and accolades for the accomplishment of the American dream. Walt Disney himself is an icon for the American work ethic, i.e., hard work pays off. He is seen as a Horatio Alger, "rags to riches," success story. Beginning his work in animation in the 1920s, Walt Disney gained fame worldwide for his films and theme parks. But Walt Disney created more than films and theme parks. By infusing them with an ideological stance glorifying "the American way of life," his brand of democracy and conservatism, he created a cultural institution. The moralistic stance of his enterprise became common knowledge and it is said that his 1933 version of Three Little Pigs was the last of his cartoons in which the film’s moral messages were open to interpretation [3]

Children’s book publishing and consumer products in retail make up another strength of Disney. In 2011 Disney was the largest licensor of character based merchandise in the world (Gamble & Turnipseed 2014), and lastly there is interactive media. This is the

Haiti is a small island, which is an example Disney sweatshop that has no tolerance for workers rights. Workers here stitch Aladdin t-shirts for 28 cents an hour, which is the highest wage of the three sweatshops (ihsclnews.org).