Duck Tales

Walt Disney created a television series called “Duck Tales”. The series is based upon the Scrooge McDuck character and the Uncle Scrooge comic books created by author Carl Barks. The series stars Scrooge, his grand nephews, a few appearances from Donald Duck and several new characters made specifically for the show.(wiki source) When analyzing the series Duck Tales there many elements of capitalistic ideology. The representation of these concepts were masked and hidden within the pleasurable and popularized mass media form of television narrative. Is Walt Disney successful at propagating subliminal messages? What are the ways in which they do so? Then finally, what are the negative effects of a mass medium that promotes capitalist thinking?

To begin this analyze a quote from Media and Society a novel created by Michael O’Shaugnessy and Jane Stadler which aimed to define the concept of media. In the novel both authors break media down into various categories and personify the medium with specific characteristics. The media is a system of human communication. The media generally aim to reach large audiences or to be used by many people and because of this media is referred to as “mass media” operating through mass production leading to mass communication. They go on say that because of this communication on such a large scale the media draws its success from popularity.(pg.4) If popularity is a key characteristic of the influence of a medium then Walt Disney a world renown industrial media firm has the popularity to back its large production of media intended to reach its global audiences.

What determines the function of media? Well according to O’Shaugnessy and Stadler the media has many determinants the main five of these fact...

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...Kunzle skeptical attitude of American political innocence. Walt Disney However has sown a seed of ideology that today is still manifesting in various media forms.

After reading this paper the intent was to encourage and persuade the reader to identify with the dangers of complicity to media specifically in the forms of harmless children’s entertainment. As said previously mass media that is popularized will communicate messages to a mass audience. The question of the gatekeepers and the people in charge of media led by the skepticism of theorist like David Kunzle Louis Althusser hopefully have provided you with enough knowledge to see how easy message can be delivered especially in the context of Disney products. To promote not only Capitalism as the initial thesis states, but also the power the media has to rewrite, destroy, and manipulate the history of mankind.