When I first began researching Disney’s potential as a monopoly I had to laugh because of course the board game “Monopoly,” had a Disney edition that would flood my searches. This fact alone is yet another example of how impactful and far fetching the reach of Disney truly is. It is no doubt that if Disney has monopolized the industry, it has earned this position. Although monopoly comes with a negative connotation, Disney does not appear to have acquired its power in a malicious manner. In fact, many on Wall Street feel that Disney is notorious for overpaying for mergers like Pixar and Lucasfilm.
Disney offered the first full length color animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. It alone has earned close to $200 million since its release. In addition, Disney has redefined the theme park industry adding a magical and narrative emphasis to its amusements. Opening in 1955, Disneyland is recognized as the first “theme park,” rather than amusement park. Disney is also the most expansive researching Marvel Comics and all ABC Networks.
Disney is currently beating Time Warner and Viacom as the largest media company in the world. Yet, is this a point to come with concern or celebration? If not Disney, wouldn’t another company take over? Isn’t the fact that there are three in close competition companies proof Disney does not have a monopoly on the entertainment and media world? Many feel that Disney, with terms I’ve already discussed like “Disneyization,” has sterilized and formatted animated films and entertainment. Some consider the company as manipulative of mass media, harming a free thinking society. However, Disney hold a wholesome image, if one company is to be in power, why not one of happily ever afters?
The debate of Disney as a monopoly is muddled with bias in my mind. Disney is so innocently embedded and weaved into my thoughts of childhood. I have fond memories of waiting in the snow for the premiere of Toy Story, of the joy I felt when I stepped on Disney ground for the first time and even have pictures dressed in a Princess Jasmine nightgown when I was three. Just last year I visited Disneyland Paris during my time abroad and felt that same rush of magic. Disney essentially sells dreams; they sell the warm, fuzzy sensation of requited love, peace and escape. It is for this reason I struggle with removing positive views of them in order to look at them critically. I found attempts by the anti Disney Mouse Liberation Front to be frivolous, and extreme. I do think Disney is powerful, perhaps together with Viacom and Time Warner share a monopoly, but with a lacking of poor practice in my research this comes to me as respect. Or, perhaps their influence is so strong on the media that there are no strong criticisms released?
Works Cited
“Walt Disney News.” The New York Times. Accessed November 14, 2013. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/walt_disney/
Happily Never After 
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