Introductory

I signed up for Decoding Disney for a reason that I'm sure most people did: it is a status symbol amongst the freshman class. The class is so highly recommended and so many people want to say that they took it, that in order to register I had to pull up the military clock on my computer, wait until the seconds on the clock turned to 7:00 AM, and then immediately click "enroll" in order to secure a spot in the class. But other than the shallowness of wanting other people to envy me, I also have a particular fondness for entertainment writing. Throughout high school, when asked what my dream job was, I would tell people it was the Chief Editor of Entertainment Weekly. I figured this class might be the best way I could explore and improve that passion of mine as it consists of writing and a niche media topic.

My personal history with Disney is relatively vast but not insurmountable. We own (that's present tense, they are still collecting dust in an upstairs closet in my house) almost every classic Walt Disney animation studios film on VHS tape, and I remember watching all of them growing up. Both my parents also worked, so I spent my formative years locked in a pre-school where the teachers would turn on Disney at the point in the day when they couldn't handle kids screaming over Barbies anymore, so even the ones we didn't own, the more "underground" ones, I have seen (like the Rescuers!). I went to Disney World several times growing up and my dad and I had a Christmas tradition where we would watch Mickey's Christmas Carols together every year. So I would describe myself as knowledgeable on the subject of Disney and happy it contributed to my childhood, but not a fanatic (I am much less educated on modern Disney).

One of the issues I am perhaps interested in exploring this semester is the "plight of the underdog" and how Disney psychologically uses that trope to get the audience to root for specific characters. I am also very interested in the issues presented in films that little kids seem to not understand but that become apparent when you grow up.