Cross industry ownership in the Creative Media sector 8.3

Disney. Nowadays everyone I know seems to hate them. For decades they have been a favourite place to turn to in childrens entertainment. They released short animated films starring a cast of beloved characters including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, they made toys of all the characters for the kids to play with, records of their favourite characters singing songs, and generally provided escapism for whole generations since the 30's. So, where did it all go wrong? Despite several controversies over the years, I actually don't think it did. I think I just got older. They are still the biggest media conglomerate in the world, which means that a hell of a lot of people still go out and buy their products. It must be taken in to consideration that nowadays they have expanded and branched out into places they never used to touch, but the fact remains that a very large number of the childrens entertainment market is controled by Disney. The biggest animated film studio in the western world Pixar, responsible for billions of dollars in box office growth alone, not taking into consideration merchandising, is a branch of Disney. They own whole television networks making the  shows and films to put on it from scratch. They have record labels putting out CD's daily. They have theme parks and hotels all over the world offering holidays 365 days a year. No matter where you turn, they are making a lot of money.

I think what happened to me was the illusion of it all wore thin. When you are 5 years old and can completely believe that somewhere out there is Baloo and the Mad Hatter, ready to go on crazy adventures you love the idea of disney. But when you start getting socially and politically conscious, you start making choices in life, like whether you agree with things like consumerism and capitalism. Two things which you don't even know exist when you are a child, but when you grow older, you realise are the backbone of corporations like Disney. I personally started to question why one company should have such massive power over such a wide range of people. But the genius of their market is that by the time I have come round to thinking that maybe I don't agree with their ethics, a whole new generation has stepped in to take my place. And so Disney carries on with their monopoly on the market, but whether you agree or disagree with what they have and how they got there, they have just that: a monopoly over the whole industry.