My Response to Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen is passionate, direct, and without a doubt, a Disney-hater.  Yet, somehow, as a Disney supporter, I am on board with most of the ideas he presents in his non-fiction book, Team Rodent.  And in many ways, he has made me feel that Disney has assumed too much power and should be stopped.  We have read other scholarly articles from other Disney-haters, such as Henry A. Giroux, but Giroux’s pieces left me a loyal fan of Disney, defending the company.  With the amount of hardcore evidence, relevant facts and anecdotes Hiaasen incorporates, it was hard for me not to see the evil behind “Team Rodent.”

Team Rodent was a wake-up call for me, to realize the corruption behind the seemingly innocent Disney empire.  It’s a miracle how Disney could be involved in many scandals, ranging from unauthorized high-speed car chases by Disney security to poor construction practices and face minor repercussions.  Somehow, this corporation is able to evade most if not all negative publicity that comes its way, which only adds to its “perfect” reputation.  Even during the trial regarding Disney’s poor construction in homes, “jurors would never hear the word Disney mentioned in open court.” (55)  These acts and inside deals just demonstrate the immaturity of Disney and its inability to claim responsibility for their wrong actions – instead of owning up to its faults, it hides them from the public.

I used to believe that Disney was right in creating a dream world, without the blemishes of reality.  But Hiaasen has made me see the obscenity of trying to create such a perfect world.  It’s one thing to create a safe, enjoyable environment for tourists, where war, danger, and poverty do not exist.  However, to “[promote] a universe in which raw Nature doesn’t fit because it doesn’t measure up” (18), seems wrong.  We shouldn’t have to “constantly [fine-tune] God’s work” (18), but Disney thinks that we should.  Disney has disrupted nature time and time again, changing the environment of lakes to make the water bluer, and acquiring more land to build and expand its empire.  As a consumer and a Disney visitor, I definitely see the appeal of the bluish waters and the imported sand, and if I were Disney, I would probably make the same executive decision.  However, besides just the decisions themselves, I believe that Disney has the wrong mindset in pursuing these goals.  This company is under the idea that it can control everything because of its widespread power in the corporate world – and we, consumers, are responsible for letting Disney continue to “devour our world.”

Beyond its attempt to regulate nature, Disney oversteps and places restrictions on individuals as well.  When Disney created its suburban community called Celebration, the “new residents [received] a book of detailed rules governing many aspects of life, from the color of one’s house to the pattern of one’s shrubbery to acceptable parking practices.” (52)  Resembling a dictatorship, Disney goes beyond the scope of influencing daily life and tries outright controlling it instead.  The problem with our society is that same individuals do not care – they trust that Disney will always make the right decision and don’t mind relinquishing their freedoms, uniqueness, or creativity to the hands of a large, successful and “innocent” corporation.  In fact, “Control has been the signature ingredient of all the company’s phenomenally successful theme parks” (69).  The main problem with trying to control nature, people, animals, and freak accidents is that you simply can’t.  I wonder when Disney will discover that there exists greater forces than its self-proclaimed power…