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Zara Williamson

Media Diary- Week 8

The Walt Disney Company, usually known as Disney is an American multinational, mass media and entertainment conglomerate that was founded on the 16th of October, 1923. . Early in its existence, the company established itself as a leader in the animation industry, with the creation of Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in Steamboat Willie, which used synchronized sound and became the first post-produced sound cartoon. After becoming a major success by the early 1940s, the company evolved into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. Following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits. Since the 1980s, Disney has created and acquired corporate divisions. The company is known for its film-studio division Walt Disney Studios, which includes Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, 20th Century Animation, and Searchlight Pictures. Disney's other main business units include divisions in television, broadcasting, streaming media, theme park resorts, consumer products, publishing, and international operations. Through these divisions, Disney owns and operates the ABC broadcast network; cable television networks such as Disney Channel, ESPN, Freeform, FX, and National Geographic; publishing, merchandising, music, and theater divisions; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Disney+, Star+, ESPN+, Hulu, and Hotstar; and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, which includes several theme parks, resort hotels, and cruise lines around the world.


Curran and Seaton's power and media industries theory states that the media (such as newspapers) are owned by large conglomerates, resulting in lack of creativity and thought. They say they will produce repetitive media that they know will sell because it will make a profit and gain the owners of these companies power.

Disney is one of the largest media conglomerates, and it can certainly be argued that Disney is a prime example of Curran ans Seaton's theory, with its new innovations and projects mostly consisting of live action remakes of their old animated movies (The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan and Wendy, Haunted Mansion)- this constant remaking of old movies would suggest that there is a lack of creativity from Disney, as they already know what is successful and diverging from usual conventions could result in a loss of profit.


However, there are some projects created Disney that could oppose the Curran and Seaton, such as Black Panther. The making of Black Panther has lots of attention to detail, particularly in costume and culture. Black Panther could be an example of a more diverse product. However, the marketing for Black Panther took a 360 degree approach, with different tie-ins like fashion shows and Lexus, which would suggest that although Disney is capable of creating more creative media, the conventions of their films and products stay the same, proving that they produce the same repetitive things as they know it will sell and gain profit.

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