The Impact of Disney Channel
Education
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With the rapid growth of educational television programs, media is one of the contributors that impacted learning factors. Education, as one of the main goals of Disney had successfully influenced the educational system through developed educational films and shows. The production knew that children pay close attention to watching television rather than studying, as a result of their research study. Soon, they developed ways to provide entertainment, yet with proper learning acquired. Aside from educational learning, values and morals taught by the films helped prosper the lives not only for the children, but for the whole family that watches particular show in the channel.
Yet with the constant evolution, the new Disney Junior cable channel developed its program focusing away the traditional academic system and improved to a more socially-oriented one as they discovered that proper social skills should also be taught through media. The Disney production mentioned that they chose this method as they found out in a recent research study of 2,200 mothers were more alarmed about the social behaviors of the children rather than academic learning through television. Majority of the films in the Disney Channel and Disney Junior utilize characters to edify care, self-esteem, and generosity as top priorities for children learning. Aside from the channel itself, the Disney theme park known as the Disneyland had educational activities which develops immersion, physical and technological skills, imagination, progression, and learned values through story- telling reflections.
Entertainment
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The transformation of the Disney Channel prioritized the updated attributes such as sound effects, 3-D animated films, optical printers, animation cameras, and other technological equipment used for the studio production as they continue to collaborate with variety of film productions. The Disney production challenged their employees to ameliorate storytelling from latest obtained technology, protagonist development, hue, and music. The films and shows were designed to encourage and to hook children from watching sportively, therefore it is vital for them to continuously enhance the plots and scripts through out the process. The production expanded ways to enhance the entertainment industry depending onto the generation, providing quality films that portray and present modern witticism. Through constraining the edge of animation, the company had came up with the development of their production, producing variety of entertainment exercises through live-action film, collaborating, digital imaging, media marketing, branding and corporate industry purchasing and broadening. With variety of categories, they were able to adjust and to successfully focus on a certain aspect depending on the general popularity in a certain generation.
Culture
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Cultural diversity presentation through media is finally improving and Disney already participated in the new system. Disney had been steadily releasing more diverse films including Coco and The Princes and the Frog, as it thoughtfully embraced the public from the representation of equality and the successful acknowledgement of races compared to the white cultural focus in the previous Disney eras. Many reflected that the changes were due to the history of criticism on the lack of diversity in children movies. Another important factor of the change is that it expose the children early onto the normal cultural diversity in our community. It ought not just to provide early learning, but also to develop respect for different races or ethnicity. Though the movies, it also successful portrayed the cultures and traditions of different ethnicity for the children to be successfully familiarized with the developed system. The venture of the Disney production to portray cultural diversity have changed the views of diversity for the betterment, and how children relate to characters portraying similar culture and tradition with them.
Politics
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Walt Disney was a prominent American of the 20th century as he used political compulsion as for his influence to the American traditional and cultural values engaged to the conception in vision of America such as the US military complexion, The Cold War manifestation, consumerism control, anti-communism movement, labor unions, and the nuclear family. Even the Disney Channel faced political involvement and made a significant impact in the history of America during the World War II. For the record, the Disney studio is the only studio film production that was under US Navy occupancy after the Pearl Harbor attack. After a few days, the government had contacted and made a contract with Walt Disney to purposely produce propaganda film for the US government. The films successfully portrayed and delivered messages to the public about the current situation of their country. Propaganda films such as Victory Through Air Power and Education for Death had supported the increased public acknowledgment for the American war movement.
Technology
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As technology became the main source of innovation, everyone began using it for numerous aspects. The Disney/ABC Television Group had improved into digital media and added new technology to their system as a competitive movement for other rising industries. The main goal is focused on continuing to allow viewers to watch as they provided the availability of Disney channel through gadgets, which are accessibly obtained from social media and internet. The Disney channel had discovered that mobile devices or gadgets portray opportunities for the popularity of video content, therefore it is vital for the Disney production to improve their system. To develop their media representation, they marked up for a much flexible channel that allows kids to watch shows and films not just through TV, but also through computers, mobile devices, tablets which successfully provides personalized viewing. In 2005, Disney/ABC Television Group was the first to provide television episodes on iTunes and online websites such as the ABC.com through online purchase. Five years later, the ABC became the first broadcast production to provide full streaming episodes and advertisement supports.
Communication
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As the channel provides education, it is already given that it provides information. Whether children watch films or shows from the Disney Channel passively or actively, they are still most likely to adapt the language they are hearing. Children are in the stage of extreme development and learning, therefore Disney production provide care onto airing appropriate language used by the characters of a film or a show. Through scripts, films and shows can easily make creative trends and fads that ought to influence the children to learn respect, morals, and values in life. Not only it affects the behaviors and emotions of the viewers, but it also enables to practice and to develop communication skills acquired from the films or shows. This is the main reason why Disney purposely promotes films or shows with dialogues rather than representation of modern silent films.
Parenting
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The Disney Channel extremely influences the characteristics of the children and for the shows or films line-up appropriated for 7 and younger as it purposely presents moral lessons that supports respect for elderly. Yet, the Disney Channel preteen shows still needs major improvements for the unrealistic yet convincing stereotyping youth behavior toward elderly according to a lot of parents. The classic rebellious act, the overacting, the yelling, and the sticking out of tongues, the eye- rolling, which do not encourage and support any culture at all. The representation might be accurate for the generation nowadays but it should not be normalized through films as it might be misunderstood by the teenagers. It only supports the evidence of unhealthy and immature reactions. It negatively portrays that being overly dramatic and to talk back to win an argument is an acceptable and valid response. In the show, parents are usually portrayed as insensitive and ignorant which only diverse the relationship of the teenagers to their parents even more as if they think they feel related with the issues.
Gender
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Growing up, a lot of young girls looked up to Disney characters, specifically the Disney princesses as models of what they should be as adults. Through improved Disney representation, they had developed modern story lines that strongly support feminism, which participates onto the representation of better equality needed in the community. Through the story lines, they portrayed that women are capable of doing things like men, and they are also successful even when working independently. It not only contributed to the future representation for the community, but it strongly influences the views and aspects in life of the young viewers. At early age, they get to understand equal rights through all forms of sexuality.
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References:
DiGiovanni (2014). Five Ways Disney Channel is Undoing Good Parenting. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/goodmenproject.com/bits-and-pieces/five-ways-disney-channel-undoing-good-parenting-dgem/amp/
(2012) Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Disney XD. Retrieved from https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-channel-disney-junior-and-disney-xd-extend-reach-with-watch-apps/
Crowley (2011) Disney's Vision for America. Retrieved from https://pages.shanti.virginia.edu/disneysvisionforamerica/walt-disney-innovater-public-figure/
Haner (2015). Diversity in Disney Animated Films. Retrieved from https://universe.byu.edu/narratives/diversity-in-disney/
Beattie (2019) Walt Disney: How Entertainment Became an Empire. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/11/walt-disney-entertainment-to-empire.asp
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