Disney in the Classroom
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We watch the Oswald cartoon Great Guns so students can see how much Oswald looked and acted like Mickey Mouse. We discuss the idea that Oswald could have been as popular as Mickey if government policies, in the 1920's, hadn't made it easy for Walt's distributor to steal the rabbit. This is an excellent introduction to the larger issue of the government's laissez-faire attitude towards business in general; which eventually lead to the Stock Market Crash and then to the Great Depression. Oswald's theft also brings us to my final use of 1920's Disney cartoons.
Technology builds a better mouse
Perhaps nothing changed Americans lives, in the 1920's, more than the general population gaining access to new technologies. Henry Ford's assembly line production of the Model T made the automobile affordable for most families.You could now explore the country, see the city, and gain access to all kinds of entertainment. Paved roads began to appear everywhere and thousands of gas stations, motels, and restaurants were built to serve automobile travel.Cars also allowed young people to date away from their parents. This meant young ladies could now choose who they would see, a shocking development for their parents. Also affordable, for everyone, was the radio. This technological wonder gave rise to the mass media.Americans began to listen to the same news, drama, and music programs. Newspapers could not compete with radio's ability to report events immediately, so they began to cover national events as well, simply providing more detail. All this lead to the birth of a national culture. Advertisers noted and took advantage of the mass media, and ads changed from explaining what a product did, to why you HAD to have the product. If all of this sounds familiar it is because much of what makes up the characteristics of our society today, began in the 1920's.
I have students watch Steamboat Willie as an example of the specific effect technology had on cartoons, and as a general example of the changes technology wrought in the 1920's. By comparing Steamboat Willie to Kansas City's Spring Cleaning students see how far technology had bought animation. The animation in Steamboat Willie is fluid, realistic and accompanied by a synchronized soundtrack. These advances allowed Walt Disney to create not just a cartoon celebrity, but a phenomena. The mania for Mickey Mouse would sweep the nation, and sell millions of dollars of merchandise. Using Steamboat Willie I discuss with students the birth of the mass media, (which was used to promote and sell Mickey) and the evolution of the country into a consumer society where people HAD to have a Model T and a Mickey Mouse Watch.
Who knew a Mouse could be so useful? :o)
The Man (O.K. the Mouse) of the 1920's
The Man (O.K. the Mouse) of the 1920's
Have a Disney Day! ºoº
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-- Lee "MouseBear" Suggs
Lee Suggs is a history teacher in Northern California.
The opinions expressed by Lee Suggs, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.
-- Posted July 22, 2002