Disney accused by Catholic cleric of corrupting children's minds

A leading Catholic cleric has launched a fierce attack on Disney, claiming it has corrupted children and encouraged greed.












Christopher Jamison, the Abbot of Worth in West Sussex, has accused the corporation of "exploiting spirituality" to sell its products and of turning Disneyland into a modern day pilgrimage site.

He argues that it pretends to provide stories with a moral message, but has actually helped to create a more materialistic culture.

Corporations and industries have benefited from promoting false notions of fulfillment. Disney he says is "a classic example" of how consumerism is being sold as an alternative to finding happiness in traditional morality.

While he acknowledges that Disney stories carry messages showing good triumphing over evil, he argues this is part of a ploy to persuade people that they should buy Disney products in order to be "a good and happy family".

"The message behind every movie and book, behind every theme park and T-shirt is that our children's world needs Disney," he says. "So they absolutely must go to see the next Disney movie, which we'll also want to give them on DVD as a birthday present. "They will be happier if they live the full Disney experience; and thousands of families around the world buy into this deeper message as they flock to Disneyland." He continues: "This is the new pilgrimage that children desire, a rite of passage into the meaning of life according to Disney. "Where once morality and meaning were available as part of our free cultural inheritance, now corporations sell them to us as products." "Once planted there they can make us endlessly greedy. And that is exactly what they are doing."

The Walt Disney Company, founded in 1923 by brothers Walt and Roy Disney, is one of the world's biggest entertainment companies. It owns 11 theme parks and several television networks, while its Hollywood studios have produced more than 200 feature films.

Similar to my research Jamieson explores the notion that Disney has an underlying message which it conceals through the overly joyful innocent characters. However, whilst Jamieson examines the capitalist message I am analysing patriarchal ideology. Nevertheless Jamieson is a critique of the way Disney feed children corrupt message. He even goes as far as to say that secularization is due to Disney ignoring religion and celebrating wealth.

By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk