A Closer Look

The city of Los Angeles has always meant one thing for me- home. Its places and people have always influenced me. I’ve known the city my entire life. Or at least I thought I did before I took this class.

 Disneyland has always been a big part of life. It has always been, as my friend says, “our motherland, our home.” And all the while I’ve never questioned it- the Disney films, Disneyland, everything Disney. The Disney films and characters that once filled up our childhood days come to life as we pass the gates of Disneyland into the “world of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy.”  They bring out joy and happy memories from the past. But now I’ve realized I need to take a closer look at Disneyland itself and what it originally stood for and the purpose it was meant to fulfill. In class, it was mentioned that Disneyland portrayed races in stereotypical ways and I had never thought about it that way. It really relies on the stereotypical versions of the many races. It raises the question of what message Disney is trying to send its “guests,” particularly the younger “guests.” In my media studies class, we discussed Disneyland as a kind of simulation of reality and the idea that we lose sense of what’s real and what isn’t and somehow places like Disneyland have become more real than reality itself. However, Disneyland doesn’t portray an accurate image of reality. It only shows stereotypes. Even though I don’t think the love I have for Disneyland will change due to nostalgia, the realization that Disney is different than what it seems definitely changes my perception of how minorities and other races are portrayed by Disney. 

            The most memorable thing that I will take from the class is the realization that even though I thought I knew Los Angeles, it turned out that there was and still is much I need to learn. Deverell’s Whitewashed Adobe described the Simon Brickyard as being one of the most successful brickyards in Los Angeles. It was surprisingly located where I live now. I hadn’t even thought about the history of the city I lived in, I just always thought it was the same old city I’d always known. Now after taking this class, I realize that there is so much about home and Los Angeles that I have simply looked over. I just accepted that the way things are now had always been that way, which based on  from what we read in this class, is not the case at all.