Why Disney? Why make fun of something that seems so pure and so innocent? Something that caters to children? Something that makes billions of dollars yearly? Something that skews the minds of children? Something that is done by everyone? Something that appears to be good-hearted fun but instead has many circulating rumors of the abuse behind it?
Dismaland is the newest attraction that Bansky the street artist has released, essentially a satire of the amusement park Disney World/ Land. The question that most are asking is why make fun of Disney? The answer to Bansky and several other artists featured in the display is quite obvious. The attraction is a warped amusement park with various Disney characters that are warped to look very unattractive. While some may find that Bansky is possibly jealous of what Disney has created I think the answer should be looked at deeper.
Lets take Bansky's depiction of SeaWorld. A life size whale is seen jumping through a hula-hoop while coming out of an impossibly small toilet. Lets analyze, the artist could possibly be attempting to display the small world that Shamu was found to be living in. A tiny tank not fit for a large wall. He could also be depicting the silly acts that animals are forced to put on. Could it be that Bansky is showcasing the animal abuse that can be found in Disney’s theme parks? Most of course would not like to look at it that way. Disney is pure, Disney is fun.
Let's examine the building with children standing in a line all holding their arms out with the words mediocre splayed across the middle. Lets venture to say that this could be a take on the conformity of children. From an early age children are taught that Disney is the voice of their generation and what they should be learning from. From an early age children are taught conformity in schools, home, and virtually every time they step out into society. Could Bansky be playing on the fact that, due to conformity, everyone is actually mediocre? There is an emphasis on society that we need to be excellent and great and above and beyond but in fact Bansky could be saying that the opposite is true of human kind. We are just mediocre.
Finally, lets take a look at the brochure on the event. “Are you looking for an alternative to the soulless sugar-coated banality of the average family day out? Or just somewhere cheaper. Then this is the place for you—a chaotic new world where you can escape from mindless escapism. Instead of a burger stall, we have a museum. In place of a gift shop we have a library, well, we have a gift shop as well.” “Soulless sugar- coated banality” could this be a play on the fact that Disney is promoting a world that is false to children? Cinderella is taught that she needs a man to save her from her destiny. The Little Mermaid is told she needs to give up what makes her unique in order to gain her prince charming.
Yet, these are the role models that we teach young girls to look up too. What is seen as good-hearted stories are actually soul sucking tales. Could Bansky, claiming to have a library, be a play on the fact that instead of teaching our children about great works of literature, we are reading them fairy tales of stories that will never be a reality for them? Or maybe they just have a very nice library. Lastly, Bansky is very big on the gift shop. This is plainly a play on the mindless consumerism that consumes businesses in today’s society. To put it bluntly, long gone are the days where the guests actually matter and instead everything is about consumerism. Disney does not care if you had a great time in their park; they care about if you bought your child five stuffed animals along with souvenirs for the family who could not attend.
