Mickey Mouse Works His Magic in China

Walt Disney had a dream and a drawing of a mouse. Little did he know that after his death and the huge success of his Disneyland Park that Disney parks would be opening up all around the world. The newest park to open up is in Shanghai China. This park is different from the other parks as it is the most modern of them all. As I was reading this article for this week I came across an idea that I had never really thought about before. Disney Parks are American as with the creator of them all was born and died in America. The spread of American ideals and morals are part of the parks and for us are just part of the charm. When you enter the parks you walk down Main Street and the shops and restaurants that are along this route all have an American feel and are often times themed from the early 1900's. But as you want down the main street in Shanghai instead of it being Main Street its called Mickey Avenue because calling it Main Street was too Western. Which got me thinking about how the parks in other countries deal with having this American establishment and how it can clash with their ideas and morals and how the culture you once had started to change. Reagan Louie who wrote the articles talks about how early in her career when they started to photograph Asia especially China was around the same time communism was established and how the culture and art were all starting to change and become restrictive. Now as China is gaining more freedom the people want to express themselves and this is seen in the parks. While the parks is a Disney park there are Asian influences all around showing how this is truly a mixture of American and Asia works.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/opinion/sunday/disneyland-china-shanghai.html