Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasen’s Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World felt more like a story than an article. Hiaasen’s word choice throughout the book illustrated that he is a fiction writer. It made for a much more entertaining and easier read than the pieces we read by Giroux.  He used phrases like, “Snag the children…” and “…saucer-eared idol stood there, jauntily swinging his overstuffed arms…”, which are very descriptive but not very scholarly. He also incorporated aggressive diction in the piece which revealed his true feelings about Disney. He explains Disney inhabiting of Orlando as “The rape of Orlando”.  Although the quote is very definitive, readers understand his stance and can either agree or disagree. I felt his valid points and stories were diminished by his fictional writing-based word choices and his use of curse words. I did not take him as seriously as I did Giroux.

 I thought it was very important to note that he is a native of Orlando and his motivation behind his hatred for Disney is personal. He adds one line zingers throughout the book to remind us that he is from the place that Disney, to him, ruined. He says, “Enough Orlando’s, already.” and “…maybe you can appreciate my concern.”, furthering the idea that Disney has directly impacted Haaisen’s life negatively. I was surprised when he said he took his son to Disney a couple of times considering he wrote a book about Disney corporate moguls being rats.  

I really liked the idea that Hiaasen discussed about Disney’s incessant need for control. His explanation in the last chapter, “Control has been a signature ingredient of all the company’s phenomenally successful theme parks…”, transcends just theme parks. All aspects of Disney are so controlled and artificial. That is the part of Disney that I feel is the biggest problem. Disney only introduces something that “Middle America” is ‘ready’ for; It make no innovative or out-of-the-box ideas for fear of losing money or their audience. It exercises complete control of its state of Reedy Creek. Reedy Creek has its own government with an independent ‘police’ force, power plant and even airport. This is the ultimate form of control for Disney.  

Something I did not expect from Haaisen was his shift of blame (for a little while), from Disney to parents of children watching Disney. He explains that Disney, although responsible for what it shows to children, is not necessarily responsible for what it makes them or their parents do. He uses the example of 101 Dalmatians, where many families bought Dalmatians thinking they would be a great pets. Many of those animals ended up in shelters because families were not prepared for the responsibility of having an animal. Hiaasen fully blames the parents for making a decision based on a movie, as do I. Disney does not for people to do things; Subconsciously, Disney may have an impact on our children but parents ultimately have the final say on what their kids consume. Disney’s unjust practices are what Hiaasen really is vehement on expressing. From concealing the princesses getting spied on to the death of the 18 year old boy at the hands of Disney’s fake police, Hiassen expresses that Disney gets away with so much because of its false image of innocence and never-ending supply of money.