| US icon Mickey Mouse set to turn 75
Mickey Mouse arrived on the world's cultural stage 75 years
ago as a scrawny but buoyant black-and-white product of the
Jazz Age.
He was a symbol of American pluck in his screen debut, "Steamboat
Willie," on Nov. 18, 1928. The film at New York's Colony
Theatre showed an irreverent rodent who takes Captain Pete's
steamboat on a joyride and woos Minnie Mouse by making music
on the bodies of various farm animals.
The years have dulled Mickey's personality, a result of him
becoming the corporate face of a multibillion-dollar entertainment
empire. In the process, Mickey also has become a cultural
Rorschach test - a symbol of American optimism, resourcefulness
and energy or an icon of cultural commodification and corporate
imperialism.
"There are a number of qualities Mickey represents on
which people like to stick their particular view of the world,"
said Janet Wasko, a University of Oregon professor and author
of "Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy."
For Roy E. Disney, whose uncle, Walt Disney, created the
character, Mickey Mouse is "'this friendly little guy,'
which were Walt's words for describing him."
For Penn State professor Henry Giroux, however, Mickey Mouse
represents the vast reach of American cultural power, symbolizing
a company that has turned childhood into a function of consumerism
as children feel obligated to purchase the latest "Finding
Nemo" DVD or Mickey Mouse watch.
"Mickey Mouse offers up a ... symbol of innocence while
hiding the role it plays in commodifying children's dreams
and extending the logic of the market into all aspects of
their lives," said Giroux, author of "The Mouse
That Roared: Disney and the End of Innocence," a cultural
critique of the company.(Agencies)
美国文化的象征 迪斯尼王国的宠儿 ——米老鼠风雨75年
75年前，生于爵士乐时代的米老鼠在世界文艺舞台上崭露头角。这个黑白相间的小家伙骨瘦如柴，但却活泼可爱。
1928年11月18日，米老鼠代表美国精神在动画片《蒸汽船威利号》中首次亮相。影片在纽约的殖民地剧院放映，片中一只无礼的小老鼠驾驶着皮特船长的蒸汽船到处兜风，还在各种各样田园动物的伴随下演奏美妙的音乐向老鼠米妮求爱。
岁月的流逝淡化了米老鼠的个性，它成为一个拥有几十亿美元资产的娱乐王国的企业形象。在这个过程中，米老鼠也逐渐成为文化上的罗尔沙赫测验的墨水——它象征美国人的乐观、机智和活力，或者标志着文化商品化和企业帝国主义。
《认识迪斯尼：梦工厂》一书的作者、俄勒冈大学教授珍妮特·瓦斯科说：“米老鼠代表了许多种不同的品质，人们喜欢将他们特定的世界观跟这些品质联系到一起。”
对于罗伊·E·迪斯尼来说，米老鼠是“‘一个友好的小家伙’，沃尔特就是这样来形容它的。”罗伊的叔叔就是米老鼠形象的创造者沃尔特·迪斯尼。
然而对于宾州州立大学的教授亨利·吉鲁来说，米老鼠代表了美国文化力量的巨大影响，象征着一个将儿童时代化作消费功能的公司，因为它让孩子们觉得有义务购买最新的《海底总动员》DVD或米老鼠手表。
《喧笑的老鼠：迪士尼与天真无邪的消逝》的作者吉洛克斯说：“米老鼠扮演了一个天真无邪的角色，而隐藏了它所发挥的其他作用——使孩子们的梦想商品化并把市场逻辑延伸到孩子们生活的方方面面。”这是对迪士尼公司的文化批评。
Rorschach test：罗尔沙赫测验，令受试者解释不同的不规则墨迹图形，以判断其性格和智力的一种心理测验方式。
from:Chinadaily
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