Mickey, I don’t want to be your friend
Posted by Laurie
The New York Times reported last week that Disney has dreamed up a new personality for Mickey Mouse. Mickey’s simple kindness wasn’t making enough money, so they decided to give him an edgier personality: now he will be naughty and selfish.
Well Mickey, I don’t want to be your friend and I hope my son doesn’t either. There are enough bully characters out there on TV and in the real world.
Now I’m not saying Mickey should be a symbol of perfect generosity and kindness, but there’s no need to go to the other extreme either. If Mickey needs an edge why don’t you give him one that every child wishes he or she has: the ability to give good comebacks.
Every child has been put in a situation where a mean kid, rude adult or obnoxious sibling went after him or her in school or on the playground. But most of us didn’t know what to say or do in those moments and if we did think of the perfect comeback it was often too late. If only we (or at least our children) knew how to get out of those tough spots, we would feel better about ourselves. Can the character of Mickey give our children a role model in how to confidently speak up for oneself, how to cleverly defend oneself and how to persuade an enemy to join one’s team?
I think Mickey should be the master of getting out of a squeeze. He is a quick little mouse, isn’t he?
What traits do you think should define Mickey’s edgier personality? What type of cartoon character would you want your child to watch and love? Do you think Mickey should change at all?
This entry was posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 11:40 am and is filed under Verbal Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.
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