The image of Mickey Mouse is as quintessentially American as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s or Wal-Mart, and we usually associate that adorable little rodent with singing and dancing and overall carefree fun, right?
Well, recently, it seems that our furry friend has been manipulated into a political mouthpiece for Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV station. The supposedly kid-friendly show, bizarrely titled “Tomorrow’s Pioneers,” seems to have stolen the image of Mickey Mouse right from under our noses.
According to a May 10 article in the Los Angeles Times, Mickey, or “Farfur” as they call him, is seen dancing and singing – but not in the right context. An excerpt of his rants include: “We, tomorrow’s pioneers, will restore the glory of this nation. We will liberate Al Aqsa, inshallah; we will liberate Iraq, inshallah; and we will liberate the Muslim countries invaded by murderers,” according to the article.
This is not something you normally hear out of a beloved cartoon character, and in the United States this type of blatant political propaganda would not be accepted in mainstream media. But this isn’t happening in the United States. It’s happening in Palestine, a country where your political ideology could get you murdered.
Of course, now that this controversy has reached American media, Palestinian Media Watch has taken the show off the air. According to the article, Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti was quoted as saying, “Any media outlet that breaks Palestinian broadcasting law will be penalized by the Information Ministry.”
But why was this show allowed on the air at all? Corrupting the minds of children by taking over their favorite TV show is conniving and manipulative and is scary to think about. It’s unnerving to see a government with that much control over the media.
What’s next? National news anchors discussing events only pertinent to their political agenda? Oh wait, that already happens here in the United States, and it’s called Fox News. Although the United States prides itself on being a “free” nation, it’s obvious that our news stations, publications and radios are all slanted one way or another. And that’s perfectly fine, as long as the audience is aware of it. It’s the times that we’re unaware that are most detrimental to our society, and children certainly don’t understand Hamas’ political agenda.
The fact that Palestinian TV stations have stolen our beloved Mickey isn’t the important issue here. Yes, it’s a terrible situation, and Hamas may have a hefty lawsuit on its hands with Disney’s endless amount of attorneys. But that’s not the point.
The point is that Palestinians used a familiar, likable cartoon character to brainwash innocent children, and there should be substantial consequences to such a heinous act.
Politics doesn’t belong on children’s television, no matter which country you live in. The children living in Palestine are already subjected to horrendous amounts of violence and hatred every day, so why bring that into their one moment of peace?
In the end, this controversy just goes to show that anything can be a political mouthpiece. Let’s just hope our country never resorts to such tasteless propaganda.
Aneya Fernando is a sophomore journalism major and the assistant opinion editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.
