Of mice and (wo)men: Disneyland and the cultural aesthetics of entertainment in the new South Africa

Abstract

A previous article in Image & Text considered the stereotypical meaning of Mickey Mouse when given a typically South African identity after engaging it with specific  African iconographies. This article explores the ways in which 'entertainment' from Mickey's world – or Disneyland as it is more commonly known – is infiltrating the global and more specifically South African cultural discourse. It explains how a form of entertainment modeled on the American theme park advocates a new 'entertainment' aesthetic to a committed global, as well as South African spectator-consumer culture.