Response to Robert W. Brockway

Overall, Brockway did a very good job explaining Mickey Mouse's history and progression through time. However, I feel that Brockway does not understand the significant impact Mickey Mouse has on all generations. Brockway claims that "Mickey Mouse Generation is the Depression Generation" (33). He is arguing that Mickey Mouse will go out of style because only the older generations can relate to the character because Mickey Mouse was an important symbol during the Great Depression and the World Wards. However, I still think even individuals in my generation and younger than us see a great value in Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is the symbol for Disney, and as children we would beg our parents to go to Disneyland or Disneyworld, and we would get the iconic Disney Mickey ears hats and take pictures next to Mickey and Minnie.  Young individuals see Mickey Mouse everywhere really in our daily lives, so I believe that Mickey Mouse will be around for a long time despite what Brockway has to say. One of my favorite parts of this article was when he talked about the qualities of Mickey's character. Mickey is so relatable to anyone because all of his characteristics are human attributes, and because he tries to overcome his difficulties and challenges in his life. We can relate so much to Mickey because each one of us has hardships and challenges that we need to overcome, and Mickey is a proponent that illustrates that we can overcome anything that life throws at us and succeed. I felt like that part of the article was a really good summarization of how Mickey can still impact everyone's lives today. Another part of article which I found fascinating was the quote "act out impulses which as adults we suppress" (Brockway 28). As an adult, there are many expectations on maturity and how you are suppose to act in society. We have to suppress our childlike qualities and impulses we wish was still acceptable at our age. Cartoons like Mickey Mouse, lets us relive our childhood that we so cherished and for awhile be able to act out those childlike impulses. I feel that despite any age, Mickey Mouse is a relatable character and such a huge impact on everyone's lives and will probably be around for the rest of time.