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  • Essay / An Overview of Examples of Political Activism: The Mtv Protest and Disneyland Gay Days

    The 20th century was riddled with large amounts of political activism and protest. Countless groups and political organizations were trying to get their message accepted and achieve their goals. Two examples of political activism are Disneyland Gay Days and MTV's attempted protest in the early 2000s. Although the MTV protest is not technically from the 20th century, it nevertheless has several similarities and includes almost all of the same qualities of a protest from the previous century. The MTV protest had very little success in aggressively protesting MTV's power and the war in Afghanistan, while the groups involved in Gay Days were very successful in improving Disney's acceptance of the lifestyle homosexual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayDisney Gay Days are a few days in which gay rights advocates gather at Disneyland to try to get the equality. It all started in 1978, when the Los Angeles Bar and Restaurant Association, made up entirely of gay bars and restaurants, decided to use Disneyland as a venue for an event. However, Disney did not know that these restaurants were gay and used the Disney platform to show how they were discriminated against and unfairly treated not only in Disneyland but across America. Disney attempted to discourage the event by canceling music and increasing security in order to maintain its reputation as representing conservative American cultural views and heterosexual families. This prejudice against homosexuals persisted for a few more years, and in 1980, "two homosexual teenagers attended a date night at Disneyland and deliberately danced together...in order to challenge the parks' policy against homosexual dancing...[ It ended] with Disney security escorting the men off the ground and out of the park” (Griffin 129). However, all this would soon change. Following the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Disney began supporting Gay Days and using them as a benefit for AIDS culture. Gay Days is now an annual event that Disney fully supports. The gay community's persistence in infiltrating Disney proved to help it move closer to equality. Plus, it didn't hurt that gays were paying clients with big earning potential and PR would improve with greater acceptance. On the other hand, the MTV protests have been much less successful in getting their message heard and acted upon. In the early 2000s, a group of teenagers attempted to go on MTV's Total Request Live in New York and hold up their signs to protest the war in Afghanistan and corporate power. Sandra Garcia, a protester, explained: “We are suffering so much, why would we want to inflict it on other countries? We are brainwashed by television and brands: MTV and America trying to dominate other countries” (Quarter 198). MTV security escorted the protesters off the property, but ultimately MTV was too powerful and would not stand by while the protesters attempted to take them down. The event had little or no success in terms of change. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a personalized essay. Ultimately, the Disney Days protests and..