Process Paper
For the National History Day project I had to find a turning point that was important to history. Lots of people, especially young people, love to watch cartoons. Although they’re usually quite light and even absurd, they have had an impact on our culture. Walt Disney is one of the best known, most innovative animators there were. His cartoons, especially Mickey Mouse, have set the platform for many cartoons today, and he’s started a Walt Disney empire that’s still going strong today. It’s had a major impact on history, so I decided to use that as my turning point.
Research wasn’t too hard because there were many sources on the internet to refer to. First I looked up Walt Disney to learn about the man behind the revolutionary cartoons. I found many books documenting the life and creative ability of Disney. I then looked up some of his early cartoons and when he first started off with Mickey Mouse. Next I looked up Mickey Mouse and the effect the character had/has on popular culture.
I felt as though a website would help me present the information much better than any other form of presentation. With a website you can represent the information through pictures, videos, and text. Basically everything one would need to learn all the information about the subject. A play would be fun to do, maybe someone can dress up as Mickey mouse! But I don’t know how to act, so that cancels that out. The website, though, is probably the best choice simply because you can present your information many ways. I went to a domain to make websites to make one. I just put the information, pictures, and video clips up, and viola!
Walt Disney and the Mickey Mouse revolution relates to the NHD theme in that those animations were a turning point in history because they introduced fun to a country that was going through hardships. They changed the popular culture back then by introducing something new and fun during a time of turmoil, and still to this day are shaping the culture. I’m not sure if I know one person who hasn’t seen or at least heard of Mickey Mouse, so that pretty much sums up the impact. Everyone loves Mickey Mouse!