On New Year's Day, for the first time in 20 years, I road It's A Small World. The ride hadn't changed much even though in 1993 I was at Disneyland and in 2013 I was in Disney World. Despite the cultural stereotypes of the dolls in the ride (for example: can can dancers for France, bagpipers for Scotland, and hula dancers for Hawaii), I have always loved the song's message and the ride's international flavor.
The second time I got in line for the Small World ride on January 1st, I remembered that my sister had sent me a link to a short Disney video called "Bricht and Braw." It is part of a series of nine videos, presented by Rosetta Stone Kids, inspired by the art and message of the ride. The visit to Scotland is very "tartanized;" the children wear kilts, visit the Highland Games, learn about clans and are offered Haggis.
I've only seen the Scotland video, but I would imagine that despite the stereotypes that I'm sure exist in each, the over all themes are "the world is neat, go visit it, and speak to it in its own language." This is a great message in today's incredibly shrinking world.
The video might be useful those those of you are involved in studying cultural stereotypes and how diasporas interact with and imagine their homeland.
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