If you’re reading our blog, our twitter posts or checking out our facebook page, you know that we love Disney. A LOT. Well, as with any relationship, you have to take the good with the bad. Despite our immense love for the corporation and the happiest place on Earth, Disney is in no way perfect. To illustrate that, we have one very firm example: gift shops in the Moroccan pavilion are selling Lebanese pop music and statuettes of King Tut’s death mask.
I don’t mean to be Captain Obvious here, but Lebanese pop music is, well, Lebanese and King Tut is Egyptian. If you take a look at a map, Lebanon and Egypt are not Morocco. “What’s the big deal” you ask? It is very much a big deal.
Disney promotes EPCOT as a place for learning and exploration. Disney asserts that the World Showcase offers a real life look into the cultures represented therein. Disney claims that their employees do months of research before erecting a new pavilion or making any updates/changes. With all of this being said, Disney has a responsibility of cultural stewardship to put their money where their mouth is, to do their due diligence, and accurately represent the many cultures from the highest apex of the roof down to the smallest tile on the floor. And this, my friends, includes merchandising.
Kristin is a professional Middle Eastern dance artist and instructor here in New Jersey and she exposes herself to all aspects of Middle Eastern culture, obviously including music. There is an abundance of Moroccan music available on the market. Instead of piping Lebanese or Egyptian pop music throughout the “streets of Morocco” why not put in a little extra effort and stock your music sections with some Moroccan artists? While it is true that Moroccan and Lebanese cultures have some similarities, they are also extremely distinct and so is their music! Nancy Ajram and Amr Diab may be HUGE names in Middle Eastern pop music, but anyone who has any knowledge of Middle Eastern music, knows they are indeed NOT Moroccan. Come on, even though we Americans love The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, you won’t see The White Album on sale at the American pavilion, now will you?
As a former art history major and anthropology minor, with a compulsive interest in burial rites and Ancient Egyptian culture, I was shocked when I saw King Tut’s death mask for sale. Although at one point they were both part of the Roman Empire, the Egyptian practice of mummification was not adopted as a common practice amongst the Moroccan people. In more modern history, Morocco has been considered an Islamic nation since approximately the 7th century; muslims absolutely do NOT mummify their dead. What makes this even more upsetting is at no point in history, neither ancient nor modern, was Morocco considered part of Egypt. True, cultural diffusion (the spreading of common practices from one nation to another) does often happen through interaction between merchants, travelers, etc; however, religious practices like mummification are NORMALLY only introduced when one nation conquers another and imposes their religious beliefs on the conquered. All things considered, it makes no sense for this very recognizably Egyptian memorabilia to be sold in a Moroccan gift shop.
Whoever is in charge of merchandising for the Moroccan pavilion has completely dropped the ball. Yes, all of the products being sold in the pavilion are of Middle Eastern origin; however, it is a HUGE oversight to treat these three very different Middle Eastern cultures as one in the same. It is deceiving to sell these products to a clientele who believe that everything being sold in the pavilion is of Moroccan origin or cultural importance. And it is irresponsible to promote these products as Moroccan to a clientele who may not be educated in the cultures of the Middle East. Let’s face it, there are people out there that do not even know where Morocco is, forget about its physical juxtaposition to Lebanon and Egypt. (I have to admit that I had to look at a map of the Mediterranean when writing this post. I know where Morocco is, and know where Egypt is, and I had a general idea of where Lebanon is, but I wanted to make certain my “general idea” was not misinformed.) Especially in a park that is promoted as a trip around the world in an afternoon and advocates learning while having fun, it cannot be assumed that visitors will be able to separate the “authentic” (traditional Moroccan dress) from the “culturally similar” (Lebanese pop music). It should never be assumed that these cultures are so similar that it doesn’t even matter what you sell in the gift shop. NEVER!
Despite all of our love for Disney, we are very disappointed with them. Sloppiness is not part of Disney’s M.O., and this merchandising is very sloppy.
Now that we have descended from our soap box, check back in a few days for a new post! It could be about Fantasmic!, or it could be our Hidden Mickey hunt, or it could be something entirely different. You never know!
Have a magical day!
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