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Whatever happened to Jiminy Cricket?
By Lauren | January 4, 2012
Friends know that the oldest decoration in my office is a little ceramic figurine of Jiminy Cricket, Pinnochio’s “conscience” in the classic Disney film of the same name. I bought the figurine shortly after graduating from law school, and keep in where it’s never far from my sight. Why? Because I believe that an attorney without a conscience is a very scary thing and it reminds me, as Jiminy himself would say, to always let my conscience be my guide.
Having grown up with Pinnochio and other Disney movies that were downright preachy about honesty and responsibility, I was more than a little surprised when my daughter invited me to watch several sitcoms on the Disney Channel over our holiday break. In episode after episode, the stories were disturbingly the same. One or more of the characters tried to deceive someone: a teacher, a close friend, a parent or a spouse. The deceiver went to ridiculous lengths to conceal the lie, the lie was invariably revealed, and the deceiver humbly apologized and was forgiven. Those stories might have taught children to tell the truth and take responsibility for their mistakes, if the deceiving characters hadn’t returned to their manipulative ways after an episode or two. Sadly, though, they always did.
So, apart from my concerns about how Disney’s sitcoms are affecting my own daughter, what’s the relevance to business ethics? First, I’m more than a little miffed that Disney sells itself to parents as a producer of high-quality family entertainment while teaching kids that lying is funny and forgiveable. (Talk about deceptive marketing …) But second, I wonder what today’s children - who will grow up to be tomorrow’s businesspeople and professionals - are learning from Disney about ethics. Nobody does a more effective job of enticing children than Disney’s magic machine. I’m just sorry to see that magic being used to teach kids that dishonesty and manipulation are to be applauded and not condemned.
Maybe it’s time Disney brought back Jiminy Cricket.
Topics: Business Ethics, Social Ethics, business communications, corporate responsibility, customer relations, ethics |