This is a power point on How to Read Donald Duck

1. Presentation By,
Bhavneet Bhargava,
Pierce College, WA

2. How to Read
Donald Duck
By Ariel Dorfman and
Armond Mattelart (Translated by
David Kunzle)

3. Historical Context
 The Book covers the time frame of the years 1970-1973
 In 1973 the government of Chile (democratic) was overthrown by the
military with help from the U.S
 Many people were tortured and executed in the times if they were
thought of having viewpoints that were against the new Chilean
government
 Many books were burned for censorship purposes and even this book
was burned down with very few copies that ever survived at the time
and if you had this book in Chile in 1973 then you could have faced
death
 September 11, 1973 Chilean forces ( with U.S help and aid) killed tens
of thousands of Chilean workers and government supporters it was the
largest revolution in the continent at the time
From Kids Should Know Better
https://www.flickr.com/photos/
randar/14351086314/

4. Political Context
 So right after 1970 when the Popular Unity Government came to power the U.S
become nervous because Chile began to shift to the left and at the time the U.S
had almost complete economic control over Chile
 So to reduce the amount of American influence the Chilean government began to
reduce the number of books from American writers or ones that chose to show
other ideologies that were different from those that the government had
 In 1973 after the revolt and the stand of the new government any book, art, or
literature that showed support to the Popular Unity was burned down and gotten
rid of
 If anyone was caught with any type of book, art, or literature that showed support
to the Public Unity then it would be a risk to their life and they could be either
tortured for it or their life could be at risk
 Many writers and artists who were caught making material against the new
government were tortured and exiled, just like the writers of this book

5. Chile vs. Disney
 The comics during this time (1973) were used to persuade the
youth for this point Chile decided to ban Disney and while
this may seem like a shock to many their was a solid reason
on why they decided this. For instance every young child is
like a blank canvas, as they read more and more of what the
comics have in store they begin to develop the morals of
what the comic is trying to explain, therefore the comics are
spreading an influence against the government to the
children which is why it got banned
 There was even a comic made called Cabro Chico in Chile to
counter that of Disney they took the same ideas of spreading
influence to the children but instead spread their own beliefs
and viewpoints that of which matched with the current
government
 The idea of using books and entertainment to spread beliefs
into the people is a very effective technique, which is why
there is a censorship so that it sticks out as only one belief a
common ground of which everybody follows
https://www.flickr.com/photos/
oldpatterns/8546371107

6. Cultural Context
 In many of the comics of Disney a very simple minded message is conveyed for
example in the book it talks about how every character has their own unique
message that they all try to convey
 The type of culture that each duck represents is the flaw placed in Chiles
government greed and power all swayed to one side; the injustice between the
genders that were affiliated with Chiles culture every character in Disney
represented a flaw and that was one reason why they had to ban it, and they ended
up showing the culture that they wanted to portray with their own comic and how
the life that is available with the current government is the least flawed and how it
is the best way of life and the young kids who are reading the comics suck all of it
in, like a blank canvas

7. Messages being sent
 Donald Duck: Now Donald is a character that everybody knows and
loves but he is just like the kids he is easily manipulated and his
mood changes very quick. He is also very quick to action another
thing Donald does is that when things go wrong he nearly always
gives up but another character aids him and gives him morals of
their own to make them adapt
 Scrooge Mcduck: Someone filled with greed and only strung on
power but the end result is that all that wealth and power does not
give happiness but instead the need to be with loved ones and
 Female Characters: Now many of the female characters are all
grouped up in the book; it talks about how they’re all forced to the
kitchen and every time they voice an opinion they’re scoffed at and
ridiculed, for having a different gender they get an unfair
disadvantage to what they do yet in the comics they are still the
hardest working
Character
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oad/30769

8. Point of View
 Half of the book is in perspective of
the author analyzing the different
characters and scripts of the
characters
 The other half is describing the pieces
of the comic that stuck out to the
authors before they went out to go
analyze it

9. The mood of this is very set and patient during
the analysis but then during the explanations of
the comic it becomes very energetic an up forth
compared to the previous parts
Mood

10. Interpretation
 While this is not a traditional story or novel it tells a story as it flows through the text; that story that is being told is
what Chile goes through on an everyday basis the theme of this meanwhile being that the comics that were banned
had been used to create new mindsets for children who were portrayed as blank canvases that could easily be taken
off course and taken advantage of. The parents and adults are the ones who mold these kids into shapes for the future
so if you are able to get into the mind of these kids and make them think that there is more for them on the side that
you portray and how the life they live in does not match in what they believe they will slowly begin to rebel because of
the morals that were created by adults to go against the government that the children were living with in Chile. On the
other hand that tone of this becomes more and more urgent in every case that it transitions to a new problem going
on the climax of each argument tends to have more of a basis of meaning so it is perceived as something of much
more importance than that of the one at the beginning when it shows a intro to each problem by bringing up
examples from Donald duck. Clearly the main character of this book had to be Donald Duck because he represents so
many different things that inhabit Chile from he kids being easily persuaded and him also being in that situation to
represent the country of Chile and how it can be easily influenced by outside forces such as the U.S, they are taken
advantage of and are almost not their own country. The author also has and attitude of empathy towards the
characters like most of the female ones who are only represented as people who don’t get the same rights as the other
characters. The plot of the book is really that being of how the people of Chile don’t really have an option to really
articulate themselves, but instead all the outside noises of the government symbolizing Scrooge Mcduck and how he’s
power hungry. With all that the voice and ability to express our selves with the freedom of speech is something we all
take advantage of, many people in the world such as Chileans don’t have the same ability.

11. Works Consulted
 León, Fernando Muñoz. “Competing Narratives about Sacrifice: Three Readings of
the 11 September 1973 Coup in Chile and Their Conflicting Constitutional
Projections.” Political Theology, vol. 17, no. 6, Nov. 2016, pp. 507–
524. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1179/1462317X15Z.000000000135.
 American Imperialism – The Disney Way (A Review of ‘How to Read Donald Duck’
by Ariel Dorfman and Armand Mattelart).” Sacred Space, 14 July 2014,
nandakishorevarma.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/american-imperialism-the-
disney-way-a-review-of-how-to-read-donald-duck-by-ariel-dorfman-and-
armand-mattelart/#comments.
 Communist Ideology—Third World Revolution." World History Encyclopedia, edited
by Alfred J. Andrea and Carolyn Neel, vol. 20: Era 9: Promises and
Paradoxes, 1945-Present, ABC-CLIO, 2011, pp. 652-654. Gale Virtual
Reference Library,
http://ezproxy.pierce.ctc.edu:2085/apps/doc/CX2458804106/GVRL?u=puya65247&sid=GV
RL&xid=4e9194aa. Accessed 11 June 2019.
 Socialism in Latin America." World History Encyclopedia, edited by Alfred J. Andrea and
Carolyn Neel, vol. 17: Era 8: Crisis and Achievement, 1900-1945, ABC-CLIO, 2011, pp.
314-315. Gale Virtual Reference Library,
http://ezproxy.pierce.ctc.edu:2085/apps/doc/CX2458803469/GVRL?u=puya65247&sid=GV
RL&xid=aa8c018f. Accessed 11 June 2019.