Index To Molly's Suite Main Molly, the Innocent Youth in Person Fanfics Fanpics Anthropology and TaleSpin Links Some Poems Guest Book Molly's Admirer

Note: I used the book "Cultural Anthropology" (C.P. Kottak, 6th edition McGraw Hill Inc. New York, pp. 385-400) to write this essay. Whilst reading, keep in mind it wasn't my purpose to write something scientific, I wrote down what I thought at that moment. Of course you're free to take this essay as scientific, but the eventual consequences will be on your account (teasing grin). Anthropology is what I study. It's trying to understand other cultures both in societies and companies. I deliberately mention other cultures instead of strange cultures because people get the idea about us running around with pygmees when we talk about strange cultures. Of course it's a hobby, but it's just a small part of anthropology. Anthropology also concerns the American and European cultures. When an anthropologist starts to study his/her own society, he/she forgets soon the difference between Culture - transmitted via language and learning, the ability to culture - and culture - specific issues you learn from the very beginning of your life. As we talk about our own society, we talk about elevated culture and not about certain general cultural habits, like a visit to McDonalds isn't (Western) culture. Well, visiting McDonalds or Disneyland is also a part of culture, it made our culture like it is now. So just be honest. Why would you study ordinary life on Vanuatu as cultural and not American ordinary life? Look at Western society, it is soaked with Disney, ask everybody you know if they've ever heard of Disney-cartoons... The United States Of America: the name itself already mentions an unity. This unity isn't based on traditional central government policy or marriage-patterns, but it is relatively new, e.g. caused by globalization during the 20th century. In fact the unity of America is an unity in diversity. And that's the terrain of anthropologists. It's up to them to study unity and diversity. Reflect these unity and diversity on TaleSpin and an anthropologist would ask: "What unifies TaleSpin-fans and what kind of mutual diversity do they have?" That's the first issue to deal with here. Actually this doesn't have to be difficult. Spinners are unified by their interest in TaleSpin, every one of them likes or even loves TaleSpin. Simple isn't it? A second issue about the unity is TaleSpin as a spatial unifying animation. From everywhere around the world Spinners can say what they want to on the Internet. I read reactions from the USA, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, France, Russia and so on. This website is created in the Netherlands, where're you from? Beside this interest in TaleSpin and everything what's linked with TaleSpin in any kind of way, Spinners could be united in their indignation about the Disney Company. TaleSpin was on TV for a few years and disappeared without leaving one trace. The Disney Shops (although, those I've visited in the summer of 2000 in England) are overloaded with items of Mickey Mouse, Winnie The Pooh and the latest releases, but no or little traces of TaleSpin. When I asked them about TaleSpin, not even every shop-assistant knew what I was talking about. I was touched. Finally I found a few tapes with special offers valid until November 30th 1992! Visit the website of the Disney Company and take a search for TaleSpin. You'll come up with nothing. It just seems likes the Disney Company wants to hide TaleSpin as it was a failed project. This indignation, the feeling that you're not taken seriously is a strong unifying force: "we against the bad outside world." In Disneyworld the major sections remember the visitors about the American history in several stages. TaleSpin gives us a look at the 1930's, the Depression, technical development and the gold rush. In TaleSpin, past, present, future, real life and fantasy are unified. The present is the time and situation Rebecca, Molly, Kit , Baloo etc. are living in: the 1930's. That situation is the real life for them. The past has a big influence on the TaleSpin-characters. Now and then Kit is haunted by his past as a pirate, it's a link between the past and present. The pirates, especially Don Karnage as their captain, are the symbol of the past. Of course they're up to time but in the 1930's pirates weren't that ordinary, thinking about pirates makes you go back in time to the 17th and 18th century. Rebecca is the future. She's a single mother, what happened to her husband is still subject of speculation. Also she has a company of her own. IMHO that would be very rare in the 1930's. People could soon start to gossip about her, being together with Baloo, (single and male!) most time of the day. Nowadays this kind of situations wouldn't cause such a havoc. Another link between real life, future and TaleSpin exists via the fanfics Spinners write about Kit as a military pilot. Would that be a wink to World War II? Combining real life and fantasy appears in Mommy For A Day when Molly adopts Henry, a mythical animal. This combination of past, present, future, real life and fantasy could be a symbol of universal eternity. But like I said, Spinners also do have a diversity. Some Spinners sign their messages with "B&B Forever", others with "K&K Forever". Would that be the result of difference in character of the Spinners themselves? Like the B&B-fans are longing to romance. Maybe they are convinced Rebecca has been long enough alone, but maybe they also want a bit more romance in their own life. In this style the K&K-fans are longing to the heroics of action, sword-fightings and adventures of pirates, not just in TaleSpin, but also in their own life. Look at TaleSpin-websites, and mostly there's a central character. Here that's Molly, but there are also sites especially about Kit, Rebecca, Baloo or Don Karnage. This diversity doesn't mean these different camps are in a state of war with each other. Hang on, you're almost there... Often Kit and Molly are being seen as brother and sister. It's funny to see the relationship of authority - relationships between parents and their children - is often avoided. Maintaining those kind of relationships would cause a lot of stress. There are two authoritative relationships in TaleSpin: one relationship between mother and daughter and one between boss and pilot. Those relationships sometimes cause a lot of stress, or as in Rebecca's words: "No Molly, not now!!" In every other relationship the authority is avoided. Kit is an orphan and in that way his relationship with Baloo, Molly and Rebecca is less authorative than e.g Molly and Rebecca. When Kit really was a brother of Molly, his relationship with Rebecca would change, Rebecca would feel more responsible for him, and maybe he had to clean up his room more times. That room would be then one of the rooms in Rebecca's appartment, but try to imagine Rebecca telling Kit he has to clean up his room, it's hard to do isn't it...? Conclusion: Just look at what you've read here (you did? I love you!) and you'll see TaleSpin isn't an ordinary cartoon, TaleSpin is a melting pot of a lot of aspects of Western society, our lives and fantasies. TaleSpin is a jewel, marvelous!!!! So what happens: the Disney Company stops broadcasting TaleSpin, stops creating new episodes and a few traces are left. That leaves this pretended social scientist with just one remaining question: WHY??