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MICKEY MOUSE x JOY DIVISION… ??

TUESDAY.  JANUARY 31, 2012.  5:48 PM

Last week, Disney made available for purchase a “Waves Mickey Mouse Tee for Adults”.  A clear homage to Joy Division’s 1979 Unknown Pleasures release.  This caused my heart to flutter in the best of ways, as I love both of these conflicting ideas equally.  Disney; the ultimate hallmark of imagination, good old-fashioned wholesomeness, The Little Mermaid, and “The Happiest Place on Earth”.  Joy Division; a symbol of post-punk sonic broodiness which I would pine away for those solitary nights as a teenager in the San Fernando Valley.   A match made in representational heaven.  

It’s really quite genius.  Obvs.  Also, apparently highly upsetting to many people.  According to Rollingstone.com and a billion other internet news sources, Joy Division’s “fans didn’t have much of a sense of humor” about the whole thing, even citing “outrage”.  Stereogum goes as far as to call it “utterly bizarre and inexplicable”.  What’s the big deal?

Is anyone really that shocked and surprised anyway?  Yes, Joy Division’s story is heavy with tragedy.  Although on the surface Disney’s m.o. is squeaky clean, they’ve flirted with the subversive for decades.  Heck, I went to one of the best art schools in the country founded by the will of Walt Disney.  It is an environment that champions critical thought and going against the grain.  People walked around naked, took dumps in student gallery spaces for the sake of performance art, and found comfort in a makeshift triage area equipped with a nurse and ambulance in case of accidental alcohol poisoning during our school parties.  Supposedly.  Allegedly.  For any legal opposition.  In my opinion, this graphic designer deserves some sort of award and probably went to CalArts (hah).

All the publicity has inadvertently sparked a possible Joy Division/New Order reunion.  The shirt is sold out.  Or “pulled from the shelves”.  Either way, I still want one.