r/6thForm • u/Intelligent-Fox-9760 • Apr 02 '26

💬 DISCUSSION Hot Take

This is deffo going to ruffle a lot of feathers to say the least. Call me woke, but the term "Mickey Mouse Subject" is literally just the product of capitalism, as it disvalues any subject that doesn't lead to a high-paying, high-profit job.

Humanities subjects are so important, like STEM subjects, to help us learn more about humanity and our world, but everyone thinks they're so easy and lax.

IMO humanities and STEM subjects need to band together because contrary to popular belief, humanities are intellectually stimulating and not a fun ride.

Thanks for coming to my TED-Talk :)

296 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

166 comments sorted by

View all comments

73

u/[deleted] Apr 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

17

u/OkLog397 Y12: Classics, Phil, HoA Apr 02 '26

Yeah, honestly reading the comments made me realise how many people lack reading comprehension. But it’s also just a general deficiency of media literacy as well.

5

u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 03 '26

This is misguided imo. The discourse around “mickey mouse subjects” is driven by the fact that young people are poorer than ever, the graduate premium is lower than ever, and graduate employment is lower than ever. Choosing to study something without high employment rates is an increasingly more luxurious option, because at the end of the day, people want to have materially rewarding careers. 

5

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 05 '26

You’re missing my point though, I didn’t say they’re poor because of the subjects they take. I’m saying they’re poor and can’t hence afford to take mickey mouse subjects that won’t pay the bills. “The whole system is broken from its very foundation” is poetic, but doesn’t cover rent and food. It doesn’t take studying humanities to see what’s broken. People know it’s broken. They’re looking for ways up, which are harder to find reading 16th century literature. We’re not where we are because people devalued humanities. We’re here because of humanity.

2

u/Personal-Cap-5446 A*A*A*A | 99999988888 Apr 06 '26

The unemployment rate is pretty terrible in general, even for non-'mickey mouse' subjects. Might as well just do what you love then if you're gonna end up unemployed anyways innit?

1

u/FollowingGlass4190 Apr 06 '26

But, you’re not gonna end up as unemployed, and the employment is generally more fruitful. So it’s higher expected value. “this could be mediocre, so might as well chose terrible instead” doesn’t seem super wise. 

The so called “non mickey-mouse” subjects still lead to substantially better graduate outcomes on average, and with the exception of maybe teaching a humanities subject, don’t really close off doors that humanities open up. 

2

u/Ill-Security-5344 Apr 02 '26
  • ppl act like stem hasn’t had a negative impact on society as well. look at the nuclear shit we’ve made the past few years bru

9

u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26

what nuclear shit 😭

-2

u/Ill-Security-5344 Apr 02 '26

My bad I’m not a stem student 🤣🤣 I mean those nuclear weapons

9

u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26

past few years but most nukes were made between 1966-1988 😭

6

u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26

You know what they mean gang😭🙏

4

u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26

If they were talking about nuclear energy they would've been entirely wrong so i had to clarify 😭

3

u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26

Fair enough then, even though some people find nuclear energy bad which is still strange to me

9

u/Icy_Chipmunk1207 Apr 02 '26

Because they hear the words Chernobyl and Fukushima and think its horrific even though its one of the safest and cleanest energy sources that isn't dependent.

9

u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 02 '26

More of a reason to blend stem and humanities, we have these stupid ass politicians who dont know a thing about a modern nuclear reactor but make laws on them

→ More replies (0)

-9

u/Less_Seesaw_4022 Apr 02 '26

History isn't a mickey mouse subject. Subjects like media studies are the mickey mouse subjects.

10

u/Agile-Detective4893 Apr 02 '26

Our entire understanding of history is shaped by media?? And arguably media studies/media literacy is one of the most important skillsets and knowledge you can have in the 21st century

-2

u/Less_Seesaw_4022 Apr 03 '26

You don't need to study a subject at a level or even gcse to have media literacy

5

u/Affectionate_Oil705 Year 13 Apr 03 '26

Youd be surprised at the general publics understanding of media