The concept behind this book is simple. What should have been a perfect family holiday to Disneyland-Paris was sadly over shadowed by the threat of I.S.
Whilst the children busily went about enjoying themselves, in the wake of the Paris attacks, I was ever watchful. Perhaps this is how true terrorism works- to become the mindset of everyone, always on edge and always expecting something awful to happen. Parents of children that should be relaxed in one of the most innocent places on the planet having to be on guard; no longer can one relax on the beach undisturbed for fear of being murdered!
Disney as an institution, its characters, its people and in all its flavour holds high the guns used by I.S. whilst the children’s faces become ‘death-heads’ as they eagerly watch the Christmas parade. These images are innocent, disturbing, unreal. Childhood in its essence simply ruined.
Juxtaposed with the images is the text. In my book ‘Hoodies and Hastings,’ I outlined the historical timeline of Britain from year 0-1939 in what I loosely describe as ‘our big fight.’ Hundreds of years of slaughter of mankind in countless acts of violence, battle or other military campaign. In this book I have continued my research and continued the timeline from 1939 -2015 and of course the British involvement of Iraq and the beginnings of the I.S. troubles. It seemed to me to be an appropriate opportunity to set this alongside these images of Disney, as we, Britain and the rest of the globe engage in another struggle against an unjust enemy.
Mark S. Masters - January 2016