Disney & Religion

[DisDarling]

My hope is that when I meet Jesus that he will lead me into a Heaven just like Disney World, with no lines, and all of my family and friends who have gone before me are there, with Walt waving to me at the Castle.

 

[Kaler131]

My hope is that when I meet Jesus that he will lead me into a Heaven just like Disney World, with no lines, and all of my family and friends who have gone before me are there, with Walt waving to me at the Castle.

I second that!

 

[saturday97]

Thanks for bringing this up in the podcast!

I love that she is doing this. It is great to explore pop culture alongside traditional scholarship. I think she is raising good questions about society, and I imagine that this will really get her students engaged.

To me, Disney resembles religion in the sense that it provides community. The DIS is a perfect example. There are folks who find the same community-building and security in the Disney fan community that you would traditionally associate with church communities.

Also, the concept of "Disney magic" is very similar to the feeling that some people get with religious involvement: faith, trust, and "pixie dust" (belief that there is more out there than what we see).

Many books have been written that present an academic take on Disney-- religion is just one dimension. Disney Studies go in and out of fashion. Janet Wasko's Understanding Disney and Giroux's The Mouse that Roared are very good. Wasko teaches a Disney Studies class at the U of Oregon and she is often quoted on the subject.

 

[Martyb]

I realize I am posting rather late on this thread, but I'm playing catch-up from the holidays. That said, I thought the college course and the inevitable discussions it will provoke are very interesting.

It occurred to me however, that I would like to teach (or attend for that matter) a course about Disney and Mythology. If I had to summarize everything Walt Disney has given us, it seems to me that he has given us an authentic and fully developed American mythology.

While the ancient mythologies from around the world have a literary tradition and oral tradition, Disney's is a purely visual one as it grew out of the cinema. We can begin with the iconic characters of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto et. al. They embody the American spirit and reflect the American experience. Mickey Mouse is a tremendous hero. Whether he's winning the heart of Minnie, triumphing over wicked Pete, or slaying giants, he is a uniquely American hero whose life is full of extraordinary journeys and adventures.

When Disney's characters achieve the "plausible impossible" they resemble the heros and gods from other cultures. Mickey Mouse of course is the primary hero of the Disney paradigm, and one can draw parallels to the heros from other culutres. It is only mildly hyperbolic to compare Mickey with the prominent mythic character from the Chinese culture, Monkey. Monkey is so pervasive and revered, that Mao Tse Tung would put his face on images of Monkey as part of his propaganda. I would not be surprised if manifestations of Monkey appear in Hong Kong Disney, lest Monkey become subservient to Mickey Mouse.

The theme parks, particularly the Magic Kingdom style parks, are the temples of the Disney Mythology. There we see our heros in their temples. There we come to embark on our own quests in Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main Street USA.

Whether he intended to or not, the fact the Walt Disney created a highly developed American mythology that infiltrated our culture in such a short period of time, is a tribute to his sense of poetry.

Admittedly, "Disney" is a commercial venture, but if you allow yourself to experience it, it is a poetic and sublime adventure as well.

I think I'll go watch the black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons now and then read THE JOURNEY TO THE WEST.

 

[SamIAm21]

I realize I am posting rather late on this thread, but I'm playing catch-up from the holidays. That said, I thought the college course and the inevitable discussions it will provoke are very interesting.

It occurred to me however, that I would like to teach (or attend for that matter) a course about Disney and Mythology. If I had to summarize everything Walt Disney has given us, it seems to me that he has given us an authentic and fully developed American mythology.

While the ancient mythologies from around the world have a literary tradition and oral tradition, Disney's is a purely visual one as it grew out of the cinema. We can begin with the iconic characters of Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto et. al. They embody the American spirit and reflect the American experience. Mickey Mouse is a tremendous hero. Whether he's winning the heart of Minnie, triumphing over wicked Pete, or slaying giants, he is a uniquely American hero whose life is full of extraordinary journeys and adventures.

When Disney's characters achieve the "plausible impossible" they resemble the heros and gods from other cultures. Mickey Mouse of course is the primary hero of the Disney paradigm, and one can draw parallels to the heros from other culutres. It is only mildly hyperbolic to compare Mickey with the prominent mythic character from the Chinese culture, Monkey. Monkey is so pervasive and revered, that Mao Tse Tung would put his face on images of Monkey as part of his propaganda. I would not be surprised if manifestations of Monkey appear in Hong Kong Disney, lest Monkey become subservient to Mickey Mouse.

The theme parks, particularly the Magic Kingdom style parks, are the temples of the Disney Mythology. There we see our heros in their temples. There we come to embark on our own quests in Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Main Street USA.

Whether he intended to or not, the fact the Walt Disney created a highly developed American mythology that infiltrated our culture in such a short period of time, is a tribute to his sense of poetry.

Admittedly, "Disney" is a commercial venture, but if you allow yourself to experience it, it is a poetic and sublime adventure as well.

I think I'll go watch the black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons now and then read THE JOURNEY TO THE WEST.

Excellent post! Very insightful and really opened a new line of thinking for me.