Disney in the Classroom - Oct 30, 2002

Disney in the Classroom
Page 1 of 5

by Lee Suggs (archives)
October 30, 2002
Lee discusses teaching American Culture through Disney.
Disney and American Culture
 

(c) Disney
"Disney came to embody the tenants defined in his work: democracy and patriotism, domestic stability and family loyalty, citizenship and creativity."
-Watts p. 346
 
The years after World War II were difficult for Walt Disney. After the great successes of the 1930's and the important work of the War years; Disney seemed unable to regain his balance. Picture after picture failed at the box office, and there were whispers and eventually loud voices saying that Disney had lost his touch. However, as a new decade started everything changed. Cinderella began a series of box office, television, and theme park successes that transformed the Disney Company from a fading star to a cultural force.
 
During the 1950's and the early 1960's Disney's productions reflected and even defined what it meant to be an American. Davy Crockett was the hero every young boy wanted to be, every girl wanted to be Annette Funicello, and EVERYONE wanted to go to Disneyland.
 
Disney's emergence as a icon of American Values makes clips from the Company's 1950's and 1960's films and television programs excellent material for classroom discussions. I use these clips to guide students in an exploration of how Americans came to perceive themselves in the years after World War II, what their hopes and dreams were for their families, and what they believed the United States stood for. At the end of the school year we will then contrast the Disney images of the 1950's and 1960's to modern Disney images of heroes, families, and perfect places. Students will then write a paper discussing whether Americans' perceptions of who and what we are has changed.
 
(Quotes and much of the inspiration for this article come from Steven Watt's The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life.)
 

(c) Disney
"Be sure You're Right, Then Go Ahead"
-Fess Parker as Davy Crockett (Watt p.313)
 
The 1950's were both an exhilarating and a frightening time to live in the United States. The average American family saw their income nearly double. It was now possible for many families to buy their own home and to fill it with the latest appliances. Television exploded onto the scene opening a world of knowledge and entertainment to virtually everyone. A national highway system was constructed and citizens took to the road in their new cars. It seemed like the generation that had suffered so much during the Depression and World War II was finally being rewarded for their good works.
 
However, this new prosperity made many Americans nervous, and questions began to be asked: Would the good life make Americans weak? Would traditional values survive the ready access to entertainment and other pleasures? Would the United States become a country of self centered materialists; ripe for conquest by the Communist powers?
 
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