Disney in the Classroom
Page 3 of 5
(c) Disney
"It's scary the way nobody stays together anymore these
days. Pretty soon there's going to be more divorces than marriages."
-Susan to Sharon in "The Parent Trap"
(Watts p. 333)
1950's and 1960's Disney films did not only provide
role models for individuals, but strongly reaffirmed the role of the
traditional American family. This was in response to the common belief that
modern society might rip the traditional family apart. Women had been
encouraged to work during the War, and many found they enjoyed the
experience. These led many female workers to try to stay on the job when the
War was over. However, this idea deeply frightened most Americans. So an
unofficial campaign was begun to put women back in the home. The popular new
baby advice book, by a then unknown pediatrician named Dr. Benjamin Spock,
advised mothers to stay home if "they wanted healthy children". Factory
owners fired skilled female workers and gave their jobs to returning
veterans. Almost every sit-com and series on television promoted the idea
that a woman's highest purpose was to manage the home.
Of course Disney picked up on this theme and
celebrated the domestic role of women in many productions. However, he also
dealt with what Americans feared would happen if the traditional family unit
was not perserved. This is most clearly demonstrated in The Parent Trap.
(1961) This movie showed what could happen when prosperity made it possible
to support two separate households. Two very similar looking teenagers meet
at a summer camp where they become enemies. Eventually they are forced to
spend time together and they figure out that they are actually twins
separated because of their parents' divorce. The girls decide to reunite
their parents and after a series of comic misadventures manage to do so.
Disney's clear theme is that divorce is wrong, and that it can be prevented if
Americans stop being so selfish.
We watch clips from "The Parent Trap" to demonstrate
what the "proper" role of women was in the 1950's and early 1960's. (Maggie
the girl's mother is an admirable domestic role model; especially in contrast
to the gold digger her ex-husband is about to marry.) We then discuss why a
domestic role for a woman was and is a positive choice. We also discuss why
forcing such a role on women is morally wrong. I end the discussion by having
students write how they think modern couples can avoid divorce and do a proper
job raising their children.
A student's perception of divorce
(c) Disney
"To all who come to this happy place-
-WELCOME-
Disneyland is your land.
Here Age relives fond memories of the past-
and here Youth may savor the challenge of the future.
Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the
hard facts that created America-
with the hope that it will be a source of joy and
inspiration to all the world."
-Walt Disney, July 17, 1955
From the beginning it was
obvious that Disneyland was something different. More than a collection of
rides it was an idealized version of the United States, of the way things
should be. Each of Disney's lands celebrated an aspect of the American dream:
Main Street U.S.A. gave life to a sense of community many Americans felt they
had lost, Frontierland honored the triumph of the American
past, Tomorrowland looked to the promise of the future, Adventureland extolled
the wonder of the world today, and Fantasyland celebrated the hopes and dreams
of childhood.
Walt said that Disneyland "emphasized what made
America great and what would keep it great".