Disney in the Classroom
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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?