1st Edition

Disney Discourse Producing the Magic Kingdom

Edited By Eric Smoodin Copyright 1994

    Hirohito and his Mickey Mouse watch, Goofy and Donald as our "Goodwill Ambassadors:" Disney Discourse is an interdisciplinary examination of the founder and his empire. These essays use an interdisciplinary approach to read through Disney's domestic cultural production "innocent" national icons, as well as theme parks, cartoons and television to analyze the global impact of American popular culture, the politics of Disney, and the complex reception Disney productions have received around the world.

    The Disney corporation's ever-increasing visibility the opening of Euro Disney and new stores in malls and vast influence over global culture demands critical attention not only in film and television studies, but in international diplomacy, architecture, economics and other related fields. Disney Discourse consolidates the best of the current work on Disney and provides a representative sample of past analyses of the Disney empire.

    Contributors: Julianne Burton-Carvajal, Lisa Cartwright, Brian Goldfarb, Richard deCordova, Douglas Gomery, David Kunzle, Jon Lewis, Moya Luckett, Richard Neupert, Susan Ohmer, José Piedra, Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, Alexander Wilson.

    Introduction: How to Read Walt Disney, EricSmoodin; Part 1 A Disney Archaeology; Chapter 1 Genius at Work: Walt Disney*Atlantic Monthly, December 1940, Vol. 166, No. 6, pp. 689–701., PaulHollister; Chapter 2 Film Phenomena*Saturday Review of Literature, February 6, 1943, p. 19, WalterWanger; Chapter 3 Mickey Icarus, 1943: Fusing Ideas with the Art of the Animated Cartoon*Saturday Review of Literature, September 4, 1943, pp. 18–19., WalterWanger; Chapter 4 The Magic Worlds of Walt Disney*National Geographic, August 1963, pp. 159–207., Robert DeRoos; Part 2 National Production; Chapter 5 Disney's Business History: A Reinterpretation, DouglasGomery; Chapter 6 Disney After Disney: Family Business and the Business of Family, JonLewis; Chapter 7 Painting a Plausible World: Disney's Color Prototypes, RichardNeupert; Chapter 8 The Betrayal of the Future: Walt Disney's Epcot Center, AlexanderWilson; Part 3 The Global Reach Copyrighted; Chapter 9 “Surprise Package”: Looking Southward with Disney, JulianneBurton-Carva; Chapter 10 Pato Donald's Gender Ducking, JoséPiedra; Chapter 11 Cultural Contagion: On Disney's Health Education Films for Latin America, LisaCartwright, BrianGoldfarb; Chapter 12 Images of Empire: Tokyo Disneyland and Japanese Cultural Imperialism, MitsuhiroYoshimoto; Part 4 Reception; Chapter 13 The Mickey in Macy's Window: Childhood, Consumerism, and Disney Animation, RicharddeCordova; Chapter 14 Fantasia: Cultural Constructions of Disney's “Masterpiece”, MoyaLuckett;

    Biography

    Eric Smoodin is an Associate Professor of Literature at American University, Washington D. C. He is the author of Animating Culture: Hollywood Cartoons From the Sound Era.