Disneyfication and society


Posted October 10, 2021 by heileydurst

Disney world has long played a great role in educating the society on various virtues through their films...

 
Drama

Disney world has long played a great role in educating the society on various virtues through their films, tourist attractions, and merchandise. Despite an alternatively positive surrounding that Walt Disney offers to us, the actual events of reality cannot be ignored. As such, original folk tales and stories that have been adopted by Disney can be used to reveal the truth behind each film version. That is why Disney has chosen to make a change to these source materials. The theme of Disneyfication covering hyper-realistic simulacrum, the reality replaced with fantasy, and the simplified real world will be explained with some examples. Using ten Disney films highlighted in this paper, culture, and religious content in the Disney world will also be covered adequately.
Disneyfication refers to the incorporation of Disney themes into various aspects, especially making them disneyfied. This concept can also be defined as the adaptation of Walt Disney’s theme parks to alter or influence the values and norms in the society for both children and adults. In visiting the Disney world, an example of Disneyfication can be identified through the main character, Mickey Mouse, which is representing the beautiful universe of magic. Unlike traditional beliefs of the evils associated with magic along with all its rituals, Walt Disney has disneyfied the magic principle through Mickey to be seen as a force of goodness and a source of hope. Therefore, it can be generated within the human hearts. Disneyfication has, however, been associated with the hyper-realistic simulacrum, the reality replaced with fantasy, and the simplified real world.
Hyper-realistic simulacrum involves the creation of an idealistic representation of reality in uniqueness to out-perform the actual reality. Disney world in itself is a simulation of the real world or, otherwise, a hyper-reality. It is a universe of recreated streets with castle imitations like Cinderella’s castle that makes it brighter and larger than in the real world. Looking at an example of any Disney film, The Little Mermaid embodies hyper-realistic simulacrum. In Disney world, she used to induce the belief in the existence of fabled creatures even portraying them as well. However, in the real life, mermaids are considered mythical. Aliens, as shown in Lilo & Stitch, are the hyper-realistic simulacrum that will make any person believe in their existence with an access to superior technology. Replacing reality with fantasy can be seen in The Little Mermaid as magic; and breaking of spells is used as a solution. Meanwhile in the real life magic cannot be used for solving issues. The existence of demi-gods and their influence on humanity and life is a fantasy that covers reality in Moana since most solutions are accrued from human knowledge, determination, and active will.
Looking at simplified reality, the best films to showcase this theme include Pocahontas and The Sword in the Stone. The cultural and political conflicts, as well as some challenges faced in civil wars and the solutions are a simplified concept in Pocahontas. It is related to the fact that romance and love between individuals could not be enough in settling scores among various ethnicities. The seriousness of the chaotic situation in fighting for a throne considering the original setting of The Sword in the Stone has been simplified by Disneyfication. The focus of Arthur on education under Merlin's character could not be sufficient to prepare the young heir to the throne. The ascension of the future king to the throne is a simplified reality that uses elementary concepts of knowledge and magic. The existence of the monarch and the roundtable was eliminated in Disney’s version; yet, in reality, they played a huge role.
Disneyfication embodies three dimensions namely: creative decisions, educational curriculum, and multicultural curriculum. First, the creative decisions, according to Disney, are meant to transform tales and folks into the appropriate content for audience providing relevance and lessons. Disney’s version of The Sword in the Stone eliminates the concept of the monarch and the roundtable, as well as the chaotic setting of England at the times of the original storybook to focus on the lessons learned through Arthur. The original story, unlike Disney’s version, concentrated on Arthur rather than Merlin. It was a creative decision to maintain the focus on the power of knowledge through education embodied in Merlin’s teachings. Another solution by Disney can be seen through the film about Pocahontas where unlike in the original script being a teenager that saved John Smith, she is depicted as a mature woman that falls in love with an American man whom she saves. This creative decision can be attributed to the desire by Disney to shift the concentration to romanticization and love as a source of settling civil differences and bringing peace between Indians and Americans.
The education curriculum in Disney is seen first in the Disney world than in these films. In the Disney world, the education curriculum is provided through lectures in the settings of dream with Mickey where the main lesson is an ease in making Dreams Comes True. Moreover, Fantasmic teaches the power of imaginations and magic in the fulfillment of dreams and finally Wishes that provide a vital lesson on the way how wish makers are the dreamers that make wishes a reality. Perhaps, the greatest film that covers the education curriculum of Disney is The Sword in The Stone as Arthur is transformed into various creatures with the aim to teach him valuable lessons. For example, he transforms into a squirrel for a lesson on gravity. The main point of this film is an emphasis on the importance of education as Merlin points out to Arthur. Lilo & Stitch is a great movie used by Disney to provide some education on the family values embedded in the phrase Ohana, which means a family. According to the film, it means that nobody gets left behind. Lilo in the movie refuses to abandon chaotic Stitch as she holds a family unity as a great virtue as being taught by her late parents. Moana, as she takes the courage to travel beyond the reef to fulfill her destiny, is a moral lesson on human determination, courage, and patience. It could be a life instruction that we can achieve greatness and make dreams come true if we overcome our fears. The Little Mermaid through Ursula’s treachery is a life education on the existence of evil that masks itself as a helping hand in the world.
Disney has provided a great insight into multicultural themes through the films’ inclusive of Moana, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, and Atlantis. First, Disney films originate from different cultural backgrounds as follows: Moana is derived from the Polynesian culture, The Hunchback covers Gypsies, and Pocahontas is based on American, European, and Indian cultures. Meanwhile Atlantis embodies the Athenian and Greek customs. Multiculturism is best covered by Pocahontas, which is a rich film displaying the interactions of Americans, Europeans, and Indians when Pocahontas falls in love with John Smith. Later, she gets married in England and gives birth to a child belonging to both races. The concept of deculturalization is also seen in Pocahontas where her settlement in England leads to her abandonment of Indian culture for western one as she adopts Christianity.
The three dimensions of Disneyfication have provided a room for the intersection of religion into various aspects of Disney. Looking into films, the most religious movies among the selected ten ones are Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The legend of Johnny Appleseed. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the moral lesson on the inward beauty that made Snow White fairest of them all is a concept that an evil queen has never grasped. The morality of this film can be attributed to her faith in God, which is shown in various scenes of the movie when she gets on her knees to pray. In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo, Frollo, and Esmeralda are all shown as religious individuals. Both Frollo and Esmeralda sing a prayer in the movie not to mention that the entire film is done in a catholic setting. The aspect of cultural diversity represented by the gypsy, Esmeralda, has provided some space to view how a difference in culture has influenced religious beliefs in the society. Gypsies in the film are considered unrighteous by Frollo who fancies himself as a righteous Christian. The Legend of Johnny Appleseed is a Disney film dedicated to showing the life of Johnny Chapman, who in history is responsible for numerous apple trees and his kind nature. The moral nature of generosity and kindness of Johnny can be attributed to his religious beliefs, which allowed for Disney to incorporate the visions of an angel that guided Appleseed even after his death.
Tracing the source of Disney's film stories, it is with a little doubt that one can confirm a change in the source material or modification. It is mostly because Disney’s creative agenda aims to produce educational and appropriate materials that positively influence the perception of society. The Lion King is a movie grounded on Shakespeare's Hamlet, and one of the changes in the original material as it has been adopted by Disney being in a father-son relationship. The original material portrayed a very disturbing relationship between fathers and sons unlike in The Lion King the father and the son were close. The ghost scenes as well have been changed to provide a happy ending suitable for children without showing a scary side to spirits. When the spirit of Helmet's father appears in the original content, it causes a scare leading to death. However, in The Lion King, Simba's father appears as a spirit being a source of encouragement, pride, and strength.
The controversy in many versions of The Sword in the Stone including the only and future king, the book of Merlin, and the darker version of the Witch in the wind has led to a rise in the themes such as sexuality, war, and dark magic. Since the creation goals of Disney are to provide positive virtues, they alter the original content of the film with numerous omissions to better suit the movie objectives. It not only concentrates on Arthur's life, but as well shifts attention to the lessons taught by Merlin when he transforms to various creatures. The source materials for Atlantis are two Plato dialogues called Timaeus and Critias written about 330 BC. According to the source materials, Atlantis was a technologically sophisticated city but morally corrupt and bent on forceful world dominations. It was stopped by a few upright Athenians. Adopting to the unchanged original material by Disney would promote violence and negative values contrary to the creative goals. In light of this, Disney has changed the source material to show Atlantis as a peaceful Utopia discovered by explorers.

In conclusion, the content covered in this paper provides reasoning behind the operations and film decisions of the Disney world. Also, the aims and goals that Walt Disney hoped to achieve in society about culture, values, and creativity have been depicted. It is important to acknowledge the role it has played in shaping the social ideas through their productions if only to realize the magnitude of influence even on the history itself.

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Issued By Heiley Durst
Business Address 264 West Street
Country United States
Categories Movies , Society
Tags disney , drama , movie , society
Last Updated October 10, 2021