Help me with my research paper

[jackskellington]

sorry i didn't want the poll on there

Hey guys,

I'm actually doing a research paper on Disney being related to a religion. Example people travel to Mecca once in a life time and there are those who go to Disney every chance they get.!! Then people have religious symbols and then disney maniacs have their homes covered in disney stuff. So please any info at all will be greatly appreciated and i hope to get some good responses. this should make my paper be easier.
Thanks guys
Cat

 

[Disneydenise]

I think you may need to give us more info. I've been up too long. Anyway I'd help you but I am thinking Disney is more of a life style. I don't think of religion as fun but I guess you are correct it should be the way you live your life. I'd like to live my life as Sleeping Beauty. My husband is Goofy. Off topic sorry. People take a yearly vacation to a place they enjoy for an experience that is memorable. I wouldn't put Disney in the category of Mecca but I did enjoy the Isreal exhibit at the World showcase during the Millenium Celebration. Life altering experiences are religious experiences. Boy you are really going to have to bring in the whole pasture of cows for the bull on this one. ( I mean this in the nicest way) I hope you don't go to a religous school. God forbid a catholic school. Anyway I did go to a catholic school and I am a pretty good BS-er. Good Luck on getting the info you need. I'll help if I can.

 

[3reds]

I think if you're doing this tongue-in-cheek, it would be okay. I can think of some parallels -- people searching for Disney pins like holy relics, etc. -- but I don't think you could make a serious case for Disney being like a religion. People go to Disney for entirely different reasons than they go to church on Sunday.

 

[dreaming]

I can see the similarity if you are considering that people turn to religion for reassurance and in a sense escape from the stress of the world. I often go to Church for that sense of peace that comes over you and the knowldege that God loves you no matter what.
We went to Disney last November. After 9/11 a lot of people were hesitant to still go, but I was more determined than ever because I needed that escape to a magical place where peace and happiness flourish. My dh, who is not a real Disney believer, is one now. In fact we are going again in December because we can't think of a place where you can find that feeling other than Disney. Also, consider this, people love the idea of the unconditional love received from the Lord - isn't it true that that same unconditional love is why millions of children world wide are true believers in Mickey. I think my daughter said it best last winter when a girl in her kindergarten class told her the princesses where not real. She got mad and told the girl that they were and that God gave Mickey his magic and she'd better believe or God was going to be real upset! Good luck with your paper!

 

[maleficent1959]

Cat,

Is this high school or college? I know someone who might be able to help you.

 

[loriandmatt]

I am not sure if you are looking for opinions agreeing or disagreeing with the main statement of your paper.....

Disney being related to a religion

If what you are looking for is an oposition to your statement i will certainly give you mine. (in a very nice, not threatening way...you came here to get info and i will nicely give you some - even if it differs from the opinion you stated.)

I consider my religion to be a major part of my life. (Catholic - and yes my son goes to catholic school.)
I also am a Disney Fanatic.
They are two seperate things.
My faith makes me happy, gives me support and is about love and respect for God.
Disney is about fun, family oriented vacations and entertainment.

I have religious icons (crusifix, figurines, bible, rosarie....) in my home. The figuries are purely decoration, but the others are tools of my faith. things i read, and use as conduates of prayer. (i do not pray to them, i pray using them as items to focus my thoughts.)

I also have Disney things in my house.(and my car, and my camper and on my clothes..... ) Lots of them actually. My bedroom is (tastefully) decortated with framed prints and postcard from WDW. I spent a bundle on Disney sheets and comforters, phones, alarm clocks, and lets not start on those videos. There is Disney something in just about ever corner of my house......

BUT....

The big difference is that those things and my vacations to WDW are not worship. I admire the acompishments of Walt and think he was a pretty great guy with a good heart and a genious imagination. I feel somehow connected with him when i am enjoying the atmosphere he created...but i don't worship him.

We actually like the fact that we can include our regular observation and affirmation of our faith while vacationing at WDW. (the services at the Poly on Sunday mornings are lovely and always packed - at least every time we have been there. I know these are not Disney services, but they do allow them to happen on their property as a convenience to their guests. ) We also like that imagineers don't seem to be afraid to mention God or faith when it is relevant to the attraction they are creating. (I.E. America in Epcot, Hall of Pres. at MK) I am not sure other parks have or would do that.

- lori
(sorry for all the spelling errors - sure miss that spell check! )

 

[2vets]

I think this is kind of funny! I have a friend who used to comment that if aliens ever landed anywhere near Orlando, they would think that we all worshipped Mickey Mouse, who lives in a big castle and/or giant silver ball.

I don't know about this whole "religion" thing, though. I adore Disney because it reminds me of my childhood - I grew up in Florida and my whole family took trips to Disney once a year or 2. I just love remembering a time before work, financial responsibilities, and major worries - and Disney does that.

 

[DemonLlama]

Greetings!

I happen to be working on a research project for a graduate Children's Literature class this semester that involves WDW, too.

Here's the fundamental problem with your argument -- Mecca is a journey in that is centered around a life experience. Susan Stewart, in On Longing, describes it this way:

"The journey belongs to the moral universe of preindustrialism. It marks the passage of the sun through the sky, the concomitant passage of the body's labor through the day, and the pilgrimmage or passage of life. It is an allegorical notion, one that suggests a linearity and series of correspondences which link lived experiences to the natural world."

In contrast, a visit to Walt Disney World is an excursion,

"an abstract and fictive notion; it emerges from the world of mechanized labor and mechanical reproduction. The excursion is a holiday from that labor, a deviation and superfluity of signification. While the journey encompasses lived experience, the excursion evades it, steps outside and escapes it."

That may not be the direction you were seeking, but I thought I'd throw it out as food for thought. An informed tack might be to contrast Mecca and WDW, instead of comparing them or making them synonymous.


Good luck!

 

[Judy from Boise]

I think it would be more compelling to do a paper on "is the populairty of Disney enhanced by it's congruency with the typical Judeo Chisitian value system" and if so what does that mean as the company seeks to expand into other areas of the nation.

 

[halloween1031]

Greetings Cat—

Maleficent1959 contacted me about your inquiry. As a university professor, my expertise is in 20th Century American cultural history. As part of this, I have done considerable research and works on the influence and context of Disney in 20th Century America. Most relevant to your inquiry (while brief, poses some excellent and potentially compelling theoretical questions) would include what I’ve presented as the American “pilgrimage” to Disney theme parks. Of additional bearing might be my analysis the function of Disney (both in terms of media and parks) in relation to Cold War and post-Cold War escapism and the methods by which Disney (both as the individual and subsequently as an business) recognized and capitalized on evolving public “needs” and periodic insecurities.

If discussing these could be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Kudos to you on your astute recognition of some truly advanced cultural concepts.

 

[RUDisney]

Perhaps, if you're comparing a hedonistic religion, or Ayn Rand's version of religion to Disney, you could make this argument, but there's too many rules for conduct and guilt built into Judeo-Christian religions. Disney is about pleasure. Although, maybe the guilt is in how much it costs to partake of this pleasure.

I tried for my senior thesis in hs to compare Holden Caulfield to Christ. Wrote up my outline and had some references. Got shot down quickly by the professor because he didn't believe I'd be able to find enough resources to back up my hypothesis. I wound up analyzing the symbolism of death in the Catcher in the Rye instead.

I think you're on a good start, but it may need to be massaged a little to work better for you.