"The mediator between head and hands must be the heart" - Metropolis, 1927
We all know that Disney movies have propaganda, but what about Disney Parks? Could their dark rides and roller coasters try to influence our thinking as they manifest the beliefs of their creators?
The idea of theme park propaganda is a bit difficult to get. There isn't a lot of messaging you can dump on a roller coaster or ferris wheel. However, hat doesn't prevent theme parks from showing beliefs and promoting behaviors. Just the right degree of imagineering and we got just another medium for indoctrination.
There was once a theme park in Orlando, Florida. It's name was "Splendid China" and contained shows about Chinese culture and miniatures from its landmarks - from the CCP perspective. The park was controversial from the very beginning for promoting party lines and would eventually die out.
Disney's propaganda might feel a bit more subdued, but upon closer examination we can find that they do have it in some of their rides.
For starters, if the ride is based on a movie, the film's messages will be transfered to it. One of the shows in Animal Kingdom is "Zootopia: Better Zoo-gether" and it repeats many of the ideas from the film - namely, diversity.
Now, I don't think speaking about movie-based rides is worth my time, because in that case I can just judge the movie by itself. However, Disney rides aren't always movie rides. Since the beginning they have portrayed different aspects of human life, often with original characters designed exclusively for the park.
Today, in the Pasture of Knowledge, I will show you some interesting analysis from different Disney parks, rides, and themed areas.
Disneyland and Magic Kingdom
The original Disney park opened in 1955 and became an instant hit. Later, in 1971, Disney opened Walt Disney World Resort, the Florida location. That place has more parks, with the Magic Kingdom being a copy of Disneyland in Anaheim.
The parks are divided in multiple sectors: Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Liberty Square, Fantasy Land, and Tomorrow Land. Upon first glance they represent different genres in story telling like science fiction, westerns and fairy tales.
However, I think the Disneyland areas also manifest liberal humanist values. Individual Disney rides promote classical liberal ideas of freedom, fraternity and democracy, while the sectors represent different aspects of humanity which are dutifully glorified by the hand of Disney magic. America and liberal capitalism are promoted as well.
While it's possible that my interpretation of Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom isn't what the designers intended, I think my theory can defend itself upon scrutiny. I will proceed, therefore, to explain why I think the overarching message of Disneyland is American Humanism.
Adventure Land is a glorification of the age of exploration and conquest, without which the American empire wouldn't exist. It also represents human bravery and the desire to find new things.
+ Pirates of the Caribbean is a glorification of Anglo-Saxon piracy. The corsairs used to sabotage the Spanish empire, whose merchant ships from america were the constant prey of the pirates.
The same was the case with the now abandoned Discovery Island, which was initially themed to pirates - and named Treasure Island.
Frontier Land, New Orleans Square and Liberty Square are a glorification of the American nation. We have different rides themed to different areas in the US, such as the south, the badlands, and eastern america. Liberty Square represents the founding of America.
+ Tom Sawyer's Island represents American love of freedom. It's a garden full of youthful energy which the visitor can explore without restrictions. On the middle we can find a fort, such as the ones which were built to expand American territory.
+ Splash Mountain glorified southern culture and ways of life. However, this ride has been removed at both locations because the film its based upon is widely considered to be racist. We went from glorification of the old South to a corporate woke cancellation, as the log flume was hastily replaced by Tiana's Bayou Adventure.
+ The animatronic spectacle of "Hall of Presidents" is a glorification of democracy, the presidents, and the political system of America. On the other hand, the fact that they have animatronic representations of dead people should be interpreted as a manifestation of American irreverence.
+ The show "Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln" needs no explanation, as it involves president Abraham Lincoln.
+ Sometimes, just by removing a ride, Disney can say a lot of things. Last year, the company destroyed the river area of Frontier Land in Disney World. It will be substituted with one themed to the Cars franchise. For me, this represents that Disney is slowly abandoning their American pride.
Fantasyland, taken as a whole, represents Human imagination and it's dreams for a world were happy endings are always coming to fruition
+ The ride "It's a Small World" contains a series of dolls decorated to different nations. As the vehicle moves, the following song is repeated in multiple languages:
"It 's a world of laughter
A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
There is just one moon
And one golden sun
And a smile means
Friendship to ev'ryone
Though the mountains divide
And the oceans are wide
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small world after all
It's a small, small world
Mother earth unites us in heart and mind
And the love we give makes us humankind
Through our vast wondrous land
When we stand hand in hand
It's a small world after all
"It's a Small World" therefore represents peace and unity, as well as naturalist fraternity.
Tomorrow Land is perhaps the most interesting part of the park. You see, Walt Disney was fascinated with progress in technology. Personally, I found Tomorrow Land to have very strong Star-Trek vibes: An intergalactic brave new world, were there is nothing but pleasure and the laws of the Enlightenment rule the worlds.
+ The prime example of this would be the Carousel of Progress, an animatronic spectacle narrating the history of technology through the 20th century and it's services to the American family. The ride presents an extremely positive attitude towards the future of technology. The song "Big Beautiful Tomorrow" decorates the show.
"Welcome, to the general electric carousel of progress
Now most carousel just go 'round and 'round without getting anywhere
But on this one, at every turn we'll be making progress
And progress is not just moving ahead
It's dreaming and working and building a better way of life
Progress is the sound of a motor
The hum of a turbine
The heartbeat of a factory
The sound of a symphony
The roar of the rocket
Progress is people getting release from drudgery
Gaining more time to enjoy themselves and live richer lives
And as long as man dreams and works and builds
This progress will go on in your life and mine
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day
There's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow
And tomorrow's just a dream away
Man has a dream and that's the start
He follows his dream with mind and heart
When it becomes a reality
It's a dream come true for you and me"
+ The ride "People Mover", in which the visitors take a ride around Tomorrow Land, is intended to be the public transport of the future. People Mover provides some interesting lore about the area, such as Astro Orbiters being a representation of interplanetary peace.
+ Astro Orbiters and Space Mountain represent the desire of humanity to explore space.
+ The ride "Buzz Light Year's Space Ranger Spin" represents the means by which tomorrow will be preserved. You move through cardboard cartoon planets, shooting at the enemies which are funded by evil Emperor Zurg. The subtext of this ride is that Tomorrow, the fight against those who oppose progress will continue until they surrender.
EPCOT
EPCOT stands for "Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow, and it's basically an expansion of Tomorrow Land.b
It's history is very interesting. EPCOT was one of Walt Disney's last projects. His plan was to build an utopian, futuristic city that would influence other metropolis around the world. That didn't turn out, for everyone around him thought his idea was impossible to accomplish. Walt died on 1966 and didn't accomplish his dream.
However, his successors turned the idea into a park project. EPCOT was opened in 1982. The park was meant to be educational and promote scientific knowledge; EPCOT has changed significantly since it's golden years, and many of its rides and pavilions have been abandoned or refurbished. I will speak about its attractions - some of which are currently defunct - and their meanings
+ EPCOT's dreams for a better tomorrow are showcased quite clearly in the ride named "Spaceship Earth". Here, we travel through time and witness the history of communications with a slight luminist tone and lots of dreams for progress and the future.
+ A similar message was found in the defunct dark ride "World of Motion", which narrated the history of vehicles and transportation.
+ "Living with the Land" has equally strong tech-bro energy. The ride starts with a very US-centric explanation on different biomes and the history of the ground. Then, the ride explains that humans, in their quest for better farms, have done some things which are harmful for the environment, such as pesticides.
Fortunately, Disney has a solution. They have built a greenhouse where they showcase "new and innovative" ways of farming with less impact on the planet, like aquaponics. As always, the ride intends to generate a strong sense of hope for technology to improve forever and ever.
+ Horizons was a very similar ride to Carousel of Progress; but instead of telling the history of technology and it's benefits to the American family, it told the future of technology and it's benefits for the American family. The end of the ride was decorated by an utopian sci-fi mural named "The Prologue and The Promise".
+ The park hosted a large convention building named Communicore, and later Innoventions. This area showcased multiple tech demos from companies like Apple, Sega, IBM and Lego.
At some point, Innoventions had a ride which was sponsored by the military brand Raytheon. Instead of blasting middle eastern countries tough, the attraction consisted in people designing their own roller coaster and then experiencing it in VR.
+ EPCOT's weirdest ride was "Ellen's Energy Adventure", in which Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye "The Science Guy" would explore the history of fossil fuels as well as some other sources of energy. The show was sponsored by Exxon, and it portrayed oil and gas in a very positive way.
"Ellen's Energy Adventure" was initially called "Ellen's Energy Crisis", but Disney wasn't ready to tackle controversy on its educational park. Now, the things have changed significantly - I'm pretty sure Bill Nye still has nightmares about his role on the show.
+ The "Wonders of Life" pavilion included a show named "The Making of Me", in which human reproduction was explained.
+ The ride "Journey into the Imagination" and it's successor "Journey into Your Imagination with Figment", are about human creativity. The visitors are encouraged to use their imaginations, something quite ironic for a corporation like Disney to say.
Anyways, the original ride presented many areas in which imagination can be used. It focused a lot in the arts. Aside from literature, this was one aspect of Human Life not yet glorified by Disney Parks.
The newer ride focuses more on poking fun at serious people. As a miserable guy tries to explain the 5 senses and their role on imagination, Figment, the cartoon purple dragon, interrupts him. He breaks mayhem, farts, and tells visitors that imagination works better when it's set free.
+ The main attraction of the park would be the World Showcase, were different countries would be represented with thematic restaurants, rides and shows. This is similar to "Its a Small World", and it teaches unity, diversity and world peace. Together with the science sector, it represents the ideas of the Enlightenment.
Conclusion
We have seen that Disney parks do have some propaganda, and that theme parks are a way in which ideas can be taught quite effectively. However, this article wouldn't be complete without considering the current state of Disney Parks.
You see, the general discourse surrounding Disneyland and Disney World has become quite negative. Disney Parks are becoming way more expensive than they used to be. Some families get into debt just to experience a regular Disney vacation. And those who insist on visiting every year, receive the pejorative name of Disney Adults.
Many theme park enthusiasts and fans have criticized the company for anti-consumer practices, greed, and a generalized drop in quality. The same acrimony that we see with Disney movies and products is also present in the tourism sector of the company.
What does this mean for Disney Park propaganda? For me, it means that the idealization of humanity that this parks represent is struggling to fit in with modern cynicism. Disney decline symbolizes the death of old-world liberalism and its prompt replacement with the soulless corporate managerial state.
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