A bit of a loaded question, but I’m curious how Americans view the cultural merit of Disney parks, not as merely tourist attractions or entertainment destinations, but as genuine works of art with real cultural merit. What do my fellow Americans think?

43 comments

  1. I wouldn’t say cultural icons, but certainly they are part of American culture.

  2. Personally, no, I don’t perceive the Disney amusement parks that way. I think there is a lot of history with Walt Disney and his vision, and with Disney’s animation/cartoon history, that influenced and reflected cultures at different times.

    But the parks themselves, no – not unless you’re specifically studying them for whatever reason.

  3. Disney is absolutely one of the great American companies. Disney parks are definitely part of American culture that most people visit in their lifetimes.

  4. They are a smaller part of American Culture. It is a go to vacation destination but only about 18% of the population visits their parks a year (58m average yearly visitors). Compared to local parks that have a higher attendance, thanks to being closer and cheaper.

    Edit: When I say higher attendance, I mean in total between all local theme parks, not an individual park having more attendance than all Disney Parks.

    Edit2: Misspoke. 18% assumes that all visitors are American citizens. A large percentage is foreign visitors.

  5. I don’t see the Amusement parks themselves in that light. I think if anything they are reflections and representations of the darkest parts of American Corporate and Capitalistic culture.

  6. >as genuine works of art with real cultural merit.

    I think it’s a stretch to think of them as works of art. Having cultural merit, on the other hand, is something we can actually consider. Certainly Disney is a major influence on Americans, starting in early childhood. A lot of the values and ethics of different periods are showcased in their respective Disney movies. A common theme throughout is the idea that children need to be protected from some kinds of violence, which has permeated our society in weird ways. Hence many of the plots are watered down versions of the original fairy tales and folklore (e.g. Cinderella’s step-sisters don’t mutilate their feet. Rapunzel isn’t thrown into the desert to wander as a single mother, and their father’s eyes aren’t plucked out by birds).

  8. Hmm. Yes, I would. I think Disneyland and Disneyworld are cultural icons in America.

    That’s a different question than “do they have cultural merit” or “are they works of art or mere tourist attractions” etc.

  9. The parks? Not really. Maybe the classic 1950s Disney characters in an of themselves.

    The parks might be lesser cultural touchstones. I’ve never been to either but I get the jokes about “It’s a small world” song and being trapped on the ride while it’s playing on repeat.

  10. I’ll go above those who see the parks as “escapism” or “entertainment”, and argue that, yes, they are absolutely American Cultural Icons. Yeah, these past 20 years have been tumultuous, and the parks have gotten worse and rides more style than substance. But I can’t deny that they have a power that no other form can compete with. It is its own medium, and that’s exciting.

    However, I will concede that, as a medium, theme parks have a LONG way to go, as creative integrity has been compromised ever since somebody thought they could be made to please the masses. It’s a shame, but I think that they can get over the hump of adolescence. As a medium, it’s still figuring out how it works.

    And I’ll die on this hill, but The Haunted Mansion is an absolute masterpiece that transcended its limitations as an “amusement attraction” and is something much more.

  11. Is a theme park a “work of art”? I guess you can define art however you want, that’s the beauty of art. I’d define Disney parks as a marketing machine for mass media designed to remove money from your wallet at every possible opportunity.

  12. I think that people from other countries view Disney as an American cultural icon more than we do ourselves.

  13. Yeah, I think so.

    A big part of it is the parks don’t exist in a vacuum. Disney, itself, is iconic and a big part of people’s youths as well as later years.

  14. If you’re an upper middle class American, it’s pretty much an unwritten rule that you must take your children to Disney at least once or twice during their childhoods.

  15. Disneyland/world is broadly considered the best day you can have as an American child.

    For millions of people the act of going to Disneyland as a child is an essential life experience.

    Culturally speaking Disney parks are immensely influential for American youth

  16. Some people are saying that they are designed to be a mass marketing machine designed to drain money from patrons and that they represent the peak/depths of late stage capitalism. I concede that yes, the parks do put a huge emphasis on profit and Disney does practice some unscrupulous business methods since they are a massive corporation.

    However, I think that saying the parks do not have cultural or artistic merit is kind of disingenuous. The parks themselves have amazing aspects of design, attention-to-detail, and engineering. To say that the making and design of props, sets, park layout, music, lighting and that the engineering behind the animatronics and attractions are not worthy of artistic merit disses on all the creatives and imagineers that poured hours into creating them.

  18. They’re popular and are an important aspect of our culture, but they’re not really works of art or beauty in the way our greatest museums, architecture, and natural wonders are. They serve their niche, to entertain children and separate parents from their money, but they feel too corporate, derivative, and mass-produced to be fine art.

  21. No, they’re soulless monuments to capitalism designed to separate you from your money.

  22. I think that the parks *as they are today* have less cultural merit than they did twenty or forty years ago, and that this is a trend that will get worse, not better.

    Let’s talk about the parks in early ’00s. The parks represented a very particular version of history and fantasy. “Main Street USA” was an idealized, fantasy version taken from a particular era in history. “Tomorrowland” was a past-generation’s vision of futurism. Rides like the Jungle Cruise and the submarines represented a particular point in time pretty close to when the parks first opened, a way of viewing parts of the world.

    These sorts of ‘cultural snapshot views’ (the American West… as portrayed by movies and TV in the 60’s!) have, over the last few decades, been phased out of the parks in favor of cross-promotional product branding. The submarine rides now have “Finding Nemo” elements. Tomorrowland has a “Buzz Lightyear” attraction. The western ranch is completely gone, replaced by the Star Wars attraction “Galaxy’s Edge”.

    “Pirates of the Caribbean” now includes references to the movies… which were based on the original ride, making the whole thing a sort of marketing *ouroboros*. The Haunted Mansion regularly gets re-skinned to feature characters from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. “Space Mountain” occasionally gets altered to feature Star Wars elements as “Hyperspace Mountain”. I’m not sure any attraction is safe from this branding trend (though The Enchanted Tiki Room seems to be holding out the longest)

    Don’t get me wrong: the experience of going to Galaxy’s Edge is impressive, and the sense of immersion is powerful. But it’s marketing in the service of commerce, which feels like beneath it’s technically impressive surface, there’s no core or substance.

  23. Yes. I’d wager at least half of all Americans will go to a Disney park at least once in their life.

  24. As I’ve gotten older I started seeing them more as tourist traps than anything else.

  25. The Disney Parks are technical masterpieces. So much effort and thought goes into aspects of your experience that you would never have thought about.

    Works of art … absolutely

    Real (American) cultural merit …. no

    To explain, the Disney parks represent a culture that simply doesn’t exist (namely their own corporate mythology).

    If you imagine going to a harvest festival, religious ceremony, fleet blessing, historical reenactment, cultural exchange, etc…. These are things born out of actual human experience and culture. Parts of them might be symbolic at this point but just about every aspect has their roots in something that’s real.

    When you go to disney. You’re more or less celebrating the culture of disney. They’ve mashed up all their different IPs to give you a smorgasbord of different cultural experiences. There’s very little that is in anyway uniquely American.

  27. Yup absolutely, one time I saw a guy in an American flag Mickey Mouse costume taking pictures with tourists… in Cologne Germany. The disney stuff is prewtty iconic

  28. Cinderella’s Castle is the most photographed location in America, yeah I would say it’s an icon

  32. Yes.

    But in a Disney park, full of international tourists, do you ever look around and think “There are a lot of Americans here.”?

    As in, more Americans inside the park than outside the park? I know I do.

  35. Before they became so dreadfully commercialized yes. Today not so much but still part of culture here. Just not an icon.

  36. Yes. Absolutely. They are several decade long collaborative projects that absolutely have an artistic and cultural relevance.

  37. I never think about “American Icons” but will sometimes think about “City Icons”. Or when it comes to Icons, a lot of time people like Dolly Parton.
    But honestly, I suppose they are icons

  38. I think this discussion should be put on hold until we have a discussion on what culture and cultural icon mean.

    Of course, we won’t agree on that, so perhaps it doesn’t matter. Personally, I believe the (original) Disney library of assets – parks, films, music, IP such as Mickey Mouse, etc. are very much culture. The fact that they have commercial or corporate motivations doesn’t change that.

    And the parks are icons because they’re widely recognizable. At least the castles are recognizable (even though neither of the two American Disney park center castles match the one uses in their movie credits). But many aspects of the parks will be recognizable even to people who’ve never been, either by name, visually, or other aspects (such as the Small World theme, and yes, I know it originated by Disney at the NY World’s Fair).

  39. Cultural icon? Yes. Work of art? Ehh, I don’t think so and it’s certainly not treated that way by the company. It’s a business.

  40. I wouldn’t say so. It’s something a family might do once in a lifetime, save for the upper middle class.

    I view Disney parks as tourist traps with no cultural merit.

    I would say differently for Disney’s movies – those are pieces of art.

    The parks? No. They’re overpriced tourist traps. That’d be like saying ever amusement park is a cultural icon. The Disney parks are just a large amusement park that most Americans don’t visit.

  43. Whether we like it or not, it’s hard to deny how integral Disney’s animation, merchandise, parks and other media is in American culture. That we market, package, present and sell it abroad speaks for itself.

    It’s not a part of the state (yet lol) but it is undeniably American soft power writ large.

    So yes basically.

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