Synopses & Reviews
The Middle Ages depicted in Walt Disney movies have come, for many, to figure as the Middle Ages, forming the earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary western (and increasingly eastern) imaginary. The essayists of The Disney Middle Ages explore Disney's mediation and re-creation of a fairy-tale and fantasy past, not to lament its exploitation of the Middle Ages for corporate ends, but to examine how and why these medieval visions prove so readily adaptable to themed entertainments many centuries after their creation.
Review
Review
'An exciting excursion through Disney's entertainment kingdom. The exploration of Disney's 'retroprogressive' reimagining of the Middle Ages - from the medieval cartography of the theme-park maps and the fantastical geography of Wart's Camelot and Robin's Sherwood to the familiar iconography of Disney's fairy-tale castles and the increasingly diverse ethnography of his princesses - is lively, perceptive, and provocative. The Disney Middle Ages offers fascinating insights into American values and consumer practices; and it is essential reading for anyone interested in medievalism, film, or popular culture.' - Barbara Tepa Lupack, author of The Girl's King Arthur and Illustrating Camelot
Review
"This collection of fourteen essays provides a balanced and often quite witty assessment of Disney's films, TV shows, marketing strategies, theme parks, personal philosophies, pedagogy, social and political practices of Walt Disney and his Corporate Legacy . . . The collection speaks well to a scholarly audience, while, at the same time, addressing intelligently a broader audience that includes virtually anyone who has ever seen a Disney movie or TV program or been to a theme park - that is, about everyone who has grown up in America or elsewhere. The bibliography is excellent." - Medievally Speaking
About the Author
Tison Pugh is a professor of English at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of Queering Medieval Genres, Sexuality and Its Queer Discontents in Middle English Literature, and Innocence, Heterosexuality, and the Queerness of Children's Literature.
Susan Aronstein is a professor of English at the University of Wyoming,. She is the author of Hollywood Knights: Arthurian Cinema and the Politics of Nostalgia and her articles on medieval Arthurian romance, medieval film, medievalism and popular culture have appeared in numerous books and journals.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Disney's Retroprogressive Medievalisms: Where Yesterday Is Tomorrow Today;
T.PughPART I: BUILDING A BETTER MIDDLE AGES: MEDIEVALISM IN THE PARKS
Mapping the Happiest Place on Earth: Disney's Medieval Cartography; S.YandellDisney's Castles and the Work of the Medieval in the Magic Kingdom; M.BaylessPilgrimage and Medieval Narrative Structures in Disney's Parks; S.AronsteinPART II: THE DISTORICAL MIDDLE AGES
'You don't learn it deliberately, but you just know it from what you've seen': British Understandings of the Medieval Past Gleaned from Disney's Fairy Tales; P.SturtevantThe Sorcerer's Apprentice: Animation and Alchemy in Disney's Medievalism; E.F.LabbieThe Sword in the Stone: American Translation and Disney's Anti-medievalisms; R.GossedgeWalt in Sherwood, or the Sheriff of Disneyland: Disney and the Film Legend of Robin Hood; K.J.HartyFuturistic Medievalisms and the U.S. Space Program in Disney's Man in Space Trilogy and Unidentified Flying Oddball; A.FosterPART III: DISNEY PRINCESS FANTASY FAIRE
'Where happily ever after happens every day': The Medievalisms of Disney's Princesses; C.BradfordDisney's Medievalized Ecologies in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty; K.C.KellyThe United Princesses of America: Ethnic Diversity and Cultural Purity in Disney's Medieval Past; I.Mitchell-SmithEsmerelda of Notre Dame: The Gypsy Girl in Medieval View from Hugo to Disney; A.CravenReality Remixed: Neomedieval Princess Culture in Disney's Enchanted; M.S.Cecire