The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In this follow-up to his best-selling The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family, religion journalist Mark Pinsky explores the role that the animated features of The Walt Disney Company have played in the moral and spiritual development of generations of children. Pinsky explores the religious, moral, and theological themes in 31 of the most popular Disney films, including Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, and the Lion King, and discovers what he calls the Disney Gospel: faith that good will prevail, trust in yourself and your friends, and a little bit of something magical. Pinsky also looks at recent Disney developments, including the 1990s boycott of Disney by the Southern Baptist Convention, the impact of the theme parks on American culture, and the role that CEO Michael Eisner has played in the resurgence of the company since the mid-1980s.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Pinsky, Orlando journalist and author of The Gospel According to the Simpsons, sets his sights on a larger, yet more elusive target: the Magic Kingdom. As Pinsky argues, Disney's cultural influence is enormous: "millions of children around the world know much of what they do about the practical application of right and wrong from Disney." The "Disney gospel" is simple enough in outline: believe in yourself, never give up, good will be rewarded and evil punished. Unfortunately, the book bogs down amidst the massive Disney canon; and organizing it in "episode guide" format, rather than thematically, does not help. There are sparkles of marvelous, irreverent wit: "Tinker Bell, it is immediately apparent, has undergone some alterations over the decades, including breast reduction surgery and liposuction on her derriere." But for long stretches, the critical tone turns sober, even snarky, as Pinsky picks off obvious targets such as Snow White's passivity or Mowgli's haircut rather than surfacing the hidden spiritual gems he found so often in The Simpsons. Even considering the variety of Disney creations, he seems torn between admiring "Walt's dream, to communicate lessons to children across cultures," and debunking its "uplifting, family-friendly fare" as "a sentimental notion na ve at best and disingenuous at worst." Still, readers will be struck by Pinsky's cogent observations about Disney classics.
