Saxena1 Rudransh Saxena Randall ENGL 102 3 March 2023 The True Cost of Happiness Since the early 20th century, the Disney Corporation has struck the world with feelings of happiness and dreamlike desires. It offers a place for those to escape the troubles of everyday life and allows for a moment of blissful ignorance that persists and lives in your heart. With millions of devout followers all across the globe, the sense of unity seems artificially excellent. The near-utopian atmosphere compels us to confide in its solidarity, making us more unlikely to see the deeper implications of the Disney Corporation. These behaviors imbue a definitively cult-like system. Cults are defined by either a religious aspect or a general misplaced attraction to a particular person or thing. The Disney corporation construes itself to cult behavior due to global mass hysteria, manipulation of emotion, and ethically disdainful practices towards employees. Disney’s founder, Walt Disney, was a charismatic leader who had a significant impact on the corporation's culture and identity. Disney's movies and theme parks have a specific aesthetic and messaging that promote the corporation's values and beliefs. Disney's fans, known as "Disneyphiles," are known for their intense loyalty and devotion to the corporation. Along with Walt Disney, his brother Roy Disney maintained an edge in the company, setting themselves as figureheads to be revered for centuries to come. This inherently was the beginning of a moral panic. The panic in question was built upon the foundation of idolism. There are multiple idols created by the Disney Corporation that is worshiped by the fans. For instance, there is a grand Saxena2 and tall Walt Disney and Micky Mouse statue centered inside Disneyland. People will stand and look up with tears in their eyes as they appreciate the utopic environment that this man created. The panic can be visualized by the fact that Disneyland, Anaheim is the first Disney theme park to ever exist. The way folks around the world will flock to specifically this location over other objectively more advanced locations is astonishing. This proves the unwavering loyalty that Disneyphiles have toward their founder. The long lines, dedication, and travel these fans go through just to immerse themselves in a perfect Disney world is what defines this cult-like panic as mass hysteria. There are specific tactics instilled into the Disney corporation to explicitly evoke positive and ecstatic behavior amongst its followers. In Disney movies and TV shows, there are consistent family-friendly themes that always have positive resolutions at the end. There is not a single piece of media that doesn’t depict things working themselves out in the end. These themes carry over to their theme parks. For example, at Disneyland park, there are multiple aspects that hide the real-life troubles that could infiltrate the utopia they built inside of the park. Suppose a customer was unhappy with a certain aspect of their visit, they would be immediately compensated with anything they'd like in order to keep the resolution happy. This behavior mimics that of the same seen in their media. Another more ominous example is the implementation of Disney police and Disney jail. Suppose a visitor is acting up, or someone overheard a threat of some sort. There would be hidden police hired by Disney pretending to be regular guests, that would slowly be approaching you from all angles. Then they would capture you and throw you in Disney jail. They do this in a manner such that the rest of the people would not even notice the nearby turmoil. It is done so discretely and effortlessly. In addition to this, Saxena3 Disney has continuously provided low payment and poor treatment towards their employees. The charade of bliss that the employees have to put up with makes Disney an extremely capitalistic and cult-like organization These are incredible tactics that the Disney Corporation uses to protect the utopic nature of its parks. Some of the social and political circumstances that may have contributed to the domination of the Disney Corporation span over the course of a century. The politics of both World Wars, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War have shaped the way that many people view Disney. Disney was involved in the release of American-favoring propaganda and made many Americans and supporting nations larger and more dedicated fans. In addition to this, the baby boomers creating so many children gave the Disney corporation another edge in sustaining entertainment for a plentiful new generation. The primary target demographic that Disney aimed towards was the average citizen. Though this is broad, it catered to foreign nations as well as American folk. The general understanding is if you were financially stable, Disney products would be easily available for your viewing. Disney would take an emotional appeal to their demographic by playing happy and longing songs, having good resolutions, and using emotionally charged themes such as family and love within their media. The intent behind all this was to create a sustainable capitalist empire that will not die due to humans willingly pursuing their happiness. Since Disney embodies happiness, followers embody Disney. Disney is undoubtedly a cult corporation, however, it stands as a martyr of positivity rather than that of hate. The only real consequence is the price tag and the ignorant bliss which will indefinitely catch up to the followers. Though Disney exploits their fanbase for their Saxena4 happiness, at the end of the day, no one is complaining because happiness is universally all we really wanted. Isn’t it? Saxena5 Works Cited Duchess of Disneyland. “Disneyland Jail - The Truth behind the Urban Legend.” Duchess of Disneyland, 20 Sept. 2022, https://duchessofdisneyland.com/tips-trivia/disneyland-jail/#:~:text=Disneyland%20jail%2 0is%20a%20security,costumed%20characters%E2%80%A6just%20security%20guards. Frost, John. “New Disney Video Series Is Dedicated to the Company's Biggest Fans.” The Disney Blog, 6 Nov. 2018, https://thedisneyblog.com/2018/11/05/new-disney-video-series-is-dedicated-to-the-compan ys-biggest-fans/. Magazine, Smithsonian. “How Disney Propaganda Shaped Life on the Home Front during WWII.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 11 July 2022, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-disney-propaganda-shaped-life-on-the-hom e-front-during-wwii-180979057/. McVicker, Laurelle. “Walt Disney World Has Secret Police Disguised as Park Guests • Disneytips.com.” DisneyTips.com, 26 Apr. 2022, https://disneytips.com/disney-secret-police-disguise-park-guest-lm1/. Mendelson, Joel. “Disney World Is Anything but Magical for Its Employees.” Jobs With Justice, 4 Oct. 2018, https://www.jwj.org/disney-world-is-anything-but-magical-for-its-employees. Saxena6 The Walt Disney Company, 4 Jan. 2023, https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/history/1923-2/#:~:text=Walt%20Disney%20signs%20 a%20contract,the%20Disney%20Brothers%20Cartoon%20Studio. Walt Disney, Urban Utopian - JSTOR DAILY. https://daily.jstor.org/walt-disney-urban-utopian/. “What Is a Cult? 4 Types of Cults and Common Characteristics - 2023.” MasterClass, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-cult.
