The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

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Summary: Disney
Review: **** For decades, Walt Disney has stood as an icon of family values, fairy tales, and hope; however, there is a very large but at the end of the sentence. Despite all the warm fuzziness, there is only a thin thread of Christian value to be drawn from the tales we all grew up viewing. Delving into the personal histories of the men who shaped the Disney Empire and analyzing the most notable animated features, the author takes us on an odyssey of discovery. After reading this book, it is childishly easy to see how some of the aberrations of Christianity, notably "word of faith" heresy has been able to grab the weak minded by the throat so easily. I won't go so far as to say it will make those who still love Cinderella or Snow White and borrow children for an excuse to watch them will toss out their dvd's or vhs tapes, but it sprinkles them with salt. There is still some goodness to be found, but you can watch knowing what to be wary of as well. ****

Amanda Killgore

Rating:
Summary: Not for Disney Fans
Review: Althought the book was insightful, it is not for those who are avid fans of Disney. In most chapters Pinsky tries to search for something that is not there. 3 year old girls do not see Cinderella as a woman with "Cinderella syndrome" searching for her Prince Charming, they see it for what it is... a fairy tale. As for me and my nieces we will watch all the fairy tales and learn from them what Disney is trying to show, that dreams do come true. This book is definately not for someone who is hoping to see Disney in a positive light.

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Summary: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar...
Review: As I've mentioned before, I'm a Disney addict. So it was understandable when I picked up The Gospel According To Disney - Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust by Mark I. Pinsky. As usual in these types of books, I was somewhat disappointed...

Pinsky is the religion reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, and he's also written The Gospel According To The Simpsons (which I haven't read). In the Disney book, he first looks at the Disney organization and attempts to determine what the company religious views are. That can mean anything from the company's view of life to how they tolerate organized religion. This information then provides the backdrop for the majority of the book, which is a review of the company's animated films and what religious concepts are woven into them. The last couple of chapters examines the Disney theme parks and the Baptist boycott in the light of religious themes.

Now I have a bias here myself. I don't go to Disney films to gain religious instruction or insight. I go to be entertained. And while there are lessons to be learned in films, it's also easy to superimpose a personal view or bias and then interpret everything in that light. Unfortunately, I feel that's what is happening in this book. Since Pinsky is looking to find religious thought in each film, everything that appears is colored by that expectation. It's very possible that what he sees is really there and was really intended. But all too often I felt as if the explanation was possible only because you were looking for it. I'm sure if an organization like PETA were to write a book like this looking at Disney from an animal rights perspective, they would end up seeing the same type of thoughts that pertain to their views and make it look like Disney's foremost thought in films is animal rights.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you reduce any examination of events to a single issue (politics, religion, etc.), it's easy to see things that aren't there. I come away from this book feeling like a fair amount of that occurred.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent coverage of the Gospel of Disney's films
Review: I review books for a radio network and I found this book to be a real treat.
The Gospel According to Disney is an interesting and informative treatment of the different Disney movies, going back to his first full length film, Snow White. All of the major Disney films are discussed in an objective fashion and in great detail. The relative lack of Christian observance by Walt Disney is balanced by his promotion of optimism and hard work, the need for faith in what you are doing and that evil is always punished and good is rewarded. According to Disney's movies, you don't pray to God, you wish upon a star instead. A lot of the personal life of Disney is covered, particularly his early years and I found the entire book to be well written and informative, but without the saccharin-sweet coverage that some authors might have put into their works about this remarkable man. I recommend this book highly for parents and students, particularly those in high school. Whether we like him or not, Disney is an integral part of American culture and, as one of my grandchildren recently said: 'Mickey Mouse rules!'

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Summary: Not as good as the first, but thought-provoking entertaining
Review: In his sequel to the Gospel According to the Simpsons, Mark Pinsky does not do as good a job in this his sequel. Nonetheless, the subject of religion in Disney is at times fascinating.

Pinsky, though, has insisted on including pretty much every single feautre film in its own chapter. In not every movie is a discussion about spirituality warranted. Pinksy has also inclued his own condradictory opinions at times when they are not needed.

Still, you'll find this a good read through most of the book and something that will get you thinking about the connection between religion and the Walt Disney Company. You'll probably enjoy it if you enjoyed his last book.

Rating:
Summary: An informative read for Disney lovers and haters alike
Review: Mark I. Pinsky, the religion reporter for The Orlando Sentinel, is one of the foremost U.S. journalists covering religion today --- and I write that from personal experience, on two levels. First, as a former religion reporter for The Asbury Park Press, I know how challenging the job can be and how much open-mindedness and fair-mindedness it takes to do justice to various expressions of faith, given the highly personal and emotionally charged nature of the field of religion. Second, I live in the Orlando area and regularly read Pinsky's work. I know of no other religion reporter working today who puts so much effort into understanding the nuances of each stream of faith and every little rivulet that's part of each of those streams.

Pinsky's journalistic skills are enhanced by his analytical skills, and both are evident throughout THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DISNEY. Pinsky understands the Disney "theology" as well as he understands the concerns of religious people who have taken that theology to task over the years. Contemporary readers may be most familiar with the failed Baptist boycott of a few years ago, but as the author points out, both Jews and Muslims have also attacked the entertainment giant. Back in 1933, the American Jewish Congress --- Pinsky is Jewish, by the way --- charged Disney with perpetuating a Jewish stereotype in the animated short The Three Little Pigs, in which the big bad wolf disguises himself as a Jewish peddler with a large hooked nose and a Yiddish accent. Similarly, Arab and Muslim groups expressed outrage over the Middle Eastern stereotypes portrayed in the 1992 feature Aladdin, which I suspect you would have to be blind not to see. As Pinsky points out, the villains are all stereotypical Arabs while the stars of the show, Aladdin and Jasmine, more closely resemble tanned Southern Californians, despite the surfer girl's almond-shaped eyes.

But just what is this Disney gospel --- this blend of "faith, trust, and pixie dust"? It's American cultural religion: belief in the ability of the self to overcome adversity, faith in faith itself, adherence to the American ethic of morality and hard work. Pinsky cites a wonderful quote from evangelicalism's Phil Vischer, of VeggieTales fame: "Like a house dressing designed to appeal moderately to almost everyone while offending no one, Disney created a sort of 'house religion,' absorbing much of the benefits of Judeo-Christian belief while leaving behind any 'unseemly' obligation to conform to the will of a higher authority...[appealing to] people who want to believe in something that doesn't require anything of them. That's the religion we've all been dying for."

Pinsky traces the evolution of the Disney gospel --- which includes the good news about inclusivism and environmentalism, two terms that rankle evangelicals --- from the studio's earliest releases to the 2003 release of Brother Bear and touches on Disney-related news as recent as the arrest several months ago of Tigger --- okay, the man who wore the Tigger costume, if you must get technical --- on a charge of fondling a young teenager. (Tigger was found not guilty, by the way.)

Some of Pinsky's analyses: The Black Cauldron: "The Judeo-Christian construct that frames most of Disney's animated features is wholly absent in this pagan fantasy...neither God nor stars nor fairy godmothers intervene"; The Little Mermaid: "...a seismic shift...in the way young women are portrayed. In contrast to her predecessors, Ariel acts rather than being acted on. She makes decisions and takes risks...[an indicator] of the changing role of women in the West" (a change some evangelicals denounced as radical feminism at the time); The Lion King: [the movie] "demonstrated that, after all the decades of caricature and stereotype, it was indeed possible for Disney...to reach beyond the Western experience and the Judeo-Christian construct."

Pinsky concludes that Disney's films are "useful tools in building a general, moral sensibility among children and in reinforcing parental and religious values" --- values that, if strong enough and communicated clearly enough, will not be undermined by the Disney theology. He draws this conclusion not only as a religion reporter but also as a concerned parent who has struggled with the effects of media saturation on young minds.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DISNEY is an enlightening read for Disney lovers and Disney haters alike --- and for those who have become increasingly troubled by the media giant's seeming change in direction from the straight and narrow. You may reach a different conclusion from Pinsky's, but you'll do so armed with a wealth of information to defend your decision. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Discussing ideological themes in thirty-one Disney films
Review: Religion journalist Mark Pinsky presents The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust, a sober exploration of the role that the animated features of the Walt Disney Country have carried out in the spiritual, emotional, and ethical development of generations of young adults. Discussing ideological themes in thirty-one of the most popular Disney films including "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Beauty and the Beast", and "The Lion King", The Gospel According to Disney also reaches beyond the impact of the morality plays on the big screen to such issues as the postive and negative contributions that theme parks have on American culture, why the Southern Baptist Convention chose to boycott Disney in the 1990's and the repercussions of that movement, and much more. An astutely researched and written exploration of the interesection between spirituality and one company's domain of popular entertainment.


Rating:
Summary: Excellent example of narrative analysis
Review: This book is an excellent example of how to look for the moral narrative of movies, or other types of media for that matter. As with the previous book doing the same with "The Simpson's" Pinsky demonstrates the challenge of looking into a movie and searching for the moral narrative that can be interpreted as the coherent logical paradigm that holds the elements of the movie together. These are the aspects that teach the audience values. Pinsky points out the value in doing this kind of analysis. If we are using these movies to entertain and teach then we should examine them to see what those values are. It is very easy to watch and enjoy a movie without ever thinking about the moral teachings the movie imparts. A point to make is that all movies project such moral narratives since that is the glue that holds the elements together. We should practice this type of analysis on all the movies we watch. Through the powerful educational tool of modern movies, movie makers educate millions of people. We should follow Pinky's lead and concentrate on what they are teaching us.