Disney Adults Part 2: Disney's Capitalist Religion
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Thank you to Full Sail University for sponsoring this video! Check them out at www.fullsail.edu/
Is Mickey Mouse capitalist Jesus?
The fanatic devotion, ritual practices, and the material signifiers coveted by Disney Adults feel super religious. But is Disney anything like an actual church? Let's find out in Part 2 of our Wisecrack Edition on Disney Adults.
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=== Watch More Episodes! ===
Disney Adults: Is Disney A Religion? (PART 1) • Disney Adults: Is Disn...
How Disney Ruined Culture ► • How Disney Ruined Culture
That Time Disney Built a Creepy Government ► • That Time Disney Built...
Written by Corrigan Vaughan and Amanda Scherker
Hosted by Michael Burns
Directed by Michael Luxemburg
Edited by Andrew Nishimura
Motion Graphics by Benjamin Dunaief
Original Illustrations by JR Fleming
Produced by Olivia "Orange Bird Superfan" Redden and Griffin Davis
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VIDEO SOURCES:
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Inside Disney
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Disney Shopaholic
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Magically Emily
Attractions 360° ( / attractions360 )
Ordinary Adventures
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© 2022 Wisecrack / Omnia Media, Inc. / Enthusiast Gaming
"God is dead, and Mickey Mouse has killed him." - Nietzsche, probably
Thus spoke, mufasa
AFOtigog were Zz @@turtlebeach03 I I &ddfaeafvfvfvfwvwbw talk right awafrom you dc
I wish I came up with this. Thanks for when I inevitably steal this for myself.
ÜberMause
That’s from an episode of Nietzsche’s Weekend kid’s club, I think. “Learn the hand signs, wear the ears and eat the raw livers of your enemy’s god as he watch’s,” just wasn’t as catchy as Mickey chanting, “God is dead and I killed him.”
As an ex “cast member”, thank you for making this video and giving me the language to further deconstruct what I saw at the parks. I have so much to say about the “lifers” who work at the park too…
beg you pardon my english, but What is a "Lifer"?
@@enriqueramirezarriaga6450 I'm guessing someone who loves Disney so much they work there for basically their whole life just to be there all the time
@@enriqueramirezarriaga6450 My mother has friends who volunteer as "greeters" at the park. I think the only perk is free access to whatever park they put them in that day but that's it. They do it because they love Disney. They're also, funnily enough, deeply, deeply christian.
@@enriqueramirezarriaga6450 A "Lifer" is a term for somebody that works a job for a really long time, especially a job that could be considered not very good or desirable.
Please, tell us more
When Disney tried to trademark Dia de Los Muertos, it really pissed me off. Like who the hell thought that was a good idea?
A lawyer.
Disney.
You got it wrong. They were trying to trademark the name Dia de Los Muteros. (This was the original title for Coco during production). Trademark is different from Copyright. Trademark is only used for protecting a brand’s title to prevent any confusion. Like the company Apple, Apple is a trademark name but no the fruit. You can still buy the fruit Apple but can’t name your company Apple.
@@eko9554 the thing is with trademarks, you can still be sued. Apple is a fruit yes, but the company has nothing to do with the fruit itself. Dia de los muteros is legit a traditional festival, knowing Disney and its aggressive litigious nature, it's just sickening to imagine what could come about that. And the movie Coco has direct relation to Dia de los muertos, that's the setting. With Apple if amy electronic company uses that logo and trademark then they'd get sued. Disney is trying to trademark a part of culture, that has existed for a long time. It's messed up. You don't monetise and profit off of culture that predates your own history. And this is coming from a Disney fan. Trademarks are unique to the company, and this just simply is not the case with Disney's attempt to trademark Dia de los muertos.
@@sims794 okay, a "Disney Lawyer". 😉
Don’t forget that Disney also owns Fox, Hulu, FX, Nat Geo, A&E, History Network, Lifetime, etc. They control a vast majority of the entertainment media we consume.
If only they dident control all the media in the world cause it wouldent be the same. I like anime and anime streaming services like Crunchyroll and Funimation are owned by Sony and in this game of monopoly they can't win cause its not possible for them to rule out all entertainment componeys. I am not a disney fan. I grew up with it now I'm a anime fan for life. I am also agnostic so there is no way disney will become a religion. I have my own rights to love what I like
I had a religion, once. It was called Thug Notes and it was enlightening.
Thug Notes was what brought me to Wisecrack!
I really miss thugnotes
Amen.
What happened to thugnotes
@@dogydog247 25 to life. Victim of keeping it too real
Reminds me when I was working for an online travel agency. Whenever we were calling the Disneyland hotels, the staff there HAD to finish the conversation with "have a magical day" even though they very clearly could not care less at all.
As someone who was a Disney adult for years I immediately backtracked when I saw how awfully they treated their employees during the pandemic
You didn't notice how awful they treated their employees before?
@@PaperySloth that's not always how it works, the pandemic opened a lot of people's eyes that may not have ever had to consider these things due to their privilege. There is plenty to criticize, but why would you want to purity test anyone?
@@JimJamTheAdmin because I am a firm and proud believer on purity tests, Jim. It is my raison d'etre.
@@JimJamTheAdmin because most people are full of shit
@@PaperySloth I was in my teens and early 20s and naive about Disney
I have a love- hate relationship with Disney. Like many adults I grew up on Disney and some of the movies have a soft spot for me.... But I hate to see just how gigantic the Disney corporation has become. It really has spread like an infestation of rats in culture!
Google, Amazon, Disney, etc.... capitalism at its finest. I think all those giant monsters have to be broken up. But... the USA works with lobbying money.... so I dont see that happening.
At this point, it is a mainstay of American culture. Rome has gladiator fight, USA has Disney
Ratigan: WHAT DID YOU CALL ME? I AM NOT A *RAT*!
@@joshwarrey3728 The Great Mouse Detective books have Ratigan as a villainous Mouse who (in a rather unintentionally sympathetic light, as surprisingly proven by actual mice being more aggressive than actual domesticated rats!) deeply likes being with rats more than with his fellow mice.
But in the Great Mouse Detective Film, Ratigan’s a villainously foppish Brown Rat instead of being a Mouse, and I don’t mind that.
In Mickey Mouse world slavery never happened, too bad it’s stranded in our world.
I lowkey love this kind of content, closer to contrapoints/philosophytube than normal wisecrack. Would love to see the long form version of this content in the style of these channels.
With 66% more Wisecrack than before.
Yeah, now that their only nuanced member is gone, they're free dog-whistle for communism all they want.
Hurray, they've become a hacky political channel?
Yep, that's about right... Lengthy video essays full of hot takes on subjects they have no real knowledge about.
Yup. Commie bullshit that doesn't reflect reality
The point on training children to connect to individual exploration rather than any sense of community, to identify as a consumer rather than a citizen, is incredibly insightful. Thanks for the video, Wisecrack team.
That perspective was enormously beneficial to my own understanding.
This reminds me of the Russian movie "Branded" I think it was called. It's were this executive or CEO that suddenly can see all the logos come to life and grow by feeding off of people's consumerism. Weird but totally great movie and I recommend everyone watch. You will come away from it thinking totally different about the things you buy becoming you by consuming you! Genius creator.
Dude. I have been looking for this movie since i last saw the trailer for it, one time, in 2011! Thank you for sharing this so now I can go back and watch it!
I watched a crapload of Mockbusters and cruddy parody films for a couple of years now.
The Turkish film GORA has influences ranging from Dragon Ball Z to Lost In Space; and it’s such a shallow parody that I’ll laugh my b**bs off!
The whole thing kind of reminds me of "A Brave New World" kind of dystopia... Or am I just a bit too negative?
Too negative.....and dramatic.
I love Brave New World. People are healthy and can drugs and have sex with whoever they want without being judged. And no women has to go through the horror of pregnancy anymore. It's a mostly perfect world aside from the class system.
@@CordeliaWagner Damn! When you put it that way it does kinda sound great! lol. 😂
I love Oceania, Big Brother takes care of all of your basic needs and health-care, gives you your very own apartment rent free and also guarantees you a meaningful job thanks to which you are a valued member of the community, etc... and all you have to do is follow INGSOC ideology and even then you get your "three minutes of hate" every day where you can openly vent any frustration you may feel towards the system and towards that ideology it's self.
The drugs are def a plus in your preferred dystopia though, I'll give you that!
Thanks for such an interesting response, made my day. For real. 💚
@@CordeliaWagner "The horrors of pregnancy" don't exist in A Brave New World because you can't engineer the babies if you let people get pregnant (or not) whenever they choose. Of course said engineering makes things "better": It's like when apples in a store all look bright and round and red. They became that way after decades of chemicals and farming plus all the other apples that were not round enough got discarded along with the rotten ones. That's basically what happens with humans in the book, except that apples aren't sentient. Perhaps you should change "the people" for "the privileged": Needless to say that, in the book, the children who were malnourished since fertilization and then ostracized and slaved didn't choose their life to be that way, and that the idillic lives of the Alphas and the Betas wouldn't be possible if there weren't these "lesser" people doing the jobs they don't want to.
No, you're not being negative. Or paranoid. You're just cautious.
4:16 Pinnochio isn't a good example to pin just on Disney really; the Blue Fairy is in Collodi's original story, and as an Italian living near a city that was under the protection of the Holy Mother of COURSE the symbolism was intended. Also Collodi was a Mason, and there's that symbolism in there too.
Most Disney properties are based on already established stories. Their beginning argument is flimsy because Disney adaptations kept the symbols already found within the original text. I guess Disney chooses to stick to the fantasy genre for their animations.
I have a fascination with the parts of Japanese pop culture that aren’t internationally well known even today.
I tend to look for lesser known old mangas and novels at both physical and online stores.
Wonderfully, At the local Hondarake store, I bought a seinen manga by a woman primarily known for shojo fare and two volumes of a novel about Hibagon, Bigfoot’s Japanese equivalent!
@@ShannaFarley - All of the arguments are flimsy, because they're starting with a conclusion and working backwards to find anything that vaguely justifies it.
Learning about Disney always make me feel better about pirating everything that is Disney.
Didn't know Disney supported GOP. Definitely time to boycott Marvel.
@@dangerfly I thought they were Woke.
@@blugaledoh2669 if you mean marvel, did you not watch the video?
@@Matty002 Disney
Disney's theme park revenue far outstrips its media revenue. All Disney media basically exist as advertising for their theme parks. Piracy is a drop in the ocean.
Trademarking "Dia de los muertos" would be like if Disney owned the trademark on "Merry Christmas".
"Merry Christmas!!™🎄 " (Merry Christmas is a trademark of the Walt Disney Corporation, all rights reserved)
They also tried to trade mark Hakuna Matata which is a Swahili phrase
You got it wrong! Trademark is different from Copyright. Trademark is protecting a brand’s title. This prevents any confusion. This happens to a lot of titles for books, games, movies, etc. Not just Disney. Like the game Rock Band, that game’s title is trademarked. You wouldn’t get in trouble for having a rock band, you just can’t name your video game Rock Band because that would lead to confusion.
Merry Christmas is also a consumerist version of something religious: Christmas, therefore it would make perfect sense. Remember when Christmas was about Christ instead of some greed white bearded bastard crated by a drinkable black poison company? Good times
I always get the vibe of “going to the temple of consumerism” when I get groceries at the big Westfield every Sunday. People gathering in hoards (based on the full parking lots) to break bread together, find out about new products and practice the worship ritual of spending.
I have also gone to a ton of Westfield malls as well.
"Until life gets so depressing that we need the talking animals again", huh, that would explain why I am watching all these animated movies recently.
There are countless talking animals in various mythologies.
I do think that Disney did take that aspect from those mythologies after all.
@@SlapstickGenius23 Humans have always made anthropomorphic animals. They have also made those animals sexy.
Thanks for reviving my Cynicism of Disney. Being forced to repeatedly watch Moana, Frozen, Encanto and the Zombies franchise and watching about everything fall under the saccharine Disney umbrella keeps it simmering.
Just remember, no organization is truly monolithic. There are things that exist in Disney that can still be deep and insightful. Be mad at the corporate oversight that squashes those insights. Looking at you Elsa's whited out gay love interest from Frozen 2.
I agree Disney has lost its way.
They can't make a princess a Lesbian, but they can make her grandparents war criminals out of guilt. @@grayrook8637
So basically Disney parks are Columbia from bioshock infinite
I find it strange that you point out Disney tried to buy up a cultural tradition and not mention that such moves made Disney. Disney bought and packaged northern European folklore - they're not "tired tropes" they're historical cultural stories that no one from those cultures can use because they're thoroughly "Disney-fied" to the point even a philosophy channel treats nostalgia for the Disney story as separate from it's origin (it'd be a bit weird to claim tales from native Americans lacked diversity wouldn't it?)
Native American folktales do have a lot of diversity, as there are many folk villains and heroes such as Flint and Whiskey Jack.
On the other hand if they aren't marketed or taught in schools will anyone ever remember them?? Plenty of Disney movies have made me want to look into what inspired the movie.
Obviously they are going to make it more palette for the world we live in..
They are a business not a literature or history book.
Though they did buy ABC channel.. so be that as it may.
Or sorry they may have always owned ABC
Yeah wasn’t the Snow White apple thing part of the original story? So Disney can’t even really claim that symbolism as their original idea but in the video he still treats it as such.
I love how capitalism is one of those things that you figure we would be more careful with given how dangerous and corrupting it is but nope. Do nothing unless it makes more money. It’s also “funny” how you don’t need an anti capitalist soap box as you can point out an issue and your probably complaining about Capitolism. The soap box is now just the floor
Don't confuse Capitalism with Cooperatism.
@@markmurex6559 dead ass read that as “coomerism”. Idk wether to be relived or disappointed
"The soap box is now just the floor."
☝️👆☝️👆☝️👆
@@markmurex6559 Capitalism inevitably gives rise to corporatism. (I'm guessing that's what you meant rather than "cooperatism"? It's a common talking point.) Capitalism divides humanity into owners and workers, and so the more economically-powerful owners will always utilize the state to empower themselves at the expense of workers. The state as an institution exists to serve the capitalist class and to grease the wheels of capitalism more generally; these are not competing forces, despite what libertarian ideologues would have you believe. The only real way to bypass this corporate capitalist gulf is by democratizing the economy and producing things for the public good rather than for the profit of the rich.
@@daivambrosia6647 There's numerous countries in Europe that still have capitalist economies and have not devolved into corporatism. The notion that the change is inevitable is a purely Amerocentric view
I know two adults with an unhealthy love for Disney. One is coworker who goes to Disney World like three times a year! I don't get it... I'd rather take a trip to a place with cultural value, like Chicago.
I’d rather go to the Kanye house than the mouse house
what's unhealthy about it?
I'd rather go into the woods
Is it just that she goes 3 times a year? Because I go snowboarding more often than that
@@danmoriarty6901 both are fun
Disney is a corporation. Their goal is profit. When they started out, they leveraged existing culture such as fairy tales and popular stories as profit making opportunities. But what are fairy tales and myths? They are part of the way culture passes on its values, the genetics of society. Religions also perpetuate themselves and their values through establishing a canon of beliefs and practices. So, I suppose they can seem similar. But Disney is not seeking to embed itself as Truth. It's just interested in profit and holds no core values or mission beyond that. Disney reflects the culture of the people as a way to sell; it is little different from a fashion brand implying you will be sexier wearing their clothes or a soft drink company implying you will be cooler if you are drinking their soda. Disney lacks the completeness, sincerity, and mythology of a religion. As you mentioned, its people aren't ideological, spiritual adherents. They are just fans and consumers.
I like Disney as the next person but I have a problem with the company monopolizing the media, other companies. I believe it goes deeper than that. They're also monopolizing ideals. Telling the next generation what to believe. And how to behave. What to do. How to live.
Yes, I know I sound paranoid.
Well, that´s exactly what Christianity does, or any modern religion does, that´s why they are anti-abortion rights, they need kids to indoctrinate to well, consume, is all about the money, money, money.
Bollywood and the two main South Indian film industries have it just as bad, if not much worse.
In India, many civilians tend to treat their favourite celebs like deities, when celebs are in fact (rather screwed up) human beings who need to regulate, eat and drink as well as to exercise.
Nah, that's the job of the WEF, great reset baby!
you're describing what they do, though. that's not paranoid
None of it is all the specific, though. The movies and whatnot teach you to treat others with dignity, and respect, to see magic in life, and work through shit and hope for the best. The harmful part is encouraging people to spend too much on frivolous things they don't need, and new merch that's slightly different from the old merch.
Disney is a grotesque, eldritch being more akin to Aldrich from Dark Souls, than Yahweh...
It is weird, I used to be a huge Star Wars fan. I eventually grew out of it but ever since Disney bought it, I view the franchise with suspicion and hostility. Maybe it was because they declared the entire extended universe up to the acquisition "non cannon" Decades of lore, many better written than the PMC nerds they have writing the movie and television stories now, just declared obsolete. Adding further insult, Disney is canabalizing the stuff they declared non cannon and creating an extended lore themselves.
Something similar can be said for transnational publishers as well.
The Star Wars Schism. It used to be George Lucas as the leader of the church determining doctrine. Then Disney comes along, takes control, and dictates that older texts are no longer the gospel. The old works might be found to be inspirational, but not literally what happened.
I have not read any of the Star Wars novels, so I wouldn't consider myself a dutiful follower... uhh..., I mean fan. I have yet to see a movie/tv show perfectly adapted from the novel. Any endeavor is doomed to failure. The fans have their own personal mental visuals that are impossible to bring to the screen. A script writer might not remember or read every bit of lore, causing errors.
Instead Disney just decided that they would use whatever they think is a profitable plot idea, even if it was something they had said wasn't official anymore. I suppose that's cannibalism as much as all art and religion cannibalize the ideas/stories of the past to create 'new' stories.
@@RandallJamesPeterson It was the declaration of non cannon and the ruthlessness of Disney protecting their intellectual property that made me view them as canabalistic. Building off what is one thing. What Disney did was gating off something from everyone, killing it, then taking bits of the corpses turning them into puppets to be profited from them. One can't write a Star Wars story without Disney's approval. One could say Lucas was did the same.
I guess because I grew up with extended universe only to have it be canceled when I was in my early twenties stung a little a more. It is not a "childhood ruined" thing, more of a disappointment that something I cared about has joined a blob. It's like seeing a friend you knew since childhood be forced into a strange marriage where their partner is verying controlling.
Plot twist: Wisecrack is owned by Disney
Heck yeah! Wisecrack citing the creator of veggie tales?! You live to see it😂
Speaking of Disney and racism; I never truly realized how chill we Latinos are, until I watched "Helena of Avalor" and then couldn't find anyone online being as mad as me. Which is crazy, because the thing is way too obviously written by a "Greg" and or a "Steve".
That conclusion was excellent 😆
Weird to sign back up for another Full Sail sponsorship after the backlash to their ethics before in another video.
Very disappointed in them taking this sponsorship, tbh.
I don't think anyone would complain about free money, even if it's from a scam institution
Added to this is that Full Sail is ALSO basically in Orlando, in a video that picks apart Disney
Right? Freaking diploma mill
Minor correction - Disney World (in Florida) was the only one that was in a special district. Disneyland (in California) never was. That was part of why Walt and Roy did so much in secret to establish the Reedy Creek improvement district; they wanted a degree of control that they absolutely couldn't have in California. This doesn't affect your points, just a minor error.
Lol loved all of this even though I'm a so called disney adult and an ex castmember.😅😅
But hey the animal kingdom comment was a bit harsh. It's a fully accredited zoo and one of the best zoos in the US actually.... now that's kinda sad to know. Just saying
The Animal Kingdom/Zoo comparison seemed to be stretching. I don't see much of a difference between the two. The space given to animals to exist in is limited in these zoos regardless of the level of corporate sponsorship.
Those concerned animal welfare to go to an animal preserve that is well regulated. Or the most extreme option is to go vegan, have no pets, and avoid interacting with animals.
I eat steak and I've been to Animal Kingdom once, so you can guess where my position is.
@@RandallJamesPeterson "Those concerned animal welfare to go to an animal preserve that is well regulated."
Funfact: animal preserves AREN'T regulated to speak of. If you look at their list of accreditations, they're always shit like the Better Business Bureau and "Podunk Chamber of Commerce," not the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Animal preserves just get good press because stupid people hate zoos because cages make them sad.
Yeah the animals honestly seem like they are treated better at Animal Kingdom than at your typical zoo. I always felt the same going to Busch Gardens too, the animal areas seem cleaner, larger and better approximate the animal’s natural habitat.
You engaged with this issue in a very thoughtful and respectful way. Well done. In a world of faction overlords,I'm often tempted to pick Disney. It's not that the Mouse is perfect. It's simply that in a world of choices\concessions, at least they'll provide movies and soda.
And so we meet in the house of mouse on this our holy mousday to pay tribute to the one true god, Capitapitalism and his only son Lobbying the US Copyright System
Don't confuse Capitalism with Cooperatism.
@@markmurex6559 when your country thinks capitalism is a replacement for a personality it’s basically the same thing. Capitalism isn’t going to lead anywhere else in our current situation.
@@markmurex6559 don't confuse water with H2O.
@@josecipriano3048 So I take it you think they are the same thing. Capitalism can be healthy if there were some barriers in place to ensure Cooperatism can't be leaned into. If you lived back in the day- you would know it used to be better.
I love your guyses content but you need to find sponsors that aren't straight up scams lol
There is no ethical consumption or sponsors under capitalism lol.
Based in Orlando!
N8ggas gotta eat
Full sail isn't a scam it's just a for profit collage that is fast past. (I have a cousin that went there for camera work and works cameras for movies and commercials) it's like an expensive media vocational school.
@@free2radke777 depends on your definition of scam. I define scam as any product that advertises itself as one thing and then provides something else, especially if that something else is a very substandard product. Thus far on wisecrack's videos they've had full sail, manscaped, and betterhelp (just off the top of my head) all of which are, by the definition I provided, scams
25:17 I get what you’re saying for most of it the video but I think you need to look into animal kingdom. It’s better than most zoos. It has done a lot for conservation of species and has had a hand in actual extinction prevention. Animals also have more space at animal kingdom than at a typical zoo and the division between species is done in a way that feels more natural to the animals than a zoo enclosure.
17:56 "Disney was busted for opposing gay rights-"
*Drummer in the background*
"And I heard, as it were, the noise of HaHa
One of the 4 IPs saying Come and Spend
And I spent
And I looked, and behold a Cash Horse:
his name that sat on him was Mickey
And Disney followed with him"
May the Force be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your sabers.
We light them up with the Force.
Let us give thanks to the Force that flows.
This is the way.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. We inherrantly worship entertainment and all forms of worship are (often in shitty quality) entertaining performances.
Same!
I’m a Florida resident, and as a young adult my wife and I had annual passes to Disney World. Lots of great memories. I could be at the gate to WDW in under two hours, but haven’t visited in fifteen years. It’s a fun place, but you grow up. This video made me think about the quasi religious aspect of Disney in a different way. Is Disney, at least partially, responsible for the low information Republican base destroying the country? It’s all about personal freedom, and consumption. No mention of responsibility or civic duty. Is Mickey responsible for Trump?
Shut up Tucker, I’m just asking questions.
You’re on to something here.
Disney does preach "you, the individual, have complete control over your destiny" in a LOT of its media, a very by the bootstraps mentality.
See Phil Vischer's video concerning chips...
I'd only argue that your tastes changing are not a direct proof of maturity.
@@AquaBenten - Disney media also preaches a lot of "be kind to those who are different" narratives, which is in stark contrast to the Republican mantra.
This is another case of forming a conclusion and trying to justify it with cherrypicking, lol.
It should be noted gay day at Disney is independently organized iirc, not Disney itself
Disney has basically become the cake meme, we actually don't know if everything is disney related.
For the sake of all this I am disappointed hunchback of notre dame was never brought up. It literally has a song about burning in hell and 'God Save the Outcasts' with images of the virgin mary and saints of old france
I want to know how and why that fits into this narrative for the whole 'disney has no sign of actual judeo christian words and symbolism' bit. Like did yall just forget it was a thing or what?
If I say Disney, what images come to your mind? do you see repeated symbols of the crucifix and virgin Mary? I would be willing to bet that you think certain Disney characters and arguably the two biggest symbols are the micky mouse (ears) and the magic kingdom castle. symbols have to be pervasive and repeated and not only within the context of just one movie or story. Hunchback of Notre Dame is based off of a French novel by Victor Hugo from 1831 and a comic book adaptation of the same novel.
For me, Disney is pure nostalgia. I went as a kid and had a "magical" time hehe.
Then as a grownup, going back in was really cool, nostalgia hit like a train. That, quickly dissipated when I had to queue for hours on end, and I started noticing how some animatronics were broken haha.
Then, got teary eyed again with the fireworks.
I haven't returned since and I don't think I will go through that nightmare again until I have kids. I do want them to have what I had as a kid.
As for the movies with music, specially the old ones. Love them and sing them at the top of my lungs in my car... does that make me weird? probably.... part of a cult, definitely not.
As a child in the 1960s , when race conflict was bigger part of American life than even today, I was taken to Disneyland . I remember asking my mother why the only people you ever saw working there were young and White. I was told there was no room for minority people in the `happiest place on earth'. Disney was holy ground for those who worshipped a vision of a clean and pure small town Christian White America as the center of the universe. Kind of a conservative version of Utopia.
Which is why it HILARIOUS when you work there and are told to think "WWWD?" (What would Walt do?) And my thought was he would probably point at me and ask 'Why are the *casual slurs* visible and not just doing back end labor?'
That, and until very recently, they required male cast members to be all the way clean shaven on their face (not even a hint of a 5 o'clock shadow.) Which happens to be really damaging for the skin of people with extremely curly hair, as they can get really bad ingrown hair that way. Guess which people have that type of hair?
Thank you for taking on Disney cult.
I can't imagine as an adult with no kids, spending upwards of $1000 to go to Disney world for 4 days. I could go camping in a beautiful national park for 2 weeks for that same price
Some people never grow up.
everyone has different preferences. I used to be part of boy scouts and went camping, but camping is not my thing. I would much rather choose an amusement park. So I would be much more likely to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Disney World because I enjoy the rollercoasters, the "experience" or themes of the park, and the park food.
wake up hun, wisecrack just posted a new video
Consumerism is a religion, so perhaps Disney is a prophet.
that
I bet you buy stuff.
@@markmurex6559 What is that saying about my comment? I don't get it.
The book "How to Read Donald Duck," feels really relevant to the content of this video. The authors analyze the way the Disney Comics portray city life vs rural life vs "exotic lands" and the way the comics sanitize the commercial interests of a country which funded a takeover of the country that ended up banning the book.
it's a cool book but all the context around it makes it a fascinating work
i love the fact that you quoted the creator of veggietales
15:32 was a fantastic choice exactly because of Phil's relation to VeggieTales: a cartoon founded by the people who started Focus on the Family, a very obvious 100% Christian group. Of all people who would know, Phil was a great choice and really strengthened your point here.
I grew up in the church (not in there anymore), VeggieTales was practically my religion, and would get Focus on the Family magazines delivered monthly. I got flashbacks during this bit, goddamn. I think at its core the cartoons still hold up mostly, teaching good values.
On a similar topic worth exploring would be the media that is more owned by the public rather than a corporation. These are the Creative Commons community and public domain. The creative Commons I am thinking of are the Creapy Pastas, SCP, Backrooms, some things on NewGrounds (like Piko). Or some of the public domain such as the Cthulhu mythos. What they seem to have more in common with old mythologies before churches became more organized.
Cthulhu’s creator HP Lovecraft passed away in 1937; thus the character became PD in much of the known world seventy to seventy one years later, in 2008.
It is interesting you drew the conclusion you did when after watching these two videos I actually feel like Disney is worse than a religion, as it encompasses all of the fanatical fervor without even pretending to counterbalance it with good works or other personal restraint.
Agreed. It’s a church of blind consumerism that doesn’t even pretend to extol any virtues. Question nothing, don’t waste time on self reflection, don’t spend your money on anything you’ll actually own, just consume and be thankful for the opportunity to give us your money! It’s hedonism in its purest form.
I for one, welcome our new corporate overlords. All hail the holy product line!
I recently played Fallout 4 again and thought to myself wow this would be a fun era to live in, until i remembered it was modeled after 1935 - 1960 America. And after watching this video now I know why I think of them as "The Good Old Days"
I find Disney's monopoly on our collective culture extremely concerning.
I love that out of all the things wisecrack has discuss, all the controversial and fiery things. He gets death threats from disney adults haha!
Do you guys offer any kind of reading list for works cited in your videos? I'd love to do a deeper dive into some of the texts you referred to in this one, particularly.
the script is full of exact citation or if not, at least the author
😂
This was a great overview and well thought out. I still was hoping for some more hot takes on your dislike for disney as a whole but I digress
I just have one line after this two part series:
"The Simpsons did it first!"
People are just lazy, everyone is looking to get out of work and push it off on others, and as long as they don't know about the suffering, Disney can keep it light and entertaining. I coined the term Disneyland Syndrome to describe just how this moral-preaching corporation with no morals signifies everything wrong with America; most people don't want to know or care about the suffering of others, they just want to enjoy the attractions and act like other people should be responsible for their decisions, but not them
I personally believe that the only way to approach a truly personal identity (as opposed to one coopted or cultivated by corporations like Disney) is to fundamentally question the values and motives that drive your everyday life. That way you can bob and weave around Capitalism, politics, religion etc., make practical sacrifices, and determine (to an imperfect extent) how you should live within the world around you. I do not identify with any cohesive moral doctrine because I don’t believe anyone has made a good one and I haven’t come up with one yet either.
Our boy left the tag on top of the Mickey hat to return it after filming
I'm lucky my dad kept me out of the Disney cult because he works for the competition, lol.
Is that Warner Bros.?
There still is competition? I thought they bought everything by now.
@@alexgiron442 Must be Universal, bc of Parks and all.
@@alexgiron442 of course.
@@MaxIronsThird it's Warner.
Glad to see Benjamin's "Capitalism as Religion" fragment cited here. He also writes specifically about the figure of Mickey Mouse in his famous essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," particularly the second version of the essay.
If there was a Part 3 to this, it should look into Baudrillard and Hyper-reality, and can extend into Possamai's concept of "hyper-real religions".
I love Disney movies, TV shows & merchandise. I have no interest on Disney land, world or on ice.
I grew up in Disneyland. As often and much as I could. It undeniably is a staple to my life and continues to be less as so. However as a Mexican/Chicano American. That attempt to trademark on El Dia del Los muertos hit me heavy. Knowing more about the truer history as I grew. That shook me. Damn…..the don’t say gay hit too. This is a drunk post but still not a lie. Knowing “Cast members” and expanding on what’s what with Disney as the decades go on be hitting different.
Please dont use Full Sail as a sponsor
“The parks are devoid of the banalities of normal life -like litter or swearing.“ But they sure are no longer devoid of fist fights!
Stop taxing Disney! I thought religions are tax exempt😡
Most shocking thing I learned from this video: Full Sail still exists, apparently.
I went to Disneyland when Eisenhower was the actual president (yes, I'm that old).
I honestly love how America is eating itself up with its consumption habit.
You know what I find more astonishing about the whole Disney conglomerate and the Disney Adult cult? Its impact in most of the youngest Japan society. Disneyland is taken really seriously there and I can't understand why
Yeah the Disney adult phenomenon might be even worse in Japan lol
Serious question, do you know anything about Animal Kingdom? Because they are not really like a zoo. They’re very involved in wildlife conservation. Also, many modern zoos are as well. American zoos have come a long long way and play an important role in the conservation of endangered species.
I was just looking for this exact comment. As an ex-cast member who agrees with 99% of this video that dig at DAK irked me. I've seen the cast members work with those animals back stage and they all do incredible work. I worked in agriculture at Epcot so maybe one of you wilderness explorer weirdos can attest to this better than I can but I was under the impression DAK was pretty wholesome and contributing to some substantial conservation work.
This is spot on!
Religion is becoming more like Disney… 🤯
No wonder why countless folktales are plurally on the verge of becoming #disneyfied to the hilt.
Bold to assume protestantism as religion. True religion remains the same
"Sea witches and, uh, land witches"? Come on, you know 'sand witches' woulda been funnier. :P
Disney needs to produce a film about emperor xenu. lol
promoting "print out your diploma" universities? guess when it comes to money, morals and virtue go out the window
I think its an open secret now that TH-camrs will sell their Platform to anyone. Just skip the ad and enjoy the content.
I'll never understand what takes a person becoming a "fanatic", i never understood it.
But that's a me something, since I'm in the minority.
I'm autistic.
It’s a mix of so many things happening in someone at the same time and turns in to zealotry
Probably a low cultural level. Going through an abhorrent educational system helps, too.
@@josecipriano3048 "low cultural level" wtf?
Talk about superiority complex.
Most people are "fanatics" for something, it fills the "spiritual" hole, most people have inside them.
Yep, very good episode!
7:43 it scares me how much I relate to this.
Dude, Pinocchio has a whole lecture built around it!
At the end, loved how you pointed me out for being a big ol' disney adult. I tried so hard, yet failed mightily.
These two videos were really interesting to watch, nice stuff
Wisecrack: Attacks Disney by attacking capitalism
Also Wisecrack: Selling branded merchandise just like Disney has since the first Mickey Mouse watch decades ago, and accepting ads just like ABC.
How disney got me; back in the day they had these Sunday night at the movies with Disney movies being featured. I would have a rough week at school and do my homework; so by Sunday night I could "escape" into the Disney World to get ready for another week at school. This Wonderful World of Disney allowed me to think of possibilities outside my life as a school student with usual school problems. So with Disney+ I hope that feeling is still available for students going into their teen years. My daughter was a Disney Channel girl. It really did help especially during those teen years.
Can you please stop advertising for an obviously scammy for profit “university”
I am a responsible adult. I have a family that I make sure is well taken care of, and I have a career. I strive to be a good person. I don’t understand why people are offended that I love Disney. Disney brings me joy. I go to Disneyland for at least a few hours weekly with or without my family and I don’t see a problem with it. Other people are allowed to have hobbies that take them away from their families for far more time than Disney takes me away from mine. Yet, their hobbies seem more culturally acceptable and less offensive to more people than mine seems to be. I don’t hurt anyone; I just want to be left alone to love Disney!
You're not an adult- you are just an old child.
@@markmurex6559 AM NOT! :-)
Honestly though, I rate an adult based on responsibilities and the drive to try your best to fulfill them… I fulfill both of those characteristics. If Disney was to get in my way of fulfilling my responsibilities, I would dump it instantly.
15 years ago, I would agree with you, but today…
By my measure, I am an adult. I feel sorry for those who limit their joy and happiness to those pursuits that others deem as socially and age acceptable. If I were in to craft beer or wine, few people would be upset by my hobby. Like I said earlier, let me have my fun; I am hurting no one.
A boring dystopia.
So. Sigh. Hearing your full argument, I have commentary and notes from someone who sits on the border. Someone who has a major interest in disney to be perceived by the layman as a "Disney adult" but to other disney adults, do not display the "devotion" or "rituals" as you'd put it. I'm not without critizism of both disney AND it's detractors.
So as far as iconography and religious allegory in stories, I think you would be hard pressed to find children's stories designed in america not represent some form of religious reference. When I took AP exams, I was literally instructed by the teacher to read the Bible not for religious reasons, but as a go to reference as SO many things use allegories. It's baked into our storytelling. Even most basic "heros journey" could be seen as reference. It's absurd to try and say disney is somehow unique in its storytelling being religious when the reality is you just have a larger sample size.
70% of Americans have been to disney? Okay. I'm sure you'll see a similar stat about Starbucks. It's a no thought go to when you think of vacation. It's not necessary religious to know that someone is providing a popular product with a guarantee of safety and cultural backing that it's definitely enjoyable.
Also yes, Disney holds major life events at it so therefor it's a religious experience. Yes, every event hall is now a place of worship. A lot of the thinking in this feels like it's working backwards to try and prove "these people are crazy fanatics, so clearly this means too much to them". Would you NOT want a fun venue for your wedding? Women mythologize this moment regardless of disney and dream where they might want to go in the world. The act of disney providing a popular product doesn't make it religious. The act of disney removing alarm clocks doesn't automatically mean they're trying to remove time. It could be that the majority of people on vacation wouldn't use a strange new alarm clock and instead opt for the one on their phones instead. That now having an alarm clock gives the appearance of an older hotel and therefor subconsciously drops satisfaction. Looking into the whole hospitality industry on this matter is INSANE, and it all has to do with your subconscious judgements on a product or service.
Capitalism also checks all these boxes for religion, as you expressed. I think by the nature of disney being a corporation that's using the maximum of its ability, it's more capitalism that would be the religion and disney the sect where it's expressed. But sure. Let's boil down the ENTIRETY of the entertainment industry down to the fact that entertainment is still a commodity that requires funding and money. Because literally any art form that has impact on society and creates feeling, but also has commercial success is inherently religious. You know you have to have a pretty high IQ to understand Rick and Morty.
Does Disney have an excess of power, wealth and corruption? Yes? Is it terrifying and use obvious techniques of manipulation and psychology to get masses to consume like any other product? Yes. Should we vilify people who are emotionally influenced and expressive in the media they consume and treat them as some strange unknowable being who got tricked into enjoying a product? Wow, no???
I know your final result was that disney is not a religion but inadvertently plays into religious practices but even as you're making a joke about how even you are not immune to the the disney capitalist propaganda machine, you say "just so long as you don't spend all your vacation days on animal kingdom, you're safe." Youre still subconsciously opposed and weirded out by people who are just enjoying things in their own way? Let's reword that quote. "Just so long as you don't spend all your vacation days on one singular entertainment that makes you content, you're safe." I get it. We as a society wouldnt consider someone who spends all their money on model trains and goes train spotting as their only entertainment as "normal" but to be baffled and perturbed that other people like something that you don't feel strongly about is not absurd, it's basic empathy.
You make a lot of excellent points, I just hope between this two parter, we have more people frustrated and fighting the Disney corporation, and not the adult human standing in front of you in line who is just having a great time that you find cringey.
Exactly. Capitalism and commercialism are now a fundamental part of nearly everything, and that doesn't make it religious. I'd consider myself a "Disney Adult" by most people's standards. But I am not blind to what Disney does and have looked into ways to help push to make the company better. I know it's just a company. I don't find it religious at all. I worked at Starbucks and knew plenty of people who came daily, and even a few people who came twice a day. I never once thought of them as a "Starbucks Adult" who was getting their drink like the blood of the Lord. Nope. Let people like what they like. This video, like you said, makes some valid points, but still feels like a backhanded way to make fun of fans. Or at least question their sanity if they spend a lot of money going to the parks. Would they say the same thing to someone who saves up their money to go to the Super Bowl every year? Probably not.
The condescending tone in some parts of this doesn’t let me take it seriously
@@Bradmagus exactly. Especially the entire driving force of the last video was trying to understand why people behave this way because he doesn't like disney adults. Despite having good knowledge in here, it taints the information with biases, and therefor creates wrong conclusions with the same information and then spreads it with its attributing bias as factual.
I had a friend who spread the news article that during the production of the live action Mulan , "Disney removed the song "Ill Make a Man Out of You" due to sexist undertones" and said that this is the exact kind of PC nonsense that was ruining culture and expression. And I was like, woah, so you took the real information that Disney wouldn't be including the previous songs in their live action film, singled out 1 part of it, and then drew your own opinionated conclusion about why this happened and then spread the information as all factual and backed it up with the one real fact that the song would not be appearing. It A) invalidates the REAL important information here, and B) intentionally mischaracterizes a situation in order to prove a secondary point that you believe and sensationalized it to get others to also believe and spread it.
All this to say....come on. I know completely removing bias in study is impossible but at least try to keep open about all possible factors and be self reflective on why you have the biases you do in the first place.
TLDR; disney adult ranting.
@@alonelytrashcan , in the end, the video, is just a philosophy essay. It's an opinion with supporting statements and information.
What's interesting is how much the perception of Disney has changed very recently. Most people I know no longer think of innocence or family fun, we think of a ruthless monopoly/mega-corporation that manipulates nostalgia to pump out endless subpsr sludge. Also, perverts.
Star Wars people have always looked exactly like Disney Adults to me. I didn’t watch Star Wars until I was an adult, and since I didn’t have the nostalgic attachment to it, I saw it for what it was: children’s movies.
And I think that is fine. My emotional attachment to children’s content is the Labyrinth. But it is disingenuous to see Disney adults as being any different from Star Wars geeks.
@Wisecrack watching your video, I couldn't help but recall the scene in South Park (the Jonas Brothers episode) when Mickey Mouse states that he has bee in control since the 1950s
Talk about the medium being the message
Forget Walt Disney and send your dollars to J.R. "Bob" Dobbs! Everything is a rip-off, but some ways of being taken are more fun than others.