Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy [Paperback]

Janet Wasko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0745614841 | ISBN-13: 978-0745614847 | Edition: 1

Since the 1930s the Walt Disney Company has produced characters, images, and stories which have captivated audiences around the world. How can we understand the appeal of Disney products? What is it about the Disney phenomenon that attracts so many children as well as adults?


In this major new book, Janet Wasko examines the processes by which the Disney company - one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world - manufactures the fantasies which enthrall millions. She analyses the historical expansion of the Disney empire, examines the content of Disney's classic films, cartoons and TV programs and shows how they are produced, considering how some of the same techniques have been applied to the Disney theme parks. She also discusses the reception of Disney products by different kinds of audiences. By looking at the Disney phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, she provides a fresh and comprehensive account of one of the most significant media and cultural institutions of our time.


This important book by a leading scholar of the entertainment industries will be of great interest to students in media and cultural studies and will appeal to a wide readership.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Janet Wasko's Understanding Disney is a comprehensive critical examination of the Disney company and its operations. This is an ambitious, thoughtful and exciting book - one of the most important books in media studies in years, and it deserves the attention of scholars and students everywhere.' Robert W. McChesney, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

'Janet Wasko, one of the foremost political economists of communication, turns her considerable skills and energy to analysing the nearly endless flow of Disney products worldwide. The result is an E-ticket ride for everyone, from general readers to Disney specialists.' Susan Davis, University of California, San Diego

From the Back Cover

Since the 1930s the Walt Disney Company has produced characters, images, and stories which have captivated audiences around the world. How can we understand the appeal of Disney products? What is it about the Disney phenomenon that attracts so many children as well as adults?

In this major new book, Janet Wasko examines the processes by which the Disney company - one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world - manufactures the fantasies which enthrall millions. She analyses the historical expansion of the Disney empire, examines the content of Disney's classic films, cartoons and TV programs and shows how they are produced, considering how some of the same techniques have been applied to the Disney theme parks. She also discusses the reception of Disney products by different kinds of audiences. By looking at the Disney phenomenon from a variety of perspectives, she provides a fresh and comprehensive account of one of the most significant media and cultural institutions of our time.

This important book by a leading scholar of the entertainment industries will be of great interest to students in media and cultural studies and will appeal to a wide readership.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Polity; 1 edition (April 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745614841
• ISBN-13: 978-0745614847
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Business & Investing > Industries & Professions > Sports & Entertainment

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wasko is a bit verbose, June 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy (Paperback)

I have to agree with another reviewer. The text can be tedious and annoying while not conveying any information. Her many references to "which I will discuss in chapter (x)..." is so common it becomes a joke in her writing. While the text can be informative at times her writing style tends to be annoying and pretentious. It's reminiscent of a speaker who spends all their time telling you what they are going to tell you, that they dont really have that much to say in the end.

38 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Academia" at it's worst..., April 14, 2004

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy (Paperback)

Being a Disney nut, I'll read just about anything that talks about the Disney corporation and culture. I found Understanding Disney at the library and eagerly picked it up. What a waste...

I should have been clued in on page 5 with this statement: "The continued expansion and popularity of the Disney empire calls for the deliberate integration of political economic analysis with insights drawn from cultural analysis and audience studies or reception analysis, or, in other words, analysis emphasizing the economic as well as the ideological, or production as well as consumption."

Huh?

She teaches a class at the University of Oregon on this stuff. Very academic and abstract, and too much so for my liking. While there were some interesting factoids about Walt's true history vs. the story told by Disney, she went into pure academia all too often. An example, labeled "Psychoanalysis And Pinocchio": "Brody observes the anal images and incorporation themes have been common in Disney tales, citing examples from The Three Little Pigs and Peter Pan. Anal images, especially featuring the "often-kick-in-the-butt" Jiminy Cricket, are a rampant in Pinocchio as images of erection (Pinocchio's nose, the donkey ears), and incorporation is appearnt in the scenes of Pinocchio and Gepetto in the whale's stomach."

Please!!!! You have *got* to be kidding me... She even covers Marxist analysis and the imperialist Disney. And kids pay to take this class?

10 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some things are just unnecessary..., March 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Understanding Disney: The Manufacture of Fantasy (Paperback)

While the book is very interesting the author's constant use of phrases such as "which I'll discuss later in chapter x", "which we talked about in chapter x" was extremely distracting. She seemed to use this phrase at least once a page. Maybe she was just trying to make the book longer - who knows.