“They All Trust Mickey Mouse": Showcasing American Capitalism in Disney Theme Parks

Abstract

This paper sets out to examine ways in which the Disney company has come to enlist the help of private corporations in the design and operation of its theme parks, allowing the products and messages of large industrial conglomerates to take on increasing prominence the parks’ environment. In their celebration of the free enterprise system, the parks have striven to not only create environments especially conducive to consumption but also extol private corporations as engines of progress. Disney’s efforts to repackage industry help shed light on the media’s role in a capitalist economy – namely, the promotion not just of individual companies but of a brand of capitalism most readily acceptable by the public.