Let's take Disney seriously

When I was in graduate school back in the mid-1990's, one of my professors and I got into--shall we say?--an argument about whether or not Disney was a valid subject of film study.  "Disney is not film!" the professor insisted.  "Disney is only a corporation selling things!"

This arose because I suggested at the time that such films as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King might represent a renaissance of musical film and theater.  They were classic musicals, I asserted, and, if they were on the stage (they weren't at the time--wasn't I prescient?) they would be the sorts of shows that parents would take their children to, which would lead their children to learn to appreciate musicals in form, content, and symbology.

This was partly born out of my personal belief that ever since the late 1960's, and especially with the advent of Hair, musical theater has been much less family friendly, and that unfriendliness is part of the reason for a period of decline in the popularity of the form.  I think that since the musical form is a difficult form to read, if children are not trained to read it, they will likely abandon it--which is almost exactly what happened until--guess when--Disney helped to establish the resurgence we are seeing today.


In order to consider such things as Disney's influence on the American musical--or the company's influence on any part of American culture--we must take Disney seriously as an artistic style, and not reject the company merely because it makes makes money. (Which American motion picture company does not try to make money?  Even William Shakespeare made money--lots of it--and we take him seriously.  If he could have sold little Hamlet dolls, I'm sure he would have without flinching.)

So, let's take Disney seriously.  Walt, after all, won more Academy Awards than any other person in history.  Disneyland, perhaps the best if not the first theme park, is an immersive theater experience, utilizing audience participation, environmental theater, street theater, improvisation, happenings, and shows within the show.

Before I start on any extended discussion of Disney and performing art, I want to make it clear that I do not work for the company.  I never have, and I likely never will.  I have no connection to Disney whatsoever except the connections of my own childhood and the connections of the Disneyphiles I raised.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well, I'm back.  The haitus is over.

I want to start this foray into the blogosphere with a more overt expression of my current intentions.  I read through my previous statement, and I don't necessarily want to amend that too much.  I'm still interested in pop culture, and I like to flex the ol' PhD occasionally.  I might even wax funny occasionally, if PhD's are actually allowed to do that without sucking all the moisture from the atmosphere.

But I am increasingly interested in having a voice in the national--check that:  world--dialogue about religion and its place in the public sphere.  I am also interested in both Mormon and general Christian apologetics

So, here is my intital salvo:

I am still an orthodox member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

I have a personal witness from direct experience that there is a God.  I have faith that I am in the image of God, and that he looks human though I haven't seen Him.

I have direct personal experience--I might rather say "experiences"--that prove to me that God loves me.  I have faith that He loves everyone.

I have direct personal experience--again, multiple experiences--that prove to my satisfaction that God does not lie.  In all cases in which I have been able to personally test the veracity of what God has said (either through the LDS canon of scripture or through personal experience), I have discovered that God has spoken the truth.  I have faith that He cannot and will not tell a lie.  I have faith that cases which I have not been able to test--either because they have not happened yet, or because the test is otherwise not available to me--these cases will also prove that God speaks the truth.  I have faith that things I do not currently know or understand will be knowable and understandable and will prove God's veracity.

A long time ago, I prayed to know if "the Mormon Church is true."  The unequivocal answer was a resounding "Yes!"  There can be no possible doubt for me that the answer came from God.  I am reluctant to publish too much of my spiritual experiences, and indeed, I don't believe it's necessary for me to prove to the world that the experience I had on the first night I prayed, or experiences I have had since, are from God and not my own little brain.  However, I feel a certain responsibility to be a witness, just as if I had received a subpoena to testify in court.

I have had innumerable spiritual witnesses that the Book of Mormon is a true, ancient document, and is the Word of God, equal to the Bible.  I am perfectly willing to discuss the Book of Mormon at length.  I love the book.  Both as a scholar of literature and as a practicing Latter-day Saint, I confess that the Book of Mormon is my favorite book.  If I were allowed only one book (and me a compulsive reader!), and if I were confirned to some limited space, I could find happiness in reading and studying and pondering the Book of Mormon--both as a literary and as a devotional text.  The King James Bible, Shakespeare, and Mark Twain would be icing on the cake--but the cake alone would suffice.

So here I am.  Back in the saddle again.  Chafing at the bit.  Champing in the gate. 

And maybe I can finish that novel while I'm at it...