What Hath Disney Wrought?

I, like our culture in general, have a fascination with the Disney Empire. Part of that fascination comes from the Disney corporations mythic status within our national consciousness, and the way in which they have positioned themselves as cultural symbols.

There is something intensely strange about the obsession with Disney. There is the man who has nearly two thousand Disney tattoos on his body. Then there is the peculiar breed of people who settle in Celebration the town owned by the corporation. I still recall a winter visit to Orlando several years ago and seeing the billboards that read "Celebration: Snowing Nightly!" Indeed during the Christmas season tiny soap bubbles are pumped into the air to create the appearance of snow (the same thing that is done at the Disneyworld park at Yuletide).

This collapsing of geographies and climate into one another exemplifies some of the things that Karen Hellekson and Craig Jacobsen presented about at the 29th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, the annual conference of the IAFA. I didn't get a chance to see their presentation, but they've put it up online. It is a really fascinating look at the semiotics of the Disneyworld park. If you are so inclined check out:

To the Axis Mundi.