What kinds of futurity are imagined in the cultural flows surrounding the Walt Disney Company, and how are they implicitly and explicitly religious? This lightning round brings together scholars of film, ethnography, theory, history, and more for provocations on this year’s presidential theme.
Since 1955 Disney theme parks have always been spaces of temporal displacement. “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy,” says the plaque above the entrance to Disneyland in Anaheim, California and to the Magic Kingdom in Florida. Today, the Walt Disney Company and its fans engage with futures in the films, the parks, through online roleplay games, on streaming platforms, at fan conventions, and in timeshare vacation homes. Each panelist will present a tightly focused 3-5 minute provocation–an example based on their research in the Disney pantheon– followed by robust discussion among the presenters and between the panel and the audience.